Anna Comas is CEO & Co-Founder at Min Organics, and GBSB Global Business Schools 2022 G-Accelerator winner.
Based in Barcelona, Anna has launched her own business impacting women around the world.
Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role
My name is Anna Comas, I am 25 years old and I live in Girona, Spain. In 2020 I finished my studies in Biotechnology and, later, I studied a Master in Project Management and at the same time I joined an incubator called G-Accelerator, from the GBSB, located in Barcelona. In this incubator I developed a business idea based on the bulk sale of organic menstrual products, which has become a company called Min Organics.
Right now I work as CEO of my own company, and at the same time I am a research project consultant in a consultancy.
Did you ever sit down and plan your career?
Honestly no, there has not been anything in the last few years that I have planned, rather the opposite, since at all times I have let myself be carried away by the sensations and feelings of the moment. I am a very emotional person, so thinking things through has never been something I have done.
I think this is a good way to understand life, to do what one feels, but I also have the feeling that I have let myself go for a long time and it is only now, after years, that I have stopped to analyze everything that has happened during this time. For example, I don’t know at what point I set up a company, it all happened so fast. Right now I am in a phase where I am trying to figure out what I want in my life and what path I want to follow.
Have you faced any challenges along the way?
I think a lot of them. The fact of having set up a company has meant that I have had to face very complicated scenarios.
I have found myself in situations where everything I had been working on was no longer useful from one day to the next, and I had to start over from scratch. This is very hard psychologically. There have been many, many days when I wanted to give it all up. That is why I believe that the biggest challenge I have faced, and continue to face every day, is not to give up.
What has been your biggest achievement to date?
Going back to the previous point, I firmly believe that my greatest achievement has been not giving up, and the fact of going ahead even with all the adversities and all the daily problems that arise as an entrepreneur. I had never faced anything that was so hard psychologically, and it is something that has cost me a lot to learn to manage.
I always try to see the positive side of everything that happens to me and, thanks to all this stress, I have started psychological therapy to learn to manage my emotions, so it has given me a huge life learning. now I know myself much more, which is why I also reflect so much on how I want to approach my professional career.
What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success?
i firmly believe that humility and constant hard work is what brings success, i don’t think anything is a matter of luck. one of the things i am most proud of myself is the fact that i am a hard worker, a key aspect in life but especially in the path of entrepreneurship. this is a long-distance race, and you have to be extremely constant and persistent to get here, but most of all to keep going.
On the other hand, the fact of being surrounded by people and environments that have this same work philosophy makes things much easier, so I think it is very important to know where and with whom you are.
How did GBSB Global Business School help you with your career so far?
Honestly, without having been at GBSB Global Business School I would not have gotten to where I am now. They were the ones who detected something in me and in my idea, and helped me make it a reality. In 1 year we had set up the company. It really is incredible considering that when I entered the incubator I had nothing more than a simple idea.
I will never be able to thank them for everything they have done for me, not only on a professional level, but even more on a personal level. I have met wonderful people who have found times to be mentors, and others to be friends, to be the support that I have needed in many moments, especially the Director of the G-Accelerator program, Xavier Arola. I have learned a lot from each of the people I have met there, and I am very proud to say that my company exists thanks to them.
How do you feel about mentoring? Have you mentored anyone or are you someone’s mentee?
I have not been a mentor to anyone, I think I am still a long way from that, but I have been mentored by many people during my time in the incubator. When I hear the word mentoring, I think of the person who was my mentor during the whole process of creating the company, and that was Almudena M. Ferrer, a Spanish sexologist. She has been my inspiration woman.
I think that receiving feedback and advice from a professional with a long career is something very interesting and helpful for anyone starting out, as there are many situations in which you need advice or opinion, and what better than receiving it from someone with so much experience.
If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Equality, what would it be?
I would like to see an increase of women in influential positions in different organizations, public and private. I think this would serve as a great example for future generations to see that a job position should not be determined by your gender, but simply by your worth and qualities as a professional. I would really like that, when we talk about high positions, it is not taken for granted that we are talking about a man.
I think that, fortunately, in recent times there has been a positive trend in gender equality but now is the time to take those new opportunities and to show that we can take those roles previously made for men and do a formidable job. It is very exciting to see how little by little the changes are real.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be?
It is very clear to me as I have thought about it many, many times. I would tell you to try to enjoy the journey, and not get so caught up in the day to day worries. It is a very difficult thing to do, but I feel that I have spent the last few years being overwhelmed and worried about a thousand different things, and I have forgotten to enjoy a situation that I will never live again.
Being aware of this, the positive thing I take away from it is that I am making an effort so that the Anna of the future will not have to repeat it again.
What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?
As a future challenge I see myself not only growing and expanding my business but also learning new skills to do so. I believe an entrepreneur has to master many skills in order to keep up with the growth of their business, so they can get ahead of many new problems that may encounter. I still have a vast learning process ahead of me and I’m eager to continue down this path of learning how to be a better entrepreneur.
