In this episode of CEO Wisdom Pod, host Charles Cormier interviews Jordi Negre, founder and CEO of Dantex Group, a Barcelona‑based company that has evolved over 24 years from audiovisual and 3D interactive media to a device‑free corporate metaverse, and most recently to an AI‑driven Customer Care and Commercial Platform aimed at European small‑ and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs). Negre explains the metaverse thesis—offering immersive experiences without headsets—and why market resistance to required hardware led to a strategic pivot toward AI when he recognized the technology’s transformative potential for SMEs. He details the platform’s current state: a year‑and‑a‑half in market, under 20 recurring clients acquired mainly through personal contacts, and a focus on multichannel AI‑enabled customer interaction. The conversation shifts to go‑to‑market (GTM) strategy, where Negre is transitioning from a traditional direct sales team to a partnership model that brings in experienced vertical‑market co‑founders who receive equity based on performance, with a three‑year vesting schedule and no upfront shares. Recruitment relies on LinkedIn networks and targets seasoned managers with existing professional contacts rather than young entrepreneurs. Negre emphasizes the high margins and scalability of the platform, the agnostic nature of the technology across verticals, and the plan to onboard three new partners within the next three months, aiming to scale across European SMEs by early 2027. The interview also touches on equity mechanics, performance‑based share grants, and the rationale for partners joining a proven, revenue‑generating business rather than starting from scratch.
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Welcome to another CEO Wisdom Pod. We have Jordi Negri with us today. Jordi is a founder and CEO of Dantex Group. It's all about AI-driven business growth and performance in Barcelona. 25 years at that company. That's a long time. Previously at Deutsche Bank and British Telecom. So Jordi, welcome to the pod. Tell us a bit more about yourself, what you've been up to.
Thanks for having me, Charles. Yeah, I mean, it's not 25, we're almost 24 and a half, so we're pretty experienced but not that experienced. We will reach the age of 25 years by February next year, 2027. So basically, after our— my trip into the corporate environment, I decided to to fund this company. And of course, 24 years gives a lot of range for different experiences, good and bad, worse, better, etc. And I would summarize them in 2 different phases. The first one, which was almost for 20 years, basically working with audiovisual communication stuff, 3D rendering, 3D interactive websites. The final stages were basically focused on the corporate metaverse. And then when we realized that the AI was going to change the world as we believe it, we pivoted into AI basically for a new segment of clients, which is the SMEs mainly in Europe right now.
Got it. So, okay, you pivoted from— well, what was your thesis on the metaverse? Why were you bullish on that? Like, personally, I bought an Oculus. Never really dug it. Nowadays, I very much dig my my Meta Ray Bans, Meta Oakleys though. I think that's the future. I think that is getting stickiness, right? Like what happened in VR.
Yeah, to be honest, when we it was an evolution. We started with still 3D renderings back in twenty years ago, and that what that did an evolution into a video, then interactive video. And then the corporate metaverse that we were applying was without glasses. So the key differentiator was that with your computer, with your laptop, with your cell phone, you could have like a similar experience than the one that you could have with the Apple Glasses, Oculus, et cetera, but without glasses. So strategically, I think we were in the right path. The thing is that, as you've mentioned, there were many, let's say, negative implications with the metaverse, like this obstacle, like having to acquire glasses or to buy like expensive gadgets. So we couldn't by ourselves change the perception of the market. So we still do think that the solution that we do have, or had, it's very powerful, it's cheap, effective, and it doesn't need those kind of devices. But we don't have the strength to change the understanding of what the metaverse is, which is mainly with devices.
Okay, and what substantiated that pivot to AI? You've started seeing that it's game-changing for your business, AI, and then you started seeing that it could be valuable for some of your customers. Do you target like corporate most of the time? I see you have a corporate background, so is that your ICP?
It was when we were delivering the corporate metaverse solutions, the big corporation was our main target. And that's when I moved to the US. I lived in Miami and New York for a few years because the size of the American companies is pretty big in comparison to the network of companies that we have in Europe. For personal and professional reasons, I decided to come back to Europe and then I had to rethink, I would say reinvent again, which was going to be our positioning in the market. And the first thing we had to do is analyze the size of the companies that are spread in Europe. And we all know that the size of the companies in Europe, it's much smaller. So we had to like readdress our offering in terms of market size. And at the same time, think which would be the application that those companies would require most at short term. And that's when we created the customer and sales platform. So that helps basically to interact with AI instead of humans, but not from a, let's say, traditional agent solution, but from an integrated multichannel approach that has been always our philosophy. Since I've worked for telecoms. So that was our thinking and we're right now in the path of scaling that solution into the European market for SMEs.
Got it. How do you go to markets nowadays? How do you get in touch with these potential clients?
Okay, that's a very interesting question right now because it used to be our main, our own direct sales team. Okay, so we had to do the traditional B2B sales. I'm not going to discover anything here in this call. Right now we're doing something really radical, which is probably because I don't want to lead the company forever and I want to open it to other people with other mindsets and other ages and other experiences. So right now we are opening the company to new co-founders, let's say business partners that can have expertise in vertical markets. And they will become shareholders of the company leading their vertical markets. So this is going to be changing in the next 2 or 3 months, and I expect by the beginning of 2027 to have this new structure, business structure, implemented in Europe.
And why should they join?
Good question. Well, there are 3 basic elements. The market. I mean, this is not only a fashionable word, it's the biggest thing we will ever see. I'm super convinced about that. Um, anyone that understands business economics and social activities will agree with that because the compensation, once we have produced and implemented the platform, it's super powerful. Because our margins are very high once we have already built the solutions. And because it's fun. I mean, there is like a projection into their careers that I don't think there's something similar in the market that combines the expertise of 24 years, the new wave of AI, and the potential option of being a shareholder of a company. You don't have to invest in a company with money, you don't have to invest in platforms, you don't have to invest in technology that's already implemented. So you're joining a team and a company that has track record and a solution that is already proven.
But why shouldn't they start their own? I mean, these young guys, they know pretty much everything in terms of technology, maybe not sales, but why should I join as a minority stakeholder? And do you give them money? Do you give give them a rev share? Uh, what's, what's the upside, right? Because owning, uh, 30% of something that, uh, that is not growing is like not so attractive, right? So what's— who— and also, how do you recruit them? Like, uh, like, where do these people come from?
Okay, many questions in one question. Uh, so basically we have a powerful network in LinkedIn. So we approach people that already have their business or have an entrepreneurial spirit. And our pitch is very clear. If you are— if you have time, you don't need to invest money, but you can. If you want to invest time, I would like to explain you why joining a company that has a proven track record, a technology that is already providing return on investment with real customers. it's something that it's going to be interesting to find out if that's an option for you. Of course, you will also have the question, and that was one of— sorry, the option— one of— that's one of your— that was one of your questions, to start your own company. Okay, it took us 9 months to build up a company, to build up the platform that we have, that we're running right now. I can assure you it's not As simple as it seems. So time to market, it's like we already have the solution there. And yes, you will, you will not have the majority, the majority stake in the company. But we're not looking for young entrepreneurs, we're looking for experienced managers that have already a network that we can rely on and do business together.
Okay, got it. And what does the current GTM look like? When we started, you said you had People doing outreach, right? Like via cold email, LinkedIn, and all of that. Like, why do you need the partners? And if they join, would they be joining an engine that's already generating a bunch of leads and you have like existing clients? Give me a portrait of the business.
Okay, so the idea is that if they have like a warm network of professionals that they can reach out, that's the shortest path, that's the lowest hanging fruit that any activity could rely on. I mean, there is no magical tricks like sending thousands of automated emails to, um, to get recognized in the market than some— someone that knows someone really well. So as one of the key things is that our platform is agnostic, it can be applied to any vertical. So if we can team up with 15 people we can immediately address 15 different vertical markets together with them. So based on their network, we can scale pretty fast.
I have a suggestion. So basically I get a bunch of clients because I have a very good go-to-market system, right? And the best way to attract equity holders and rev shares, usually take your old clients and convert them into actual partner. That's the best strategy ever because they already know your system. They already know you. They already know how much you're yielding, what you can do for them. They studied the product, right? And from there you can hyperscale, but just reaching out via LinkedIn to strangers is pretty dangerous for both sides. You know, like also another question for you is, What happens if they don't perform? Do you just buy them out? What happens to their equity and all the time you invested in bringing them on?
Sure, uh, of course the equity has a vesting time in 3 years, so we don't give away shares just by signing an agreement. So based on different targets, they would, um, be granted with shares of the company. So there's nothing To lose from both sides because we are— we don't have to buy back or any, any kind of shares. They will have their shares based on performance.
Okay, so shares based on performance. Uh, so do you— but do you give them some shares up front when they are onboarded?
No.
Zero?
No.
Uh, what do you— what do they get?
They get— so Let me refresh the concept here, like the matching process. If they do have experience and contacts in one market, we do have the brand, the technology, and we can do business together right away. So we cannot pay retainers or give shares away from the starting point because we cannot rely on words. And you know better than me, than Facts is the only thing that can take us into the real business based on our facts, which is the technology that proves the return on the investment that we are already having from the existing customers, but also the real contacts that they can have. So it would be suicidal to, to start giving shares or even retainers to people that you don't even know how they're going to perform in the real field.
Just the brand, I mean, the Product is not active yet, as I'm seeing, right? Like, and the technology—I mean, I see like AI customer service brands on a daily basis, some with ten million ARR. Like, where where does that come from? Like the brand and the product plus I believe it's brand new, right? So you don't have existing client for that one. Tell me a bit more.
Yeah, no, maybe there was a confusion there. This platform has been in the market for a year and a half. So we do have like under 20 clients, recurring clients right now. And that's what we want to scale.
And what's it called? What's the name of that platform?
It's called in English the Customer Care and Commercial Platform.
Is there a website? Is there a brand name for it, or—
We don't brand every platform because our intention is to have many platforms under the corporate brand, which is Dantex Group. So we will give them names but not necessarily brands.
Okay, how did you get these 20 clients? Outreach mostly?
Basically based on our personal contacts that we had from previous years and some existing clients that we had in the past.
Got it. Okay, what's your goal this year? What do you want to accomplish? It's like mostly recruiting 3 partners in the next 3 months. What's the objectives here?
Yeah, yeah. I mean, we're more focused right now into recruiting those partners that would allow us to scale faster next year than to keep on selling to final customers. So I'm not obsessed with the number. I mean, for me, if 5 business partners would join the company and they would perform well in 2027, the scalability of the platform and the margins that we have would be more than enough for the achievements of this year. Of course, this is nonstop. We would keep on launching new platforms, new offerings to the market, plus— trying to recruit other business partners to sell those solutions and applications. Right.
