Tiberiu Moisă, BT, on what #SeFaceLaStup

You may have heard about Stup before, but if you want to know more about how the whole concept came to life, read this interview.

Published in Biz Magazine , the interview with Tiberiu Moisă , Deputy General Manager MidCo & SME, reveals the answer to all the questions you might have about Stup. Take a look! 😊

What is done at the Hive

In the first week after opening Hive in Bucharest by BT, had already collected 1,000 accounts opened by entrepreneurs and future entrepreneurs. Under the umbrella of #sefacelastup, BT has created the infrastructure to connect entrepreneurs with service providers and products for setting up, running, managing a business.

What inspired you to launch Stup?

I wish I could tell you a story that contains that special moment when inspiration strikes and you know exactly what to do. It didn't. Hive didn't come about as a result of a creative process. It was born out of the normality of our discussions, out of a series of searches that were not necessarily cursive, but were driven by the question: how can we help with the needs that arise in the early years of business?

We don't pretend that we understand or that only we know what to do. That in itself is an achievement because it helps us get out of our own fixed ideas and look for a broader perspective. Everything is changing and the list of needs is dynamic. We are not looking strictly for today's needs, but rather want to understand how they change with the times. That's how the idea of the Hive was formed. It's where the red thread means constant searching, experimentation and a deep connection to entrepreneurship.

Banca Transilvania or BT Mic have a close relationship with small and medium-sized businesses, but we talk a lot about access to finance and you end up thinking, unwittingly, that it's all about access to credit. Thinking about Hive, we've actually ended up broadening our perspective and always looking for new directions for our services to solve real needs that matter. We knew relatively quickly what we didn't want. We didn't set out to be a coworking space for entrepreneurs, to be an incubator or an accelerator.

Such initiatives already exist in Bucharest and they are wonderful. They usually target a niche, a profile of entrepreneurs. With Stup we want to be for every entrepreneur, regardless of the field. You don't even have to be a BT customer. We want to look at the whole picture, to understand in the most intimate way the challenges of the early years of business and, where we are able, to come up with systemic solutions.

How long did it take from idea to implementation and what were the main challenges?

Almost four years. Once we knew we would need a generous space, we started looking. We wanted a traditional Bucharest area, well connected to public transport, without the overwhelming proximity of large office buildings. We even looked at options for old halls with a rich history, which we could convert and give back to the city in this way.

It was not to be. We had options, but we were afraid it would take too long to authorise and bring this project to life. In the end, the heart of our story is not real estate, but one about how to make things concrete and make do with what you have. After a year of searching we became very pragmatic and focused on certain areas. And Youth and the Carol Park neighbourhood immediately attracted us.

We ultimately opted for new construction - we loved the U-Center project and realized the opportunities we had by thinking about our space early in the construction phases. We were just getting ready to get in line with everything when we found ourselves in... pandemonium. Hence further delays. But it doesn't matter now, we're ready.

The biggest challenge came six months before we opened, when our dream, which sounded very good conceptually, as a story, had to be broken down into concrete, operational elements. And the question "Okay, okay, but what do these people actually need?" has been asked hundreds of times.

How did you choose the name and what does it mean to you?

The name didn't come easy. Between us, we named the place something. We weren't happy with the choices, but we weren't stressed either. We always had the feeling that at some point it would come naturally.

He didn't come. At some point we professionalized the search and contracted naming services. I saw many proposals, in itself this part was with good will. At one point, one of our collaborators came up with suggestions, including Stup. Love at first sight! It's memorable, it's short, it suggests the right direction, it looks good visually. In short, he had it coming.

How did you choose the partners you started with?

Once we had established the list of needs we were starting with, we wanted the proposed solutions to be of high quality. To have a good product or service. We looked at how long it has been on the market, how many users already use it, how high a priority it is in each partner's development plans. And that's not just about having a good product now, today, but about maintaining the level of quality in the future.

Then we were interested in the willingness of partners to join the Hive in its experimental logic, with all that it means. The collaboration started as early as the design phase of the project, when we agreed not only what products we would bring, but also how best to lay out the framework of activities so that everything would be easy for entrepreneurs to assimilate. The same from now on: we have a unified line of communication, we evaluate together what's happening in Hive, we decide together how we can improve things.

We are connected to each other. Hive is a collaborative concept and we believe it is the right approach for a broad perspective on needs. BT acts as the orchestrator, but each partner is connected in a very real, hands-on way. And that also says a lot about everyone's desire to contribute to the entrepreneurial fabric.

Will there be special offers from these partners for entrepreneurs who will be part of the Stup community?

There are special offers for all products and services offered in Hive. That's how we started, that's how it will stay forever. Each business partner offers its product at a discounted price compared to the standard market offer.

What's more, we have an extra discount zone for entrepreneurs who are born in Hive. You know that for anyone who wants to start a business, here they can legally set up their company, get an invoicing/accounting solution, including an accountant, a cash register if they need it, set up a minimum online presence. Well, here a lot of the products/services are free for the first year of business.

But what we think is valuable is that every entrepreneur gets advice on whatever they need. And it's free to anyone, anytime. People come and ask, and depending on their context, they need clarification. It's not that they don't know, in fact they don't know that they don't know. They'll have someone to talk to and get answers to their questions.

Beyond the business services, in Stup we also have an area dedicated to entrepreneurial dialogue of all kinds - workshops, training sessions, networking, various events. All with entrepreneurial themes and all offered free of charge to any member of the Stup community.

Which processes can be done virtually and how many necessarily require physical presence? Why?

On btstup.ro entrepreneurs find relevant information about what we do and can make an account on the platform. This allows them to make an appointment for a one-off talk or an event organised in Hive. When registering for an event, those who wish can communicate directly or connect online with other participants. Once you become a member, you get priority access to everything that's going on with us.

This is our organisation now, with the launch of the activities. But we have a whole list of ideas in the pipeline. We are convinced that we will discover new valuable directions as we interact with entrepreneurs. This is how we will learn the most.

What is your target for 2022-2023?

We start with two important objectives for the next 12 months.

The first is related to the notoriety and positioning of the Hive. We want to show what we do as simply and suggestively as possible. We think it will take time to make it properly understood. The Hive is not another hub, it is not another coworking space, it is not a usual event space.

The Hive is a place where you can find a concrete, dedicated solution for your business, with advice every step of the way. You have access to these services whenever you need them, whether you've been in business for 1 month or 5 years, whether you're a BT customer or not. And this is where we see a market novelty.

The entrepreneurial dialogue part of the events follows the same principle - the most applied content and quality networking. Beyond that, the Hive hosts our microfinance activity, which facilitates access to credit for small businesses. We're talking about a one-stop shop, delivering tangible things, on the spot, in a responsible way.

The second objective is to have as much entrepreneurial traffic as possible for the activities we carry out. We want a lot of people to come because then we can adjust the direction. All the infrastructure is designed to ensure accessibility and inclusivity. We anticipate 600/700 entrepreneurs per month this fall, and next year we expect to reach 1,000, maybe more.

What role does creativity play at Hive?

It is not creativity that concerns us directly, but freedom and autonomy. The hive is all about experimentation and research, so that we understand the real needs of the early years of business. For this, Hive people need freedom of movement and believe that this will naturally bring creativity.

What would you say are the biggest needs of entrepreneurs today and why?

Today's entrepreneurial environment is very dynamic. As an entrepreneur, it's not easy to keep up with the news, the avalanche of information. Especially if you're a start-up or a family business. And this raises questions relevant to many entrepreneurs, regardless of the size of their business or sector: how do I choose the best solutions for my business? And once chosen, how do I make the most of them in my business?

In a world where everything is moving terribly fast, where almost all development discourse is about digital, where solutions are being developed that integrate with other solutions, all new, you wonder how you can keep up. How can you organise your business in the new economy so that it stays relevant and, more importantly, grows. From this thought, a series of needs emerge - from staying connected to information about things that can impact my business, to the need to choose and use solutions that are right for my business.

Things haven't changed much at the base. After all, every entrepreneur wants to increase sales and optimise costs, but the tools to achieve this are constantly changing. And now we're going through one of the fastest periods of transformation. That means extra levels of stress in any business.

What can you as an entrepreneur or future entrepreneur do concretely in Hive?

We have many business solutions. For example, someone who wants to start a business, finds in Stup the basic products he needs, being advised every step of the way: he can set up the company legally, he can get an invoicing & accounting solution, including accounting services, a cash register, a payment solution. All these things are necessary from the first month of operation, and here he finds them all in one place.

For those who already have a business and want to scale more online, we have an integrated approach. As a first step, there is a consultative discussion about the business and how suitable it is for the online environment to determine what stage they are in: marketplace, online shops, showcase website. Then we move straight into the implementation of the entrepreneur's chosen solution.

We also have related services. For example, if you choose to build your own online shop, in Stup you will find product photography solutions, web hosting, payment solutions, everything you need to have a functional online shop. Once you have an online presence, you need to think about online promotion, what marketing campaigns to run, how to set them up, how to evaluate your results - all things you find in Stup.

In addition, we have a number of one-off solutions. Some examples: e-signature, consultancy for EU-funded projects, recruitment solutions and employee benefits. Advice on opening a franchise business. The Hive also hosts our small business lending activity, as well as current account services in our dedicated BT branch.

What do you say, how would you like it at the Hive 😊?