At RITMO, we keep recruiting the most talented! Álvaro Callejo has joined our team as Head of Business Development. He will be in charge of developing, coordinating and executing the company’s business plan and transferring the value proposal that we offer to our client portfolio.
Álvaro has a degree in Business Management and Law from Carlos III University, Madrid and before joining RITMO he was VP of Portfolio & Investment at the Spanish incubator Demium. In addition, during his professional care he has worked in Corporate & Investment Banking at BBVA and in Business Development at Amazon within the consumables category in order to boost the multinational’s growth in Spain.
Callejo has experience as a venture capital investor, after his time at Demium, and he has also participated personally in funds such as BackFund, which has given him insight into the financing needs of digital businesses and the importance of solutions like the one that RITMO can offer the market.
Q: How would you define RITMO?
A: RITMO is the ideal financing solution for digital companies in the growth phase.
Q: What value does RITMO add to digital businesses?
A: Digital businesses are booming which means their financing needs are too. To help them grow, quick and flexible solutions like RITMO have appeared which aim to supplement, and in some cases replace, other more traditional financing options.
In the day-to-day work of an entrepreneur, where the challenges never stop, being able to rely on a partner that can accompany you, offering you tailor-made financing, can be the difference between becoming a significant player in the market and simply disappearing.
Q: How do you rate RITMO’s chances of success?
A: Since it was set up by entrepreneurs, the capacity to empathise with them, understand their needs and adjust products to what they require has allowed RITMO to launch a valuable proposal that is being very well received.
If we add the quality of the talent that the company has been able to recruit together with the use of technology and, above all, data as an optimisation factor, RITMO’s rapid growth makes complete sense.
Q: What made you decide to join RITMO’s project?
A: The main reason was the founding team’s ambition and being well aware that we are marketing a product that is required in a sector that is constantly growing.
When you find in a team both the desire to grow and in-depth knowledge of the sector, it is natural to want to become part of such a project. If we add the fact that, due to my previous position, I‘m aware of investment trends, I know about Revenue Based Finance, the sector in which we operate, and that there is an almost unlimited capacity for growth in this market, the combination of all these factors makes RITMO a very interesting challenge.
Q: Tell us about your professional experience before RITMO
A: Looking back, I think that I followed a path that was perfectly designed for acquiring the skills that the company needs right now.
After graduating in Business Management and Law, despite being tempted by the entrepreneurial world, where I started one or two projects, I decided to go into investment banking. I’ve always been interested in investment and finance and I had the chance to join the very dynamic world of Global Markets. It was an interesting sector, but the rigidity of the banking world led me to look for more innovative alternatives, which is why I joined Amazon. A practically new market where innovation was the watchword and you had a blank slate to work with.
For the last three years I have worked for Demium, a fantastic company whose goal is to help entrepreneurs from all over Europe start up their companies and make them grow exponentially. At Demium, I had the opportunity to be in charge of the investor relations portfolio, which helped me understand the complexities of the venture capital world and the immense capacities of entrepreneurs.
Q: During your professional career, you’ve seen the entrepreneurial world at close quarters but how do you feel about being part of the team at such a promising startup?
A: After working for Demium, I wanted to start something from scratch. I’ve joined RITMO in its first year of existence, with great opportunities to grow.
Having the chance to join such a promising project is, quite honestly, the best thing for me.
Q: What are the challenges facing you as Head of Business Development?
A: Mainly creating a team that is capable of explaining clearly what our product offers and supporting the entrepreneur as part of its team.
We have an interesting challenge in terms of growth and I think that our success will be closely linked to our ability to attract the talent that will help us to scale up the model very quickly.
Welcome to RITMO’s team, Álvaro!
