The second day of Workshop III of the Academic Working Capital program had as its theme Marketing, Sales and Operations (see what happened on the first day). The panels on December 15 were opened by the program content coordinator, Diogo Dutra, who spoke to participants about sales channels and strategies. Diogo explained ways to price the product, measure sales expectations and acquire and retain customers.
Miguel Chaves, partner at consulting in innovation and design firm CAOS Focado and founder of digital education company Podd, used several examples of companies to discuss business strategies for B2C (final customer) and B2B (business), online and offline prospecting models, brand positioning and customer relationships. “Positioning is not only about how customers see your brand, but also how it works and relates to you”, he explained.
In the afternoon the students learned more about the concept of intellectual property, focusing on patents. Henry Suzuki, managing partner of technology consulting firm Axonal, commented on the obstacles faced in Brazil for granting patents and the need for studies and a complete mapping of all segments involving the product before patenting it. “It is not possible to be a technological country working in the dark”, he stated. Participants also asked questions about the requirements for patenting a product and the differences between patents in Brazil and other countries.
After that, lawyer Paula Tonani, founding partner of Tonani Lawyers, talked about the legal care that small businesses need to take to choose the type of company and the tax regime, hire employees and protect the brand and patents. “The legislation in Brazil is complicated, but it’s not a big deal,” he said. “Those cautions that no one seems to want to take, those who are young have to take three times more. A labor claim can be deadly for small businesses.”
The groups also had two moments in the day to discuss and develop their action plan for the AWC Investment Fair and listen to the feedback from colleagues and monitors. The Investment Fair will be open to the public and take place on December 17th from 9am to 10pm at the Technological Park of the state of São Paulo.
