Banca Transilvania and Smart Bill—the market leader in online invoicing and inventory solutions—have launched Smart Talks, a project to support entrepreneurship through open discussions with entrepreneurs and specialists in fields closely linked to it.

The idea for the project grew from the fact that both companies, supporters of Romania’s SMEs, are in constant contact with entrepreneurs and understand their challenges. Among the main reasons SMEs fail is the lack of entrepreneurial education.

The first Smart Talks session took place in Bucharest, at Banca Transilvania, and brought together around 100 entrepreneurs. The event was hosted by Mircea Capatina, Smart Bill co-founder, and the speakers included: Tiberiu Moisa, Deputy CEO, SME & MidCorporate, Banca Transilvania; Iancu Guda, President, the Association of Financial and Banking Analysts; and Mihai Rotaru, Clever Taxi co-founder.

Key messages from the event for entrepreneurs:

• "Amid many challenges, Romania also offers plenty of opportunities. We have too few companies; perhaps we should have many more small ones. Let’s look at how we can help all these companies improve their chances of survival. The first thing you have to do is try. It’s a journey from which everyone has something to gain and to learn." – Tiberiu Moisa, Deputy CEO, SME & MidCorporate, Banca Transilvania

• "The irony is that although Romania has many highly capable people from whom entrepreneurs could get practical advice, they don’t have enough time to step forward and get involved, while those who are very vocal in this space often lack sufficient experience and speak from books. Through Smart Talks we aim to offer as many entrepreneurs as possible information they probably wouldn’t otherwise have access to." - Mircea Capatina, co-founder & BizDev Manager at Smart Bill

• Our belief is that entrepreneurship can change Romania for the better, and Smart Bill’s mission is to make entrepreneurs’ lives easier; thus, Smart Talks is one such initiative. - Radu Hasan, Co-founder & CEO Smart Bill

• "When we decided to take investment for Clever, money wasn’t the most important thing then—the experience our investor brought to the team was. We needed business expertise; we needed someone who could guide us. The money was a bonus. That’s what every start-up should look for when they opt for private funding. An investor’s business experience can make the difference." - Mihai Rotaru, Clever Taxi co-founder

• "In Romania, the average lifespan of a company is 10 years, compared with Hungary (14 years), the Czech Republic (15 years) or Poland (19 years)." - Iancu Guda, President, the Association of Financial and Banking Analysts

Entrepreneurship lessons from Mircea Capatina - Smart Bill

• You build a life, not just a business. You grow people, not just a company. It’s hard to have a good life without values. It’s hard to build a business that fulfills you if it isn’t based on values.
• Math is either your best friend or your worst enemy. Every business can and should be summarized in an Excel spreadsheet.
• The human factor: a huge competitive advantage for smaller players.

Smart Bill is one of Banca Transilvania’s partners in the BT Store project, an online hub with solutions that complement banking for entrepreneurs, which provides access to issuing, delivering and collecting invoices, delivery notes, etc. Smart Talks also had a social component, with a positive impact beyond the entrepreneurial community: donations from participants went to the Bucurestiul Are Suflet project.

Banca Transilvania & Smart Bill