For years, Eugenia Gargallo worked for large companies or startups. When a bigger company acquired the one where she was working, the staff was asked to move to Switzerland: it was a turning point for Eugenia. As a young mother, she did not want to move and saw there an opportunity to start her own impactful project, one that would position her as an example for her children.
She enrolled in entrepreneurial courses and was surprised to notice that youths were totally absent from this training, in spite of the high unemployment rates in Spain. She realized the great need there was to inspire young people and motivate them to build their own jobs.
“I did not find the cause – the cause found me. ”
So she founded Inspira-T, an NGO to inspire young people, and spent 2 years developing it. Soon, it turned out very hard to rely on volunteers, and even more difficult to be financially dependent from slow and administrative grants. She started wondering how she would ever grow. That’s when she realized that she was much more comfortable in the business world, where she came from.
Finding the perfect business model
So Eugenia decided to start her company, Up Training Club. In this community and space, young people can reconnect with their passions, their talents and what they really want to do in life. And get the skills and experience to help them achieve it.
“It’s a fitness club of the mind in which you can enter freely and go out stronger. We provide a safe space where they can try new experiences without the fear of failure, learn from them, challenge themselves and eventually be able to get a job they will really love. There is a very wide offer of communities for students and professionals, but there are very few structures to support and motivate those that don’t know yet what they want to do in their lives, want to rethink it or simply don’t find a job. We are here for them.””
She had though already a few months about the idea of starting this company when Eugenia joined Bridge for Billions thanks to the sponsorship of the Fundacion Creas.
“Entering Bridge for Billions was an incredible luck. I had many ideas, but I needed structure and focus, and that’s exactly what Bridge for Billions brought me. I liked having deadlines, it motivates me and enables me to take out my ideas. With the tools I could really define my Value Proposition, get the essence of my project and of what I bring to young people. Also, knowing that at the end of the process I’ll have an incredible deck for investors is a real drive!”
Besides the platform, what really helped her to focus on the core of her business was her mentor. “We both had a real affinity with respect to youth and youth issues. My mentor helped me a lot to understand my target and communicate the ‘why’ behind every step I take at Up Training Club.”
Bridge for Billions helped her to fine-tune each step of her business plans, and to improve the communication of her project. “Last week, I participated in a Pitch contest, and the feedback I got is that it was very inspiring.”
Where the is passion, there is talent
With Up Training Club, Eugenia is determined to change the paradigm, boost the self-esteem of this disillusioned youth and give them the opportunity to create the job of their dreams. In the medium term, she aims to get funding to strengthen this community and start inspiring youth. “They’re so uninspired, it’s sad. There are so many beautiful success stories but what we hear is only ‘crisis crisis crisis’”. The story of her niece is one of these beautiful success stories.
“She was wondering what to do with her life and was one of the first to attend the sessions. Together with 10 other girls, they organized a fashion show from A to Z, in the streets of their neighborhood. I cannot begin to describe the feeling of satisfaction and pride on their faces. That’s the moment I thought that I had to bring inspiration to many more people.”
She also evokes young people that invented their own profession, like this guy who was a school failure, learned to woodwork and started making guitars with pallets; or this other one that loved running and now does “jogging tours” for tourists in Barcelona.
