Where did you get the idea for your start-up?

Alan Ames. – “Like many ideas chatting with friends and family helps us to understand what is most important to us in life. These ideas can give us motivation and passion to create and grow something new. However, the real idea that makes the startup work is when you listen to your customers. The idea for Vingineers came out of a conversation with a friend during a visit to a winery, the successes that we find today come from hard work with many customers figuring out what really will help them succeed.

Do you have any advice to give to those who are still hesitant to get started?

“Know from the start that there will be brutal moments for you and your team. Ask yourself how much you want to get involved in driving change in the world, and how much you want your time to be yours. If you tie something that you are passionate about and drive for it, assemble a team of people and keep them all focused on the same ideas, then you can make a real difference. Other entrepreneurs will be amazing inspirations and fuel that will enhance your life. You will have the maximum amount of freedom, yet give it all away to meet your goals. Yet I am not sure if there is a more valuable endeavour in life than bringing your passions to life.

We often hear that it is essential to make mistakes. What do you think about this?

“Mistakes are a part of life. The only way to avoid them would be perfect information, which doesn’t exist. The point is not to focus on the mistake itself, but on learning from it so that next time a big failure becomes a minor misstep. Then the minor misstep can become a point of strength, of flare. Wear the healed scars of your failures, don’t carry the failure itself along with you.”