Each project in which I have worked has given me many lessons both personally and professionally, but the Startup Wawi is where I learned much more about the world of innovation and people. I had never worked in a startup before and it was an adventure I wanted to live. The project was incubated and developed in the innovation laboratory of the Breca group and we have their support and guidance, but the day-to-day reality led me to have many more lessons on the field. I learned that one should not fall in love with the solution but with the problem and adapt it to reality where your value proposition is desired, needed, and generates profits to keep the business afloat and generate the interest and support of investors.

Each interview with the mothers and their children, the visits to clinics and health centers, knowing the reality of the public and private health system in Lima, made me understand a reality that until then I did not know. The challenge was greater because our audience did not use technology much in their day to day and their equipment (cell phones) did not have, for the most part, the capacity of space available for the app, a challenge that was worked brilliantly together with the team of developers.

Adapting, changing when failures to the original plan are detected, being resilient, listening and respecting others, having a solid foundation of trust with team members, are key ingredients for a small business to function and scale. It is right there where each member of the team must be committed and respect each other, listen, and work in harmony to be able to reach the goals set together. I compare it to a symphony, where each instrument plays an important role in being able to hear a great and moving musical composition.