Our story: where we came from and where we are going (Part 1)

Hi ,

Arcadina has already been around for 22 years 🎉, which is no small feat. And although it feels incredible now, I can still clearly remember the day Jose Alberto and I decided to start it.

We were two young aspiring entrepreneurs 🚀, with solid academic and professional training, but greener than lettuce 🥬 when it came to running a business. We had no help, no real business management experience. What we did have was plenty of enthusiasm, boldness, and a strong determination. And without that, it’s almost impossible to launch a company.

At first, we wanted to create software for PDAs, the ancestors of today’s smartphones. But very soon, an unexpected opportunity appeared: to develop management software for the professional photographers’ association of Valencia. That’s how PhotoGestión was born. Later, thanks to an agreement with the national federation FEPFI, we expanded nationwide. That gave us visibility and allowed us to grow our client base.

From there, we fearlessly launched all sorts of projects in the photography and video sector 🎥: StudioWeb, The Digital Gallery, Private FTP, The Photographer’s Shop, The Lab, PhotoDirectory… and I’m sure I’m forgetting some. Oh, and also the Arcadina Agenda, which at the time was quite popular.

As you can see, we weren’t afraid of starting new projects 💡. But sometimes that courage backfires: when you try to do everything, you end up not giving each project the detail and quality it deserves.

And of course, not everything along the way was easy. We went through good times and hard times, even financial crises that shook us. And all of this happened in the middle of national and global crises that affected us too. But one thing never failed us: the excitement and the goal of building a project that could grow and endure over time.

That’s the first part of our story. But a decisive moment was coming: we had to choose a direction, let go ⚖️ and reinvent ourselves.

👉 I’ll tell you more in the next issue.

Best regards,
 Félix