![\"Nuvola](\"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/SBDC-Success-Story_Juan-Carlos-Abello-NUVOLA-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Perhaps no other industry relies as heavily on customer service as the hotel industry.<\/p>\n
So, imagine if there was a way for guests to communicate to staff directly and conveniently through the touch of a button on their mobile phone. And imagine if guests would be notified of happy hour specials while walking by the bar in real time, allowing hotels to gather behavioral data and provide better service.<\/p>\n
That communication platform was imagined and created. Now, it is offered by a guest service management software developed by Nuvola, a Miami-based company founded by Juan Carlos Abello, who worked as a manager at various hotels.<\/p>\n But while Abello developed a solution for hotels, he needed solutions of his own to grow his new startup business.<\/p>\n He heard about the Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge, a contest for startup entrepreneurs, through Florida International University (FIU), his alma mater. While creating the video presentation for the contest, Abello then learned about the Florida SBDC at FIU — the small business development center<\/a> at the College of Business, which provides no-cost consulting to entrepreneurs and small-business owners.<\/p>\n \u201cMy biggest obstacle was closing on my first customers,\u201d said Abello, who earned an MBA from Emory University and a bachelor\u2019s degree in international business<\/a> from FIU. \u201cIn technology, if you don\u2019t have references and you\u2019re selling software that\u2019s intangible, it\u2019s a tough sales pitch. Closing on my first 20 to 30 customers was the biggest challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n He specifically wanted guidance on finding an investor.\u00a0 \u201cIn my particular case, I was looking to accelerate the growth of the company,\u201d he said. \u201cI was looking for funds and I was assigned to an advisor who had experience as an investor.\u201d<\/p>\n Consultant shared guidance and insights.<\/em><\/p>\n For the next six months, he met with the expert consultant every two weeks on Saturdays, going over spreadsheets, sales pitches and the program to grow more capital.<\/p>\n It soon paid off.<\/p>\n \u201cI was extremely satisfied because I was able to raise additional funds for the company,\u201d Abello said. \u201cI closed with two investors and now basically I\u2019m living my dream.\u201d<\/p>\n What started three years ago with business development and sales of $30,000 doubled every year. Now Nuvola is well over $1 million in sales this year, Abello said.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, his one-man team has now grown to 18 full-time employees.<\/p>\n![\"Juan](\"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Juan-Carlos-Abello-NUVOLA-2.jpg\" "\\"Juan")