Article from Bucharest Business Week
A multimillionaire by his mid-30s. Now, aged 39, slim, athletic-looking and dressed in well-tailored clothes, Marius Ghenea faces the enviable task of spending his vast, well-earned fortune, reputed to be around 35 million Euro. A check of his personal website (www.ghenea.ro/com) shows that world travel is obviously one of his favorite hobbies. The more exotic the destination, the happier he seems to be – from Bora-Bora to Aruba and the Seychelles.
But while Ghenea loves to experience world culture with his wife of five years, Gabriela, and 4-year-old child, Mario, he also keeps a firm finger on the pulse of business trends in Romania and a keen eye open for opportunity. That’s how he managed recently to turn a one million Euro investment in a construction materials company into a three million Euro profit – in a mere nine months. “Radu Mircescu, the founder of the metallic tile business, was putting the roof on the holiday home of Cornel Marian, head of Oresa Ventures, whom I worked with at Flanco, and asked him if he knew of a potential investor for his company,” Ghenea explained during a two- hour interview with BBW at Residence Hotel in Bucharest. “Cornel called me and the rest is history.”Viking Profil, the Ploiesti-based company, was bought by the Polish-based, Pruszynski group. “We were not in an exit mood at the time,” said Ghenea, who was one of the founders of electronic retail chain, Flamingo. “But companies from the UK, Scandinavia and Poland were interested in having a footprint in Romania and they used scouts to find us. It took about ten weeks from first contact to final deal signing.” Risk and gainGhenea’s business ventures don’t stop there.
He presently has several million Euro of combined investments in Online Fashion Group (selling branded clothes on-line); PCFun.ro (on-line store); Electrofun.ro (on-line sales, mainly consumer-electronics and home-appliances); FitDistribution (a distributor of computer components); Orbital Solution (specializing in heating and thermal comfort products for large residential developments); and Casa Casia (indoor advertising with a system using mirrors patented under the AddMirror franchise).
“Some of these may mature in six months, some in five to six years time; in some there may even be an IPO,” said the Craiova-born business leader and former Renel engineer.
Asked how he managed to accrue such a personal fortune in a mere decade or so, Ghenea modestly acknowledges the vital role of ‘Lady Luck.’
“I have been fortunate to be able to surf the waves,” he said, with a knowing smile, sipping a cold beer. “In the mid-90s it was the electronic consumer goods market with Flamingo. In 2000, it was the consumer credit wave. In 2005, it was on-line sales and this year, it is the construction field. Coincidences and opportunities came together and helped me catch the rising tide before it hit the shore.”
Being so rich, Ghenea admits that – in priority order – it is now status; satisfaction and fun; and, then money that make him feel successful.
“I like meeting new people, learning new things and enjoying bringing a good business idea to final fruition,” he said.
Of course, not all entrepreneurial ideas put to him – he receives about five a day – have turned out to be overnight goldmines.
“I’ve had a few bizarre ideas come my way,” he said.. “One man came to me with the idea of selling jellyfish as household pets. Another had an idea for growing mushrooms and another was convinced high-rise metal car parking towers are the way of the future. As most of the ideas that come to me turn out to be junk, it means there is a lot of filtering to be done to find a good one.”
Angels and entrepreneurs
Considering himself as both an entrepreneur and an angel investor, BBW asked Ghenea to define both terms specifically in the context of Romania’s business climate evolution.
” An angel has both experience and money – and few people in Romania have both these characteristics, so there are few angel investors here,” he explained. “The reasons are that many could-be angels have decided to develop their businesses in the sectors that are familiar to them. In addition, entrepreneurial maturation in Romania has been short – 18 years, from 1990. The mid-90s was a rough time, with high inflation and devaluation. Most entrepreneurs really only made exits in 2000, so until then they could not be angels. Then they became interested in real estate and property and put most of their money there, leaving little for them to become true business angels.”
As for entrepreneurialism in Romania? “Again, time has been short,” he said. “It only began in 1990. And while other countries in eastern Europe, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, were allowed some degree of entrepreneurial ventures under communism – even if it was only shoe-repair stall or a small grocery shop – Romanians were denied this altogether. All such enterprises were torn down and put into the hands of the state. This destroyed the generational entrepreneurial link. My parents were not raised with such a spirit. Only their parents could pass this on to me but they were already quite old when I was growing up.”
He continued, “Entrepreneurialism is hard to achieve and only now is really showing up in Romania. Earlier here, they were looked upon as simply people stealing money.”
Defining the strongest characteristics of entrepreneurs, Ghenea said they are: ” ‘peculiar’ people with vision, energy, charisma and determination,” adding, “They are workaholics who go all-night, 24-7. And often, they do not have wide-ranging interests or encyclopedic minds with a vast array of knowledge. Of the ten richest men on earth, eight are not graduates. The reason is simple: successful entrepreneurs often start their businesses early and do not have time to finish college.”
One of the problems with Romanian entrepreneurs, he added, is that they can have too many different ideas at one time. “They flutter like flies and need to focus better and realize more fully that not everything with wings is edible,” he said.
One of the other difficulties for entrepreneurs, he added, is the challenge of working within formal structures. “This is one advantage angel investors have over investment funds: they have less bureaucracy to deal with; there are no equity group boards,” he said. “Business angels act like associate or strategic entrepreneurs. They like to become involved, at a level that is comfortable for the entrepreneur. My experiences at Flamingo helped me in this respect. We were three entrepreneurs initially there – I, Dragos Cinca and Varol Islam – sharing the same vision and combining complementary skills together.”
Asked about the Romanian entrepreneurs he admires most, he named Dan Sucu “for his charisma and friendship;” Florin Andronescu “for vision and ideas;” Dragos Cinca “for determination and intelligence;” Octavian Radu “for his capacity to understand many unrelated businesses;” and Radu Georgescu “as an example of the success of the new Romanian IT entrepreneurs.”
Of the foreign entrepreneurs, Ghenea cites Richard Branson “for his being so crazy in such a great way;” Bill Gates “for being simply the best;” Michael Dell “for the garage-model turned direct-model success;” Steve Jobs “for an unsurpassed marketing vision;” and “last but not least,” Larry Page and Sergey Brin “for proving that one doesn’t need to be a college dropout to become a billionaire – they both have Masters degrees in computer science at Stanford and even attempted to do their PhDs.”
He added, ” And let’s not forget Thomas Alva Edison – for inventing the light-bulb and accidentally founding the largest US corporation, General Electric.”
Having fun
Financial success has allowed Ghenea to see most of the world – more than 80 countries so far – thus satisfying his passion for history, geography and archaeology. But he readily admits, “there are so many more places yet to visit that I am sure will keep me busy for quite a few years.” While abroad, he enjoys scuba diving and, since becoming PADI qualified seven years ago, he has gone searching deep beneath many of the earth’s waters including the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans; and the Mediterranean, Red and Caribbean Seas.
His global travels have also allowed him to expand a unique collection he began some years ago – of world maps. “One needs to know where one is going in life after all,” he added, smiling.
Favorites:
Country – Netherlands: people; landscape; cleanliness; infrastructure.
City – Singapore: the cleanest, most beautiful and most developed equatorial city in the world.
Food – real German bratwurst with mustard, always with a good beer.
Drink – Mai Tai and Glenfiddich whisky.
Bucharest restaurant – Casa di David: excellent cuisine, outstanding service and great location (close to my home).
Restaurant abroad – Scirocco, outdoor on the 64th floor of Bangkok’s State Tower Lebua (great dining and skyline view).
Hotel in Romania – Radisson, appears to have good standards and many restaurants and bars.
Hotel abroad – Saint Regis New York; prestige, location (at 55th and 5th).
Holiday destination – Kauai Island, Hawaii.
Last vacation taken – Boston and Cape Cod, USA (Provincetown with Mayflower stories, plus whale watching).
Airline – Singapore Airlines, best service in big airline league.
Movie – The Heartbreak Kid, with Ben Stiller & Michelle Monaghan), a classic comedy.
Author – Milan Kundera, especially ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being.’ So European and post-modernist and doing his magic like Garcia Marquez with a magical-realist approach.
Last book read – “When will Jesus bring the pork chops,” by George Carlin, an iconoclast writer.
Car – Range Rover Supercharged, simply the best car in its class.
Hobby – Map collecting.
Sport – diving: best place – Great Barrier Reef.
Team – Universitatea Craiova (once great, maybe again; I’m a sponsor).
Music – classical (Mozart, Bach, Chopin, Vivaldi).
Role model – a Branson-Gates “combo.”
Office gadget – Dell Latitude notebook.
Date and place of birth – 4 June, 1968, Craiova.
Birth sign – Gemini.
Comments 19
Felicitari, domnule Ghenea !
Interesant. Bravo pentru performantele si flerul in afaceri, ati ajuns mai departe decat ceilalti doi manageri din Flamingo.
De ce nu merge site-ul Fit Distribution?
Author
Buna seara,
Multumesc pentru aprecieri, nu cred insa ca ar fi vorba de o competitie cu ceilalti colegi impreuna cu care am fondat, cu 15 ani in urma, prima companie (Flamingo). Sunt doi oameni exceptionali si cu care impreuna am avut numeroase reusite in business.
Imi cer scuze pentru problema intampinata pe site-ul FIT Distribution, in momentul de fata incercam sa facem un face-lift si pana atunci ar fi trebuit ca site-ul respectiv sa fie redirectat catre http://www.pcfun.ro, site care reprezinta suficient de bine gama de produse si activitatea FIT, fiind practic unitatea de business online a companiei. Am sa rog colegii de la Dep. IT sa rezolve aceasta situatie.
Multumesc pentru feedback,
Marius Ghenea.
As dori sa incep o afacere dar as dori parerea dumneavoastra.Daca sunteti amabil as vrea sa va trimit un email.
-E-Mail cristiallx@yahoo.com
Va Multumesc.
Author
Cristian,
Sigur, ai adresa mea de e-mail in rubrica de contact din site!
Marius Ghenea.
Ceea ce apreciez la dumneavoastra, d.le Marius Ghenea, este faptul ca, desi consider ca ati muncit mult pentru a avea un profit substantial in afaceri, nu sunteti robul banului. Auzeam deunazi la televizor un om de afaceri care oarecum se lauda ca in ultimii cinci ani nu a fost deloc in concediu, caci atunci cand intri in business nu mai ai timp pentru “distractii”. Desigur, este adevarat ca sunteti un om educat, cu studii si foarte citit (dupa cum se poate vedea pe site-ul dvs), dar ma bucur sa vad ca nu strangeti bani la ciorap, ci ii folositi cu “cap” si “din suflet”, pentru descoperirea si intelegerea lumii in care traiti si a oamenilor care o populeaza. As vrea sa pot avea aceleasi cuvinte frumoase despre dvs. si peste 10 ani. Mult succes si toate cele bune!
Buna seara,
Vroiam sa va intreb ce parere aveti despre aceasta criza financiara cu repercusiuni in imobiliare … credeti ca piata isi va reveni. ? Multumesc in avans pt. raspuns
Author
Daniel,
Cred ca un raspuns scurt la o asemenea intrebare nu poate fi un raspuns bun. Ar trebui o analiza mai ampla si nici aceea nu ti-ar da, mi-e teama, un raspuns clar. Nu exista un “glob de cristal” in care sa ne uitam. Ce pot sa spun este ca in Romania, in opinia mea, ceea ce va avea valoare pe termen lung in imobiliare va fi acel tip de proprietate situata in locatii deosebite, nu proprietatile aflate in locatii secundare. Mi-e greau insa sa spun ce inseamna “locatie deosebita” (americanii numesc asa ceva “prime location”), insa daca as vedea o asemenea locatie, cred ca as recunoaste-o…
Marius Ghenea.
“He presently has several million Euro of combined investments in Online Fashion Group (selling branded clothes on-line)”
Pot primi va rog un link catre shopul online mai sus mentionat ?
Multumesc anticipat,
victor
Author
Victor,
Multumesc pentru intrebare, intr-adevar exista un asemenea proiect online, dar lansarea site-ului este estimata in perioada de Craciun, anul acesta, asa ca deocamdata nu pot sa indic un link deoarece tot proiectul este in lucru. Imediat ce va fi functional, voi posta cu siguranta niste informatii pe blog.
Marius Ghenea.
I’ll keep an eye on the blog then 🙂
Thanks for the info .
Buna ziua,
Ma numesc Irina Tenu si sunt studenta in anul doi la EMBA Asebuss. In cadrul proiectului din SUA, echipa din care fac parte trebuie sa prezinte un material referitor la “Raising capital for start-up companies”, asa ca, am conceput un chestionar destinat fiecarei categorii de finantator. Datorita renumelui de angel investor, m-am gandit ca ati fi cel mai indicat sa completati acest chestionar in calitate de Angel Investor.
In cazul in care vreti sa ma ajutati va pot trimite acest chestionar la o adresa de email. (Am incercat la cele trei adrese de pe site si nu a functionat)
Multumesc.
Caut investitor pentru a realiza un prototip perpetuum.Suma necesara 15.000euro.Propuneri la e-mail energieieftina@gmail.com
Stimate domnule Marius Ghenea,
Ma numesc Janina Bucur, sunt stabilita de 12 ani in Grecia (Atena) si ofer consultanta firmelor grecesti pentru Romania. Sunt absolventa a Facultatii de biologie din Iasi si am activat in diferite domenii: profesoara,ziarista, translatoare,manager artistic,director vanzari,manager birou plasare forta de munca,manager restaurant organic.
Pentru a trece direct la subiect va propun mai multe proiecte care mi s-au parut interesante In cazul in care sunteti interest va rog sa-mi comunicati pentru a va oferi mai multe detalii.
1.tehnologie inovatoare pentru obtinerea de materiale de constructie prin reciclare deseuri- patent certificat de American Society for Testing Materials si British Standards Institution
2.tehnologie de curatire a apelor poluate prin ultrasunete- patent
3.realizare de magazin si site ‘CADOURI TRAZNITE.RO”
4. FIRMA DE TOP din Grecia de e-commerce este interesata de achizionare firma similara din Romania(ex. E-MAG)
5.companie farmaceutica este interesata de intrarea pe piata romaneasca prin achizitionarea unul lant de distributie- farmacii
6. companie care detine magazine cu produse electronice interesata de a achizitiona magazine de profil in Romania
7.cultivare Stevia rebaundiana pentru productie de zahar cu 0% calorii
8.tehnologie productie trabucuri
In momentul de fata lucrez la Programul Be smart- catering(fast-food) bio,dietetic,ecologic,functional(smart=produse pentru elevi si studentI pentru imbunatatirea IQ),cu sprijinul Ministerului Invatamantului din Grecia
In cazul in care aveti si dvs. Propuneri de colaborare nu pregetati sa ma contactati
Cu stima,
Janina Bucur
Romania’s Cultural Center
Plastira 2 ,Athens
Tel.0030-2105816929
Mobil. 6944897197
Author
Pentru Janina Bucur:
Multumesc pentru mesaj, pentru propuneri si pentru incredere, din pacate in aceasta perioada nu pot prelua noi proiecte intrucat am deja un numar mare de proiecte start-up demarate recent si nu mai pot incepe in prezent altele noi precum cele foarte numeroase si diverse propuse de dvs.
Marius Ghenea.
Interesting background and history. Would you consider a partnership for a new product launch in Europe/UK? We are a cleantech startup with products in energy reduction/carbon footprint reduction for small business and homeowners. Part of our launch strategy is Europe but need market savy partner to get us there.
Bill (Texas, USA)
I am somewhat perplexed as to why Mr Ghenea finds growing mushrooms bizarre? Nearly all people eat them at some stage.
Va salut
Am incercat sa va contactez prin Redactorul emisiunii Arena Leilor dar am primit raspuns ca doar daca vin in direct la emisiune.Este imposibil sa prezint inventia in direct.Motive multe….
Nu am reusit sa va contactez in alt mod.
Va rog intrati pe ,pagina personala http://www.research-tehnologies.ro
este cartea mea de vizita munca de o viata
Propunerea mea este simpla Putem oare face impreuna ceva pentru a reduce accidentele pe drumurile publice
a salva viata a proteja proprietatea investind o suma derizorie in cel mai revolutionar produs de pe piata internationala .
Va garantez un succes extrem de rapid la nivel international cu,conditia obtinerii unui patent international.
Este un produs 100% conceput de mine atit hardware cit si software urmare a 30 de ani experienta in domeniu.
Este destinat uzului militar dar si civil.
Acesta este motivul pentru care nu am dorit sa apar in emisiunea Arena leilor.Sincer de 18 ani incerc sa gasesc un partener de afacere.
Mai multe informatii va pot da doar telefonic ori prin email.
Aveti toata increderea si incercati sa ma contactati.
0040724241491
Va multumesc
Gheorghe R
Research Tehnologies srl
Deva Ro.
Author
Multumesc pentru propunere, si eu v-as recomanda acelasi lucru, sa faceti un proiect pe care sa incercati sa il prezentati in Arena Leilor. Succes!
Marius Ghenea.