In 2012 I met the protagonist of today’s post: Iñigo García-Valenzuela. Every time I think about him, his great project comes to mind, so that’s why it’s difficult for me to remember his name (not his business’ name). And, believe me, it’s not due to lack of memory, it’s just that since the moment I met him, his story and his project, Iñigo became Go Basquing for me. You understand me, Iñigo.
While I thought about how to start this post, I remembered a coffee break we shared with Iñigo in the context of Ekin-It. It was a special coffee, the last one we celebrated during the month of December of 2012, to close the program of that edition. It was then when Iñigo, lecturer of the University of Deusto, as well as founder of Go Basquing, accepted accedió our invitation and gifted us with his time and personal experience.
Iñigo explained to us his professional career and why he changed his permanent job for being an entrepreneur in times of crisis. Firstly, I liked his CV: licensed by La Comercial (University of Deusto), he culminated his studies with a master’s degree on marketing in Barcelona, and after 13 years working on big multinationals (Reckitt & Colman, Unilever Best Food and Nike) with a hectic pace and after having moved 7 times from one city to another due to labor standards, Iñigo felt the need to stop, enjoy a journey and, finally, go back to Bilbao to settle down. I liked that more than his CV.
That’s how he embarked on an adventure around the world that started on 2009 booking a one way plane ticket to Boston and ended doing the “Camino de Santiago”. I not only liked this but I admit it made me a little bit jealous (the jealousy that it’s not too healthy). But we are not here to talk about me, let’s go back to Iñigo’s journey. Before reaching the “ending” of the road, our protagonist had the chance to experiment different places such as South America, New Zealand, India or Japan: their landscapes, people, cultures, traditions, food… in the end, its charm and identity. That’s what definitely saw through Iñigo, in fact, personally I think that’s what made us enjoy a project like Go Basquing that, of course, it’s a reflection of the unique experiences of a person who transmits serenity, peace, willing, illusion, passion, quality and excellence in his “job”.
When he went back to Bilbao, not having yet clear what he wanted to do, the idea of Go Basquing was generated, the one that Iñigo started shaping while he investigated and knew more about the tourism sector. That’s how in March of 2011 Go Basquing started. His idea was (it still is) to offer different and vital experiences, to contact with Basque Country’s corners and activities in contact with other people.
They define themselves as artisans of moments and customized experiences. It sounds good, doesn’t it? If you are looking for something different for your guests, organizations, students or just yourselves, don’t waste more time and get in touch with Iñigo, you won’t regret it. If you want more information, here you have a slideshare:
You didn’t know what to do during this summer? Well, you are delayed to contact with Iñigo; you want to leave it for winter? You won’t regret it either; you can even leave it for spring, but don’t leave it.
Enjoy this week.
Translated by María Ubierna Quintanilla and supervised by Arantza Arruti.