New Training Program for Consultants is the result of partnership with startup firm Já Entendi.
Last year, as an entrepreneurial initiative, Natura was in the field to find out more about the world of startups, and search for innovative ideas that could be harnessed. After evaluating several projects, five entrepreneurs were selected and invited to take part in a showcase and present their proposals. These were the initial steps that led to the partnership with Já Entendi, an educational intelligence startup firm specialized in online education and training. This partnership will help develop the training process of Natura consultants.
“This is a new venture in the area of open innovation. We have not yet had any structured initiative that combines both entrepreneurial ecosystems and startups,” said Marcela Martinelli, Entrepreneurship Manager at Natura. Interest in this niche market began in 2014, due to the characteristics that this type of company offers, such as speed and flexibility. "We visited a number of incubators, technology parks and accelerators, to learn more about the model, how they related to startups, how Natura could contribute, and what it could gain from this type of partnership. Based on that, we built our own model", she recalled.
As part of this process, Natura contacted the portfolio of several companies that were in incubators, accelerators and technology parks. "We invited five companies to come to Natura and present the solutions they could offer us, and at the same time, explain what startups are and how they operate, also raising awareness about this opportunity for Natura ," said Marcela. That was how Natura met startup firm Já Entendi, and identified it as a potential partner. Both companies had the help of an accelerator, Aceleratech, to increase the quality of the interaction and adaptation necessary for the development of an effective project that would cater for the needs of Natura, while respecting its corporate culture, and widen the potential of Já Entendi.
According to Gladys Mariotto, a PhD student in education, specialist in Arts, Philosophy and Sociology, and CEO of Já Entendi, the support of entrepreneurship area at Natura was critical to the success of the partnership. "They did their research, identified us, and invited us to go to the company. We wouldn’t have entered this competition were it not for that referral. The rules were the same, and we were able to beat nine major companies. The support of the entrepreneurship area was critical to our success," she added.
For Gladys, several factors led to this choice of Já Entendi at the end of the process. One of these was the care provided in its customer services. "As CEO, I went to Natura personally, to present our proposal. This makes a difference when it comes to customer care. Bigger companies that competed with us were not able to send their CEOs because they had no time," she explained.
The project developed by Já Entendi is still in the pilot stage, but it already represents a major step in the history of both companies. "So far, the training sessions for consultants have been more focused on demonstrating the quality of the products than on offering sales arguments. What we're trying to do is understand the product that we have, the technology, and how to talk to the customer and transform this knowledge into a sale”, said Gladys. “We have a very important focus on social impacts, and this will help generate income for these people. Being able to improve the lives of 300 thousand people is a really great incentive,” she added.
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