My last day at Yo pongo el hielo

Tomorrow, January 31, 2025, is my last day at Yo pongo el hielo, my company. A project I started thinking about almost 12 years ago.

For those who know me a little, it comes as a surprise.

For those who know me well, perhaps not so much.

And those who know me very, very well tell me they saw it coming.

I suppose it had been brewing for some time.

In any case, in this article I am going to explain the reasons behind this decision, the most important one I have made in my career so far.

Or at least that is how it feels.

The reasons

There are several, and they are closely intertwined, as you will see.

That said, there is one main reason, and that is where I will start.

The need for change

12 years is a long time.

At least in the world of work.

At least for me.

I have never stayed in any job for more than four years. Even though most of them were great projects, I had very good bosses, the results were always there and I enjoyed myself. A lot, sometimes.

In every one of them, there came a point when I felt the need for a change.

This need was never financial—I felt well paid in all of them—but mainly came from my curiosity and interests.

From wanting to discover and learn about other jobs and other projects.

From trying new business models.

From understanding how technology and the digital channel were evolving.

That is why I went from designing logos and flyers to designing websites.

From designing websites to optimising them for SEO. And attracting traffic through other marketing channels.

From marketing to understanding the importance of analytics and data. And specialising in it.

The only thing all these changes had in common was that the goal was always the same: learning how to sell online.

Whatever it was: training courses, services or physical products.

The truth is that the deeper you go into a subject, the clearer it becomes how much you still have to learn.

And if you genuinely like it and it motivates you, you always want to go deeper.

You start with one topic and see that other things around it also matter, so you want—and need—to understand them.

That is exactly what happened to me with the internet and digital businesses.

Hence the steps I have taken, always within the sector, covering its different angles.

And how does this connect with my departure from Yo pongo el hielo?

Well, if you add up the years I spent at TiendAnimal, the years I have devoted to Yo pongo el hielo and the consulting hours invested in other online shops, the result is that I have devoted half my working life to e-commerce.

And I think that is enough.

Because each experience has been very different:

• At TiendAnimal, I played a very active role in the growth of a project that started small and grew into the behemoth it had become by the time it was first sold.
• At Yo pongo el hielo, I have built my own, from scratch, into a profitable company. One that grows at double-digit rates every year—reaching more than two million euros in 2024—and supports ten employees. I will tell you more about that later.
• And as a consultant, I have worked with online shops in a wide range of sectors and sizes (bicycles and motorbikes, flowers, sports equipment, role-playing games, sweets, personal care…). Some turn over tens of thousands, others several million and a few tens of millions of euros, so I have been able to see what always works—the universal truths of e-commerce—and which actions only work in certain sectors.

And beyond this experience managing online shops, I have delivered various training courses on e-commerce and created several courses.

I have reached a point where I feel I have covered everything I wanted to in e-commerce. I went as deep as I intended.

I have beaten the game.

Above all because there are other very interesting business models that catch my attention and that I want to learn about and try.

Doing that requires time, which has to come from somewhere. I am going to get it by leaving my company.

I should make one more point. There are two parts of the sector I have yet to explore: marketplaces and social shopping.

But the truth is that neither appeals to me at all.

Because ever since I started working in this field, what I liked most was creating good digital products. Back then, an online shop was the pinnacle (the concept of SaaS barely existed).

On marketplaces and in social shopping, you do not create the digital product yourself; it is handed to you. Your job is to manage it however you want and can.

The role of “creator” disappears, which is why they do not interest me in the slightest. So I do not feel I am missing out on anything.

If this is the direction e-commerce is taking—and everything suggests it is—it stops being fun for me.

Does that mean I will never work on an e-commerce project again?

No. I am sure I will end up doing some consulting. And providing training on the subject too.

But what I will reduce by no longer working at Yo pongo el hielo is the amount of time I devote to it. Which was not exactly small..

This was the main reason for making this decision, but there are several secondary ones that I also want to explain.

Goals achieved

When I was studying for my MBA and wondering what to do with my life, I was always clear that starting a company sounded interesting.

Starting with an idea, analysing its viability, laying one stone after another and making decisions until the project you imagined becomes real and the company can fly on its own.

Again, more than for the money itself—although that too—it was about living through experiences you cannot enjoy—and suffer—any other way.

Because building your own company is very different from working for someone else's. Very, very different. At every level.

To begin with, creating a company is not the same as managing one. If you manage it as an employee or because you inherited it, it may be thriving or may need changes, but the point is that the business already works.

And you missed the first part: coming up with the idea, listening to the market and creating something from nothing.

You take the controls with the engine already running and some momentum behind you; you are not the one taking off.

They are different things.

On the other hand, when you work in your own company, the money you earn or lose is entirely yours. And making the right decisions becomes much more important.

That is why founders often find it hard to say yes to a proposal that a C-level executive is completely convinced about, while we have more doubts: it is not their money, but ours. And if it does not work out as expected, the consequences affect them far less..

A personal business can be similar in terms of what you risk by taking certain actions. Or by not taking them. But it differs from a company in another key respect: the staff and how they are managed.

When I talk about a company versus a personal business, the main difference in my mind—although there are others—is this: managing people with whom you expect to have a long-term relationship.

It is not a supplier with whom you can end the professional relationship if things do not work out.

No.

You have to make an effort to choose the right people.

Make an effort to bring out the best in them.

And if, despite trying, things do not go as expected, it is not easy to tell someone they are not right for the role. Nor is it easy to accept our own mistakes at the different stages of the process.

You only gain those lessons when you create a company. And in this respect, in terms of the experience gained, I have more than achieved my goal.

Another goal that matters just as much to me has also been achieved: self-fulfilment.

It is very easy to talk and judge what others do or do not do from a bar stool. Proving to yourself that you could create value from scratch and then speaking with facts is harder.

Rolling up your sleeves and delivering, in the good times and the not-so-good ones, is what makes me proud of what I have created.

That said, in my case I will tell you that my expectations were not particularly high. Or perhaps they were; it depends on how each person sees it.

I knew I wanted to build something that met three conditions:

1. It would reach two million euros in revenue and…
2. It would be profitable and…
3. It would run by itself. Or at least without me.

In other words, to have a fully established.

Yo pongo el hielo has met all three conditions:

After two years coming close to two million, in 2024 we generated €2,227,000 in revenue.

Achievement 1 unlocked.

As for profitability, our business model made us profitable almost from the start. There is little to add here.

Achievement 2 unlocked.

The question was whether it would remain profitable without one of the founding partners.

Or if a major unforeseen event occurred.

And in recent years, the entire foundation of the project has been put to the test.

First, at the end of 2023, when an extremely large-scale DDoS attack—not a normal one—combined with a negative SEO attack left our website offline for a day and a half and cost us half of our organic traffic along the way. That forced us to replace all the project's internal technology and improve it enormously.

You know the saying: whatever does not kill you makes you stronger.

It also tested our marketing mix, which passed with flying colours: despite the SEO decline, revenue continued to grow. At the cost, admittedly, of investing a little more in paid channels.

We have built a robust model that we are happy with and that was tested again this year by inexplicable changes to our Google Merchant account, which dramatically reduced the traffic Google Ads brought us.

And we did not notice it in either revenue or profit, because the investment was redirected to other channels.

Besides marketing and customers, the resilience of the team was also tested.

To begin with, in a team of ten, a few days before Black Friday, two people had to take several weeks off. At the same time, right in our busiest season.

Once again, we passed the test with distinction.

We had to bring someone into the warehouse temporarily and cover the other person's work as best we could. Even so, we processed more orders per day than ever, and the revenue records were absolutely crazy.

On the other hand, since I had already decided to leave at the beginning of last year, from the first quarter onward I gradually delegated my tasks to the team. I optimised processes and trained people wherever necessary. That continued throughout the year.

January was the final test, as I barely had to review the odd issue and did not have to take part in the sales campaign at all, for example. The financial results were good and in line with previous campaigns that I did manage.

The result is that the machine is well oiled at every level and ready to keep growing.

So I am calm on this front too: I have achieved what I set out to do 12 years ago, and my departure leaves the company more than ready to face its new challenges.

Achievement 3 unlocked.

Goals achieved.

Motivation

Of course, once you achieve what you wanted or were looking for, motivation can easily fade.

And that is what happened to me this past year: I found everything related to Yo pongo el hielo harder to do.

It made me feel lazy in a way other projects did not, projects where the adrenaline flowed and I woke up eager to grab the PC and get on with whatever needed doing.

This lack of motivation has always been a clear sign to me that it was time to change jobs. And that moment arrived here too.

It did not happen after two or three years, as it did when I worked for someone else. It took 12. Well, 11 if we exclude the final year, which is when it happened.

And I genuinely believe you cannot manage anything without motivation.

Not a job, not a company.

And certainly not your own.

That is why, having experienced and felt it firsthand, I am so opposed to the idea of a civil servant's job for life.

Because I do not believe anyone who has spent 30 years doing the same thing is motivated to get up and do it well again the next day.

But that is not today's subject.

The point is that I needed to find motivation again. And that was going to be difficult at Yo pongo el hielo.

Built to be sold

As I mentioned, before I got down to work I had often flirted with the idea of starting a company, but it never crossed my mind that it would become an empire. You have already seen that my expectations were fairly modest—reasonable, even.

I was not planning to build a business to leave to my son.

The goals were different and simpler. So was the way of doing things.

Because my intention was always to sell.

Come up with the idea, build it, grow it, sell it.

That is all.

And perhaps repeat the process.

Once I was inside and saw how quickly this sector moves, I think that was a sensible decision and a dose of realism on my part.

Because I could not agree more with the following quote from Robin Sharma:

Robin Sharma

“Everyone dreams of being a legend until it is time to do the work of one.”

Robin Sharma

I have seen what it takes to build major e-commerce projects from scratch without investment, like TiendAnimal.

And it is not easy.

And it is not luck.

And I know I am not willing to do what it takes.

The company is at its best

As I said earlier regarding the goals, the company is being left in an excellent position in terms of systems and the internal team.

But if you look at the numbers, it is even better:

• 100,000 customers.
• 30,000 subscribers to our communications (that has incalculable value).
• More than €2 million in annual revenue.
• Uninterrupted double-digit annual growth. January remains on the same path, so I expect 2025 to set another record.
• Our marketing mix works even when unexpected problems arise. And we have identified certain areas for improvement that are already being addressed.
• Everything I used to do is covered. If someone joins to replace me—which is not certain—they can only add value, so that is great.
• There is also enough cash on hand to pay every employee for a full year. That means decisions can be made calmly rather than out of necessity.
• And, of course, what I mentioned earlier: complete confidence in the team. Partners and employees.

I am certain that, at this point, I can pull a Kroos and the project will carry on just fine without me.

The financial perspective

I left this point until the end because, in my case, it was the least important of all. But the financial aspect clearly always has to be considered when making a momentous decision like this.

Looking coldly at the time and income data for my three business lines in 2024, the company takes up most of my working time—42%, to be precise. That was expected, although it is useful to put it on paper and confirm it.

As for income, things balance out: in 2024 it generated the same 42% of my income.

In other words, the effort and return balance out.

As you can see in the link, consulting is the most profitable line for me.

Training is the least profitable but the most scalable.

And since I do not want to work 60-hour weeks again this year, I have to cut back somewhere.

The decision almost made itself: if the company is not the most profitable route and is no longer what motivates me most, leaving this line seems the most logical choice.

Even though I lose security, obviously.

In exchange, I gain a great deal of time to do whatever I consider worthwhile.

And that is freedom.

One of the things I value most in life.

My current situation with Yo pongo el hielo

The first thing I want to explain is that, for some years now, Yo pongo el hielo itself, together with four other companies, has belonged to a holding company, whose shares are divided among us partners.

We are currently negotiating the sale of my shares in the holding company either to the group itself or to one of the partners.

It seemed that we had reached an agreement months ago, when we began planning my departure, but now that everything is being put in writing, loose ends are appearing.

That is normal.

But they are two separate matters:

• One is my departure from managing the company, which takes effect tomorrow, January 31.
• The other is the sale of the shares, which has no set date.

When we resolve the loose ends or an offer arrives—internal or external—that I consider suitable, I will sell them.

I am in no hurry because, until then, I will treat it as one more investment. One that will pay me dividends every year in the meantime and will also appreciate in value, given the group's trajectory and strength. My confidence is absolute.

On the other hand, the idea is for me to continue collaborating on the project from outside. We have discussed certain strategic areas, mainly.

After all, I know the company, the sector and where it wants to go, and I have a fairly clear idea of the next steps. Even though I would rather explain those steps than take them myself.

We will have to turn all this into something concrete over the coming weeks.

And now, what next…

It has been a long journey.

With many, many wonderful moments.

And others that were not so wonderful, of course. Saying otherwise would be a lie.

But it has been hugely worthwhile.

It has all been very much like a relationship.

One of those that lasts for years and generally works well. But time, routine and different interests gradually pull the two sides apart.

Now it is time to start living separate lives, already knowing that things will go well for both sides.

There will still be some contact because we share assets. And both of us will be there if the other needs support.

In a different way, but always as a source of support.

That is what happens when you do things properly.

And from now on, what?

When one stage ends, new paths open up. In my case, it is now time to focus on other projects.

Some are already under way and I have mentioned them before, such as Círculo Copy, my academy for AI, copywriting and digital business, while others still need to be launched and I will tell you about them in due course.

That said, every week you will find me here or on my newly launched YouTube channel, talking about digital business, analytics, artificial intelligence and marketing.

So, if you feel like it, see you next week.