That was what Marcel Gasser told me in the interview.
The interview took place while I was still attached with Marketing In Asia, the online magazine I sold it to a Singapore-based firm. I think it was somewhere in March 2022 when Marcel Gasser dropped by the office for a quick visit. That day, I met him for the first time. I’ve come across a number of his YouTube videos before this, especially the one he shared about surviving the brain tumour. His story about life and entrepreneurship was nothing but gold.
Known as a Business Buddha, Marcel is an investor, entrepreneur and well-connected businessman in Europe and Asia. His game is global and he has many companies in Europe and Asia under his purview. This explains why he is always travelling. I was told that he is so well-networked, there is no country that I can say he didn’t have friends there.
I managed to bring him aside for half an hour interview. We talked about many things at that time but two areas interest me the most—entrepreneurship and start-ups. The interview went so great, we were so into the conversation that we forgot the camera rolling. As we were talking, I asked him about the reality of start-ups today from his professional point of view.
“You know Azleen, there is this one thing I’d like to say when it comes to start-ups. Many have no sales. They have everything around them, including dramas, but no sales. When they have no sales, they are burning investors’ money to run the company. And this is not a good thing. There is one company in my portfolio experiencing this. Despite being around for years, there are no sales—zero. And we have given them some additional funds to turn the situation around in a few years time or face consequences.”
It doesn’t matter whether you are a start-up, a company or a solo entrepreneur, running business adventures without sales as its fuel is not sustainable. No sales mean, there is no profit. And without profit, you won’t survive. Your business will die. The formula is pretty simple actually.
