Connecting to the Bigger Picture at Volaris 101
When you are part of a business with big ambitions, it can be reassuring to have the support of other leaders who are equally driven to help you make those improvements.
The senior team at Volaris-owned software company Quarzo was reminded of this after attending Volaris 101 in March 2024. The multi-day event offered business leaders the opportunity to meet and solve problems with peers. Participants also got an overview of the expertise available to them through the professional network at Volaris Group.
Gaining more access to resources than ever before
The Quarzo team traveled from Costa Rica to Miami, Florida for the week, marking their first time at a Volaris event together as a group. Quarzo joined in January 2023 after being acquired by Vencora, a division of Volaris focused on bringing together financial services software businesses.
For more than 25 years, Quarzo was a family-owned operation that operated independently from its headquarters in San Jose, Costa Rica. Since the company was sold to Volaris, its leaders now have access to more best practices, industry data, professional contacts from around the world, and more software expertise than they would have operating on their own. Quarzo also benefits from Vencora's domain knowledge in financial services.
Volaris 101: A deeper look at how to operate a software company
The program is just one of many learning opportunities they can now access as part of Volaris. Volaris 101 offers a chance for business leaders to deeply examine topics, including the history of Volaris Group and best practices in functional areas such as finance, M&A, R&D, professional services, recurring revenue, and talent management.
Above: Quarzo’s IT Manager, César Palenzuela, works with colleagues on a case study.
Participants interacted with the learning material through presentations, case studies, workshops, and even a web-based scavenger hunt with prizes – all meant to help them understand the resources available to them through the Volaris corporate knowledge channels.
Team members share their experience of Volaris 101
The Quarzo team appreciated being part of an environment where they could openly and honestly talk about business challenges. They shared their experiences with colleagues who could provide new perspectives or discuss how they overcame similar problems.
General Manager Mirela Verrelli speaks about Quarzo’s business plans on stage, and even prompts a laugh from Volaris COO and CFO Brian Beattie.
The team also learned more about Volaris benchmarks. These benchmarks show their leaders how they compare to similar types of companies and allow them to discover where the company has room to do better.
Quarzo’s Mirela Verrelli works on a case study with a cross-functional group of colleagues.
Quarzo’s General Manager, Mirela Verrelli, found it useful to hear more about how different functions in the company can impact its finances, and how the business can adjust those levers to improve the company’s financial health. After absorbing the week’s lessons, she became more interested in giving special attention to recurring revenue.
Before joining Volaris, Quarzo hadn't yet built a robust human resources function. Volaris has empowered the company to invest in this area of the company. For Quarzo, the talent management session was pertinent since it went over tools and processes that leaders can use to give staff useful feedback.
The sessions helped Quarzo's team better understand the other functions of a software business, enabling them to see how all the parts of a business work together.
Quarzo’s Cristopher Vargas Cordero listens attentively during the R&D discussion.
Quarzo’s Product Manager, Cristopher Vargas Cordero, found the session about research and development (R&D) most useful for his day-to-day job.
The sessions reiterated the importance of product innovation in his work. When he returns to his business, he intends to explore how Quarzo can implement a business experimentation approach in its processes.
IT Manager César Palenzuela absorbs best practices about professional services.
Quarzo’s IT Manager, César Palenzuela, found that several lessons from Volaris 101 resonated with him. One was the importance of developing people within the Quarzo team and investing in their skills development. Another was the importance of measuring tasks and processes as a means to improve business results.
He also found the professional services session very relevant to his work, because it helped him realize that the company could work toward targets they had not previously considered.
Speaking a common language
Perhaps one of the best quotes to sum up the week came from COO and CFO Brian Beattie, who spoke about his appreciation for the diversity of company cultures within Volaris. Brought together from around the world, they create a unique network for business leaders to take part in.
“Ultimately, what brings us together is that we speak the common language of numbers,” he said.
Quarzo’s Mirela Verrelli can certainly embrace being immersed in the language of numbers. She has already taken notes about the ideas she can take back to her day-to-day operations.
“My big task when I return to the business is to implement these lessons into our decision flow,” she said.