"A startup is a young company founded by one or more entrepreneurs to develop a unique product or service and bring it to the market. By its nature, the typical startup tends to be a shoestring operation, with initial funding from the founders or their families."

Source: Investopedia

When I arrived at one of the most beautiful Mediterranean cities in Europe, Barcelona, my mind was not yet into tapas, sun and wine. I was caught by the ever-evolving world of digital technology.

Travelling opens your eyes to new experiences, and it certainly changed the perception of many things I thought were absolute. I was looking for a change; London wore me out: the weather, the fast-paced moments, the long winters...

That change didn't come to me immediately though… I first made a stop in New York City! It was there where I started a few coding courses and went to as many talks, events and meet-ups as I could find. After three months of Brooklyn, Broadway shows and the occasional bagel, I was ready to pack my bags and come back to Europe.

As soon I arrived in Barcelona I hit the ground running. I attended a mini Bootcamp where I learned how to use a content management system (CMS), learned about front and back end, tapped into SEO and reinforced my years of supervising and project management knowledge from my previous jobs.

Moving to a new place can be a daunting experience; I left all my friends, family and support system in London. I was no longer travelling, and this was my new reality. So, I decided to start some intense networking; This allowed me to meet locals who shared in the same newfound passion I had and propelled me on this new journey I was embarking on.

With my new friends and business partners, we formed a tiny technology startup: ‘Alkornoke’.

The idea of ‘Alkornoke’ was a diverse group of professionals: A marketing expert, a mathematician, a graphic designer, an experienced sales executive and me; a media professional with a penchant for writing and making things happen.

The idea was to help big and small business with their websites and other digital products and to assist with their transition into the digital world in the clearest, simplest and most transparent way possible.

We all worked freelance and dedicated many long hours to forming and developing our business model. We were all working in unison and with the same vision. We had clients, we worked as a team and most importantly, we kept learning from each other.

Like so many other things, the market changed and sadly, over time, Alkornoke dissolved.

Although ‘Alkornoke’ did not succeed in the long run, there was much knowledge gained from that experience and I am a firm believer that failures create opportunities and teach perseverance.