Victor Ruiz Lafita is the founder of Vita Vodka Water. Vita has launched in five countries via major distributors in little more than a year – and it’s now launching in the UK. Victor started his career as an industrial engineer in the automotive sector so SME was intrigued to find out what inspires him as an entrepreneur. This is what he told us:
My mission in life is to make a lasting societal impact. To achieve this goal, I believe I need to constantly push myself out of my comfort zone and continue to develop. However, I also take my happiness seriously, and it doesn’t solely relate to work. I make sure I give myself time for experimentation and learning new things. These passions, such as playing different musical instruments or following new innovations in technology, are not necessarily lucrative. However they bring me new creative energies that also help fuel my entrepreneurial spirit.
Thanks to both my father and my grandfather – both entrepreneurs – my professional aspirations are quite ambitious. I’ll always strive to have a meaningful job that I’m truly passionate about, can employ my knowledge and creativity, and that will ultimately add value to society. I also hope to create as many rewarding jobs as possible for others along the way.
I’m especially interested in innovation and creating new products. I’d prefer not to work for another company as I crave the independence and challenges that come with working for myself. I’d rather work to create the job of my dreams – even if I never become wealthy.
I’m committed to everything I pursue, and I always make sure to keep my promises. Taking on new challenges, such as living and working in five different countries, starting my own business venture, and pursuing an MBA in London and New York, have been sure ways to force me out of my comfort zone.
Working in international environments brought me technical knowledge as well as leadership and teambuilding skills, all of which I’ve been able to apply to other aspects of life. I aim to make an impact on a global level – I’ve even learned five languages to help me along the way.
While I tend to take risks, I consider myself to be quite realistic, and a decent enough risk evaluator to start my own ventures. I believe that a good entrepreneur must take risks and be bold in order to establish an impactful business, but should be more cautious and be less willing to gamble once their business is set up.
An effective and successful entrepreneur has the potential to put their creativity into practice in order to change the way people live their lives, which is not so common in other professions. I’m fully aware that the life of an entrepreneur runs the risk of failure, which can result in financial problems and frustration. However, I believe that if you vow to have fun and learn from both your mistakes and successes, it is worth the challenge.
During the last year I’ve been passionately working on Vita, the world’s first vodka designed to be mixed with water, Without the need for sugar, additive and gluten-heavy soft drink mixers, I want Vita to be a revolutionary vodka brand that encourages people to drink responsibly and offset the health impacts and dehydration that comes with drinking spirits.
Ultimately, I want Vita to change the way the world enjoys alcohol.
