Interview: David Alberto

David Alberto is not afraid to put everything on the line for a calculated risk. His ascension as owner and CEO of Avanta, the serviced office group, certainly proves this.
Previously he had worked at Regus, who also offer office space to rent, for five years leaving in 1998 and maintains his experience there helped him in developing Avanta.

“My time at Regus was very defining. I found what did and didn’t work,” he says.

He restarted Avanta in 2004 after persuading his wife they should sell their home and move into rented accommodation to finance it. She agreed and Alberto sank the proceeds of the sale plus all their savings into his vision. He says: “The fate worse than death would have been moving back with my mother, which was motivation enough to make it work. We might have lost everything, but my main motivation was that we had one child and another on the way.”

His initial investment of £350,000, to buy his first building, has repaid itself and he estimates the enterprise value of Avanta now as around £30-40 million.
“Give it three years and I predict we will be worth double that,” he says.

A CONFIDENCE THAT’S CATCHING
His business confidence is catching and certainly seems to infect his 200 employees in which he inspires loyalty. Avanta was voted in The Times top 100 best small companies to work for in 2009. The award is important in showing the feelings of his staff and reflects very well on Alberto’s working practises. He describes his business approach and his company as being very people focussed: “After all we are a people business. We train our managers to get on with making their own decisions. They don’t have to come back to some grey head office to ask minor questions – they are trusted to get on with it.”

It is obvious he believes in looking after his staff. He maintains training is key to the success of Avanta, which has developed its own training programme called LEAP (Learning Advancement Program). This business approach ensures that each employee can follow their own motivation for personal growth within the company and ensures a healthy attitude about the future, or as Alberto says: “If people want to spend two or three years at Avanta and then move on, at least they leave feeling respected, looked after, well paid and with a better CV. Most people leave companies because they are fed up with them. We want people to move forward and speak positively about Avanta.”

Alberto describes the unified system they have in place as a way to enable those that choose to stay with Avanta to grow and develop within the company. At Regus, he explains, they use different systems so it is hard for their staff to move around the business. This enabled him to learn from their mistakes. He goes on to explain: “We use the same platforms across the board so as people gain more knowledge they can move to more responsibility at another centre or to a higher position.”
He is vocal about his disdain for the title ‘entrepreneur’, thinking it too grand a term. He prefers to call himself a ‘calculated risk taker’ instead, he says:
“Because that is what business is all about. Those that are better at it - do just that. Some get lucky, of course, take huge risks and get away with it. But when I looked at starting Avanta I was pretty sure there was a market there.”

GROWTH AMID CUTBACKS
Taking calculated risks about the future extends to all Alberto’s business practises. His goal maps form a huge part of his outlook towards his own personal progression and growth along with his company’s. He looks forward to more economic growth as he describes 2009 as “a year of cutbacks”. The year overall was a financially bad one for Avanta but Alberto is sure that an upward swing in the economy will start things climbing upwards again.

“I’ve had to turn down three projects this year. That would have meant me hiring another 20 people. For example, if 100,000 businesses each hired another 5 people that creates 500,000 jobs in a real economy. That’s just not happening at the moment. Something has got to change.”

His advice for start-ups is conservative and the same in a good or bad economy. He maintains that a good cash flow is key to success, he says: “Running out of money means making bad short term decisions.” Focussing on your initial goals and aims is also very important at Avanta. Alberto stresses the importance of making sure all your employees are also aware of your company’s focus.

His personal motivation changes from year to year. Last year, for Avanta, it was about survival. This year it is all about keeping the company in good shape, and next year, they are looking at growth.

“My goal maps have deliberately not been touched for nine months but our new map will certainly be a growth plan for the next three years. Success motivates me in all its forms.”