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'Make every venture reach its full potential'

The Local Spain
The Local Spain - [email protected]
'Make every venture reach its full potential'

The Local talks to Max Dodinet, a manager at My Major Company, one of the top crowdfunding platforms in Spain, about choosing projects that have the potential to triumph.

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Driven by a passion for music, this 33-year-old Frenchman has found Spain to be the ideal place to develop his career on a project that enrols internet users in financing young artists.

What is your role in the company and how did you get started working there?

I´m responsible for managing every single aspect of the website. I´ve been involved in this project since its birth in Spain, even though it was something that had been going on for years in France, where it all started. I got in touch with the chairman, who was looking for a coordinator to set up the site and since then we pursued the venture together, which has been doing great in terms of popularity.

Why did you come to Spain?

Before starting work at My Major Company I was already living in Spain. I have been living here for eleven years doing different jobs. I lived in Valencia for some years and then I moved to Madrid.

What does a normal day consist of for you?

I am responsible for the screening and selection of projects which will feature on our site,  controlling the budget within the company and also dealing with media and public relations. This means I have a lot of intense days. Technical support is provided from France but my everyday workload involves all of those things.

What is the most important thing for a crowdfounding campaign to succeed?

A key feature of having a good campaign is to first hold a good position in the world of social media . This plays a big part in the success of each project. I can offer my help in any field, and give advice, but it´s necessary that people bring some support to the campaign and collaborate with money. We can´t do that, we can´t fund anybody. Our mission is to make every venture reach its full potential. That´s why we look to social media, even if it´s only an indication to measure the possible success of having financial backing.

Do known and unknown artists co-exist on this network?

Yes, these days, a lot of famous artists are not backed up by record labels and so, we can offer them help from a financial perspective, introduce them to new markets and promote them. It´s all about making them as famous as possible.

What guidelines do you follow during the project selection process?

We choose them in two different ways. One method is to screen the incoming projects, and determine if they´re workable. The other is with the help of my personal contacts, because people know my work and sometimes I see potential in some bands.

What was your job before My Major Company came your way?

I´d been working in Spain for communication and marketing agencies. In Valencia, I got to know people and places connected to the music community. My circle of contacts grew bigger when I came to Madrid. As I love music, I wrote articles for some websites too.

Does My Major Company have the approval of the Spanish audience?

The company became a reference for crowdfounding cultural sites within two years. Between 2013 and 2014 we increased 20 percent of our project’s income.

What has been your most powerful campaign?

The campaign of the Spanish rapper Chojin was definitely the biggest hit in music crowdfounding in Spain. His project collected €51,000. In some way this big hit is the best marketing operation we could ever have done. The best way of advertising our site is through success stories like this.

The music industry has changed, are sites like yours contributing to this innovation?

We work with any project that has the potential to triumph. We work beyond the fundraiser, we provide contacts and marketing, we even plan publicity events. Here in Spain we have an arrangement  with Costello Club, where we organise presentation parties and events to reach as big an audience as possible. That´s why we are different from other sites, because we want to be the first choice for Spanish artists.

Interview by Agustin Millan, a Spanish journalist student based in Valencia

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