Paulo Marques of Slefty tells us about implementing results-driven solutions.
First of all, how are you and your family doing?
Paulo Marques: Everything is great, thanks.
Tell us about you, your career, and how you founded Slefty.
Paulo Marques: I come from a family of state workers, and that is why I have never lived in entrepreneurship closely. Despite that, between my 10 and 15 years old, I had some teenage business that may have been the beginning of my training for what I have now. When I entered the job market after taking my engineering degree, I was fortunate enough to join a company that allowed me to see the way things worked and learn from them. Slefty was born as a natural continuation of my professional development, as a spin-off of the company MOMSteel. Slefty was born to boost construction and industrial companies’ technical capabilities to reveal their full potential.
When I left college, I had in mind that I would like to grow up inside a company and take management roles, but not necessarily with my own company. Things flow naturally in the direction of our efforts, and usually, our efforts go in the direction of meeting our needs. It seems that this was a necessity of mine.
How does Slefty market its product/services online?
Paulo Marques: We are a B2B company, and most of our efforts go towards closer contact with companies. Of course, we also want to have online visibility and be recognized as a leading brand in innovative engineering solutions for industrial and construction companies. We like to create content about our developments, which is later released online and is something that gives us notoriety and shows the general public a little bit of what we do without revealing confidential company information.
How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how did you get through it?
Paulo Marques: So far, we have not been affected by the crisis. We continue with an average annual growth of more than 50%, and we still do not see any slowdown. Since the beginning of the measures announced by the governments, I have always said that in many sectors of activity, the effects will be delayed in time. It is like a shock wave that affects some sectors very quickly and with high intensity and other sectors after some time and with a lower intensity.
What specific tools, software, and management skills are you using to manage your online marketing?
Paulo Marques: We use the general tools available online by the main global marketing and advertising website and companies. Despite that, we have an experienced team working inside the company in our online and offline marketing, plus some external consultants.
Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?
Paulo Marques: I don’t really like to think about competition. It is not that it does not exist, but the way I see Slefty means that there are no terms of comparison to use. As a friend of mine said, more competition is good because it is a sign that the market is increasing. Slefty’s path should always be different from that of the competition.
Your final thoughts?
Paulo Marques: Slefty is the result of believing. The belief that we can develop products and solutions for our customers. The belief that we have a fantastic team to leave our mark on the market. The belief that our developments will produce great results. We believe that all these ideas will make a lot of sense in the future. Only by believing in this way can we overcome barriers and put crises in the background, like the one we were and are facing.
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