"But, dude, how did you do it?"

This holiday, a friend insisted on asking this question. He has a curious mind and has known me for a long time (in a completely different group than an entrepreneurial ecosystem). He was trying to understand how "my Jorge Galindo" achieved all about his company's growth and acquisition.

I honestly did not know how to reply to him, and I tried to explain myself (at a friend's dinner) the best that I could, saying that being as I am and not changing in the way I do things... but it was super funny that I invoked his punk side (he has, in fact, a punk band), and told me: "Dude! Bullshit, you are talking to me like Paulo Cohello!".

Fair enough. I love this guy and his punky side, but he was right! So, I will try to summarise what I consider key factors in all the things I did during these years with 47 Degrees, and after.

1.- Luck.

Yes, luck, period. There are multiple ways to get it wrong, and I found a set of aligned planets. And that luck is not only in the growth or the company's sales. It's also lucky to be part of the family where I was born. Lucky to have grown up in a supportive, happy environment where education was valued. They made an essential part of what I am. That is luck.

2.- Choose the right people to be surrounded by.

Adult life is a game of choice. Trains continuously cross your path, and you must be picky about the people you invest your time, energy, and love in. Of course, luck is also involved, but I always have a good compass, which surrounds me with people I admire and who share my values and understanding of life (both personal and professional).

3.- Partners relationship.

In a company, there is a more considerable percentage of failure in a fight with your partner than in losing money or not having cash. In the end, it's true that people's relationships are just the key (for the good and the bad).

In that sense, I wrote so many times that my most enormous luck was gathering Nick, Justin, and Raúl together. Not only that, but being a part of that equation made us stick together for a quarter of our lives.  We fought, got angry, and messed together, but we also loved each other so much, and despite our differences, we always found a way to move forward.

4.- Deal with uncertainty

This is a pretty important part of being an entrepreneur because you really don't know many times the path or if what you are doing is gonna work or not. But you do it anyway. Also, it's deeply with you in any stage of growth. If you don't know how to deal with the uncertainty, you are mostly gonna come over-stressed or take unnecessary choices.

5.- Being a sponge

I am in continuous change (I want to believe that for the better). Probably, my lack of good memory made me not being 100% sure of anything (well, of only a few things), and as a side-effect, that makes me open to any change or consideration. Trying to be emphatic and understand the change as an evolution is something that force myself to learn, expand, and experiment.

Apart from that, I guess there are a few Pablo Coello's points (jezz I love that guy), like being yourself, trying to be kind and more that I truly believe It's part of that sauce. Basically I don't consider myself like someone particularly smart, but I try to be kind and friendly. And people usually think on nice people to do things together.

So, there you have it. The “secret sauce” is actually pretty simple: luck, hard work, the right people, and a willingness to evolve.

No fairy tales. No magic wands. Just the grind and a whole lot of showing up.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go apologize to my punk friend for proving him half-right.