The time of digital marketing has come

Specialists in digital marketing –this is the profile most in demand by startups. And not any old kind of business plan. They want professionals who know how to tackle the metrics. “There's a need for people who know what they're doing. It's not enough to have the theory that they teach you, you need to know how to make analyses and propose strategies. It's not that obvious”, says Concepción Galdón, director of Área 31 in the IE Business School.

The results of the study by Adecco entitled ‘El futuro del trabajo en España’(The future of work in show that qualified professionals linked to technology and the digital world, people who are good at dealing with people, and specialists in marketing and sales will be most in demand in the next 5 to 10 years”.

Marta Díaz Barrera, digital transformation consultant and talent advisor, points out that “startups are looking for technical talent primarily, everything from mobile app programmers (iOS or Android) to developers focused on Big Data. However, they're realising that quite apart from these profiles that are so important, there are others like digital marketing and business that are absolutely essential.

And she cites her study –“Talento de startups ” (Startup talent)– according to which “the most difficult jobs to fill are for mobile apps programmers (25% of the CEOs of the startups consulted find this position hard to cover), or developers of Big Data solutions (23%), as well as positions focused on analytics and metrics, and management profiles (CTO, COO, CFO…). Social network programmers or usability experts are among the other profiles that are the most difficult to fill when looking for professionals with talent"

Galdón stresses that startups need results that are “fast, and professionals need to get results fast”, and highlights that “the team comes before the idea. If the idea is poor, a team realises that and stops wasting time. We mustn't forget that good ideas have an opportunity behind them, but they don't just happen by themselves”.

With this last idea, Díaz Barrera emphasises the importance of the team: "The greatest secret of success is creating and maintaining an A-team. People with heterogeneous profiles with a multicultural character who speak foreign languages. It's really important for one of them to have vision and to understand the market trends, and for all of them to really believe in the project they're working on, experience it as their own, and show passion. In addition to all this, working in a startup means lots of hard work, lots of effort and lots of solving difficult situations in record time”.

Javier Megías, CEO and co-founder of STARTUPXPLORE, also points out the importance for startups of online marketing. “The product is important, but you have to sell it, it's a business”. Because to work in a startup, he says, "you have to have an attitude that can't be taught in the university –you have to be passionate and resilient. One year in a startup is equivalent to seven in a normal job. It's not easy", he concludes.