CARLO SANTORO
OWNER, XICG
When Carlo Santoro joined the Melbourne chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO), he was 28 and “wet behind the ears”, with no public speaking skills. Now, 10 years on, he flies overseas as frequently as a Fortune 500 executive and has networked his way to the top of 6800 members globally.
“Today, as one of eight members of the global board, I often stand up in front of 500 people and talk and be confident and be real and be myself,” says Santoro. “I finished an MBA (Masters of Business Administration) last year, but that didn’t give me the skills to be a public speaker in front of so many entrepreneurs.”
Santoro, the owner of Melbourne technology infrastructure firm
XICG.com, which turns over about $1.6 million a year, has just also launched stationery supplier office.com.au and Flight Experience, a flight simulation franchise. But it’s his three-year EO contract that really gives him the glamour lifestyle. A full calendar of events has him in Berlin, Las Vegas, Alabama, Shanghai and India from August to January.
The attraction is the international networking and the zeal of the entrepreneurs for what they do.
“Put 500 of us together in one hotel and the conversations are amazing,” Santoro says. “You get blown away by some people’s stories – how they started and the pain they’ve gone through and how they got the money and how they’ve been broke four times.
“You don’t have the sort of conversations you do at normal cocktail parties about what sort of car you drive, where you live and what school you went to.”
Some members have quadrupled their turnover and exited their businesses for hundreds of millions, he says. A unique breed, entrepreneurs not only have healthy egos, but are also passionate risk-takers, he says. Many would do what they do for free if they had to.
The high-end networking experience has also personally given Santoro “all sorts of things I’d never have been able to do otherwise”.
“One of my biggest gains has been self-development. I’ve financially gained from the extra customers and extra credibility, from the knowledge base of dealing with other entrepreneurs and doing deals. But communicating and working with people in different networks and understanding those networks is the number-one gain,” he says.
“It’s allowed me to become much more confident with my style and how I build my business.”
The peer-to-peer networking is inspirational, he says. “We all talk the same language, we’ve all got the same problems. HR issues, venture capital issues, exit issues and family stuff.”
Providing impetus to the growth of such networking groups across Australia and globally is the entrepreneurial reality – it can be lonely at the top. While many networks are open to corporate players, there are clear benefits in sharing ideas and strategies with a select gathering of fellow entrepreneurial spirits.
Entrepreneurs who join the EO are usually referred by members and must:
- be aged under 50,
- have yearly turnover of more than $US1million,
- be a business owner or the main shareholder, and
- employ at least three staff
For more information visit: www.eonetwork.org
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