MARINA PLANASCO-FOUNDER OFTHENTWKIS AN INEXHAUSTIBLE SOURCE OF ENERGY. WITH HER HUGE SMILE AS HER CALLING CARD, SHE IS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHOSE OPTIMISM AND ENTHUSIASM IS CONTAGIOUS IN JUST FIVE MINUTES.

AFTER SEVERAL YEARS IN THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD, MARINA WENT TO THE UNITED STATES TO STUDY AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. UPON HER RETURN, SHE AND HER PARTNER SABRINA GUZMÁNTHENTWK FOUNDED THE COMPANY. IN THIS INTERVIEW WE TALK ABOUT HOW "THE FUTURE OF THE ECONOMY WILL BE SHAPED BY PLATFORMS".

Hi Marina, first of all, thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. Before talking about all the projects you are working on at TheNTWK, I would like you to tell us what Industry 4.0 means to you.

Many thanks to you. For me, Industry 4.0 is a revolution that makes it easier for technology and data to be at the service of people.

What challenges and opportunities do you see in this new model?

A recent study by the consultancy McKinsey projected that, by 2025, one third of the global economy will be transacted through platform-based business models.

This means that we face several challenges. The first is the scarcity and fragmentation of knowledge related to this type of business model.
The other is perhaps the paradigm shift of being a platform. Something that literally inverts the firm, as Marshall Van Alystine and Geoff Parker point out in their publication "Platform Ecosystems: How Developers Invert the Firm".

This shift puts the customer at the centre of gravity of all business functions and requires a profound cultural change.
It must be borne in mind that platforms have totally changed the rules of the game and the opportunities they offer are limitless.

It is no longer necessary to invest heavily in assets or means of production to compete. This model only requires a digital environment to facilitate the exchange of products and services between producers and consumers.

DO YOU THINK SPANISH COMPANIES ARE WELL POSITIONED IN THIS RACE?
If we talk about Industry 4.0 as such, the figures are much better than if we focus on the platform model I was talking about. According to a study by Peter Evans and Annabelle Gawer, only 3% of platform companies are in Europe. 68% of these companies are in Europe. 68% of these companies are in the United States and 27% in Asia.

As you can see, we are a long way from reaching these figures, but we are also in a position to reverse this situation and occupy a good space in this distribution.

As for Spanish companies, I would encourage them to analyse their ecosystem and assess what niche they can fill. And I would even encourage them to go further and analyze with which partners they can or want to create a platform. Because in the future, if they don't build it themselves, they will either add to one that already exists or they will be part of one.
In Spain there are already very interesting initiatives with the support of local, regional or central government institutions. But I think they should play a catalytic role in their growth.

I would advise taking a cue from the Singapore Government model that is supporting SMEs to promote transactions beyond the ASEAN region.

What role do SMEs play in this change?

SMEs play a fundamental role in Spain and also in this process. I believe they have a unique opportunity to develop as companies and open up their barriers, whether it is with large companies or startups.

Also by collaborating with sectoral and regional associations with which they can work together to promote the creation of platforms.

Do you think this is a unique opportunity for Spain to recover its position in the global industry?

I believe that, as a country, we have not done our homework, but I am very optimistic. Spain is a country that is very rich in the key natural resource to make the most of this technological change.
We have a lot of highly qualified talent and an industrial fabric that, although weakened, is enviable for its dynamism and capacity for regeneration.
I have always believed that as a country we need to make a stronger commitment to industry and technology. Perhaps I have a very industrial vision after 17 years of experience in the automotive sector.

Wenow have the opportunity to generate more business and jobs from startups and SMEs, which are essential to understand the Spanish economy.
But also the opportunity for large companies to put the customer at the centre and give them value through other business models.

In your day-to-day work you are in contact with many companies that want to launch their business model on the market. What are their main strengths and their most common mistakes?

I think the main difficulty that we encounter is the prior training. They often need to understand what a platform really is, and what a platform is not.
Many of these companies think that everything digital is a platform. This is not the case. It is essential to know how they work and to calculate the real impact that they will have...

WANT TO READ THE FULL INTERVIEW?
FILL IN THE FOLLOWING FORM AND WE WILL SEND IT TO YOU BY EMAIL IN PDF FORMAT 🙂

[caldera_form id=»CF620b9f333dc40″]