Leart Zogjani: the Power that Comes from Working with the ‘Right’ People

Skins Agency is a strategic design agency, with global outreach based in Prishtina, Kosovo. Founder Leart Zogjani joined ScaleUp Kosovo (a community of entrepreneurs) in the summer of 2019, as Swiss EP got started in the country. ScaleUP Kosovo aims to boost the performance of startups and intensify the network with other founders in Kosovo.

Swiss EP: During the last year, you have worked with a series of Swiss EP experts. What's your key takeaway from this learning journey?

Leart: First of all, I want to highlight that the conversations with the experts have been superb! Not only did we get new information, and in some cases, very concrete actionable steps to be taken, but the follow-up with them proved crucial in dire times :)

Swiss EP: It all started with Barbara Fischer and Howard Kingston, I believe.

Leart: That's right. The quality of these first two experts was essential for us all. It showed to the community that ScaleUP Kosovo is different. It could deliver experts with expertise that matched our exact needs as startups. Howard talked about a concierge MVP, something I've been looking to implement for a while. Although we are not yet there, it will come in handy soon. Barbara helped with the finances, which shaped up my pitch deck and helped land the acceleration program.

Swiss EP: Acceleration program?

Leart: 2019 turned out to be an exciting year for us at Skins Agency. We were accepted at the Startup Yard Accelerator in the Czech Republic. Acceptance was a huge step forward for us and a confirmation that we were on the right track.

Swiss EP: Amazing! But it was not all roses, I understand.

Leart: True. It's in times of trouble you realize who your real friends and supporters are. Here I think of Keith Ippel of course. Keith was terrific in helping us shape up how we viewed the product; that helped us shape the pitch and land the acceleration program (with funding) in Prague. Later on, when we were in a tight spot, Keith sent a few tips that got me out of a dark place ;) And I added that advice to my mindset for constant use :).

Swiss EP: Keith is definitely unique. We are lucky to have him. Later on, there was also Scott Rafer, right?

Leart: Indeed. Wow, what expertise, what learning for me! Scott talked to me about startups that scale fast position themselves within a trend. Ever since then, we started positioning ourselves from a messaging and marketing perspective within a trend wave. We are now getting two to three emails a month from investors who want to meet us, as the product "talks the trend talk". We still won't be closing a more significant investment until we hit the market and have some more traction, but it's certainly encouraging.

Swiss EP: That's fantastic. What impact.

Leart: We should not forget to mention Fil Guijarro and Rita Katona on sales and marketing, respectively. With them, I've created a to-do list that I haven't had the time to implement yet, but it's very well laid out and clarified many issues for Skins Agency and Symbolt. In fact, this to-do has already been implemented in part for Skins Agency, and we'll be reaping results soon. That was in regards to targeting and positioning by way of filtering.

Swiss EP: Symbolt?

Leart: Symbolt is a product of my time in Prague. It's a spin-off platform focusing on intelligent design and revision that allows clients to quickly and easily make copy changes in a designed document without breaking the design".

Swiss EP: Entrepreneurial spirit is flowing strong, I see. Great. Well, we wish you all the success in the future. Any closing remarks for Swiss EP?

Leart: Yes. Thank you very much for your efforts. They were precious for us all, and you have made a long-lasting impact, so PLEASE keep going ☺ !