Success stories

New entrepreneur:
Maria Sol Donnini (Italy)
Age: 31
Company name: Cacho Products / www.cachoproducts.com (Start-up)
Sector of activity: Crafts, art materials and accessories

Host entrepreneur:
Alejandro Marote (Spain)
Age: 43
Company name: Alejandro Marote / www.alejandromarote.com (4 years of experience)
Sector of activity: Crafts, art materials and accessories

Alejandro Marote is a Spanish wall sculpture artist who decided to participate in the EYE programme as a host entrepreneur to broaden his artistic perspective and exchange ideas with young and talented entrepreneurs in the field of show business. He contacted Maria Sol Donnini because he was interested in her experience in industrial design. It was a great success because each had what the other needed. He needed a person who could give him useful insights into the different aspects of creating his artwork. Maria Sol Donnini is an Argentine-Italian industrial designer who was looking for an experience that would help her new brand, Cacho Products, break through. She realised that the possibilities offered by the EYE programme were exactly what she was looking for!

Alejandro received help to organise his work, to create different series according to the concept, to organise the existing digital material and to optimise his creative process by eliminating the superfluous elements that slowed him down. A plan was drawn up for the production process of the works in order to optimise working hours and avoid possible mistakes that would add costs to the production. Maria Sol, in turn, received a great stimulus for her creativity and was able to experiment with the use of different materials, learning how to use colour from a completely different perspective. She learned about the entire process of creating an artwork, from concept design to production processes and everything to do with sales. This exchange also helped her understand how the market works in Spain, how to deal with suppliers and clients, and how to negotiate with art dealers.

Both entrepreneurs gained useful insights from this experience. Alejandro achieved a new organisation and planning of production processes and optimisation of his time. In addition, Maria Sol helped him with the conceptual and technical design of pieces and the creation of artworks, letting him discover new materials and production processes. Maria Sol received an introduction to the art industry and the Spanish market, learned marketing strategies, made new contacts with clients and learned how to negotiate with suppliers. She also further developed her creative skills.

For more information, please contact the local contact points involved in the exchange:

New entrepreneur's contact point:
Fondazione Politecnico di Milano (Milano, Italy)

Host entrepreneur's contact point:
ASSOCIACION TETUAN VALLEY (Madrid, Spain)

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