Leaving the comfort zone and initiating the challenges necessary to achieve your goals will always represent the beginning of the road to success for those who are successful. This is exactly the case of Francesco Riviera, an Italian entrepreneur and professional salesman, who, at only 25 years old, has managed to forge a renowned career in elements such as marketing and e-commerce.

From a very young age, the passion and dedication to study the functioning of the Web and online marketing were constant in Riviera’s life. That is why, at the age of 20, he decided to embark on a new path.

Already a graduate in accounting and with extensive knowledge of Facebook Business, as he had spent much of his time studying this tool, he developed Tesoro Communication. A marketing agency focused on social management and content development.

This represented the beginning of its growth, as clients were not long in coming, allowing both the company and Riviera to reach a high level. But this was just the beginning. Soon after, the company positioned itself as “GIFKING’, having first launched Instagram’s custom gifs in the European market, which further increased its recognition.

Today, it has produced more than 3,000 animated gifs in one year. Companies, events, public figures, artists, influencers, have requested his services. Among the most prominent are Philipp Plein, 6ix9ine, Stefano Gabbana, Willy William, Philippe Model, Radio Italia, Laura Pausini, Vasco Rossi, Italian singers and rappers, among others.

From accountant to GIF King of Instagram

Surrounding himself with local family businesses has been a great opportunity for Riviera to approach different marketing processes. However, it has been his constant curiosity in technological advances and the evolution of marketing processes to the internet that has motivated him to turn his passion into a successful business.

Starting his idea from scratch was the biggest challenge he has ever faced. Obstacles and fears were not lacking along the way. However, focus and persistence in achieving his goals were the engines that drove him to start and still do.

For this young entrepreneur, it is possible to sell anything nowadays, you just need to have the mentality to adapt to the situations, transmitting the exact objective and message of what you want.

How to do this? From his perspective, success in a venture comes by considering the following aspects:

The results of building day-to-day

For this young man, it is necessary never to give up thinking that there is really a winning strategy. Marching step by step, error by error, is the technique to which he adjusts his goals. For it ensures that results are built with effort on a daily basis and not shortly after they have begun.

Overcoming fear and ignoring others’ judgments

According to Riviera’s perspective, the greatest limitations of an entrepreneur are the fear and negative judgment of people in your environment. Overcoming the former and ignoring the latter is elementary from his perspective.

“Usually, you will only be criticized by people who do not have the willpower and the thinking that you have.” Overcoming the fear of failure will allow you to see a path more clearly towards the top. “Keep in mind that to succeed you have to make mistakes, make mistakes all the time, and establish a performance-based life routine.”

Philosophy 80-20

One of the keys to success for this young entrepreneur is the philosophy where mentality represents 80 per cent and skills 20 per cent. Having a very high goal, confidence, and security in it, is what will open a wide list of possible actions to carry out what you propose.

Back to the base

Things will not always be positive or easy. And it is precisely at this point that Riviera proposes “return to base”. Work on self-evaluation and analysis processes to correct mistakes, work on it, and start again to scale up all the objectives.

Thinking “if I give up, how do I do it” is the point to notice that failure is part of learning and it will always be possible to start again.

A winning team

Teamwork is a fundamental strategy for this Italian entrepreneur. In his opinion, “A winning team, with its own ideas, is the basis for success in business.” And it is this that helps forge a path to victory.

After overcoming his fear of online exposure, he turned down hundreds of clients for not considering them committed to the work at hand and enjoying great achievements. Riviera believes he still has some way to go.

His main goal has been to become an online business coach through social media, thus contributing to supporting people who want to turn their lives around in this environment.

Traveling, achieving financial freedom, and feeling that he has achieved all the goals he has set for himself is the approach that keeps Riviera growing and learning. Even though he is an experienced entrepreneur, he believes that there is always something new to learn in order to move towards the goal.