In Europe, over 2000 new businesses are started each day. Out of this, 70% will have failed within 12 months, and a further 20% within the year that follows. That is 90% of all start-ups which have amazing ideas, but somehow along the way something goes wrong and they ultimately shut up shop for good. This statistic alone can persuade most budding entrepreneurs to just continue living their lives as they always have, and never really experience the excitement that being an entrepreneur brings.
We spoke with Andrew Anastasiou, an entrepreneur who is taking the world of payments to a whole new level with his innovative products such as WireWallet, an online payment system that provides European banking solutions to businesses outside of the EU. Andrew Anastasiou is also in the process of obtaining a banking license, which will see the Cyprus based entrepreneur offering some of the most in-demand services to his customers.
When we asked Andrew Anastasiou what he thinks it takes to start your own business, he simply said “yourself”. He then went on to elaborate that “you can do it, just put your fear away”.
Andrew Anastasiou told us that “statistics don’t lie, they are facts, but that out of the failure percentage, a vast amount can be put down to inexperience and fear, and this is the issue. People fail, and then they give up. People think that because they failed once, it’s an indication that they shouldn’t do it, and this just isn’t true. Fail forward, make the mistake, realize you made the mistake and then do it again, differently”.
We asked Andrew Anastasiou to give us a basic outline of how someone who wants to go about starting a business should go about it, and he told us that there are some basic questions that every entrepreneur has to ask themselves. He told us that first, ask yourself if you can even do it, do you have the financial ability and the time. He then told us if you answered no, just wait for a better time, but if you answered yes, then ask yourself how can you bring value to someone’s life with your idea, if you have a great answer for that then you’re set to go. He quoted “Get a website, get your brand going, and then hit the market. Keep your costs low and aim high, if you fail just do it again and again, one day you’ll hit the target”.
It’s not every day that you come across someone like Andrew Anastasiou, who seemingly has a totally selfless attitude to life and really does want to make a difference to people’s lives. We certainly hope he continues on his path of success and are very happy we had the chance to speak with him.