Lenin Castillo - Innovation, Company DNA and getting to know your market and customers

Episode 6 of the SBC Leaders podcast sees Kelly Kehn sit down for a fascinating conversation with Lenin Castillo, Chief Operating Officer of Logrand Entertainment Group, one of the oldest and most established casino and betting brands in Mexico. With a portfolio of land-based and online casinos, as well as their recent venture into sports betting with Strendus (considered one of the most disruptive sports betting brands in Latin America), Lenin gives us an interesting look under the hood of one of the biggest players in the Mexican market. Lenin also gets into his history, the lessons he’s learned and the tricks he’s brought with him from the other industries he’s worked in, and describes the challenges he’s encountered operating in the industry, and launching a new revenue stream. Kelly also gets Lenin’s thoughts on the impact of the pandemic on the industry, how Logrand pivoted towards other verticals, and gets his thoughts on innovation and company culture. 00:15 - Kelly's intro, intro to Lenin's career1:27 - The pandemic, how it's affected the industry, what are expectations for growth in Mexico as competitions open back up, focusing on other verticals not just sports betting, the impact of the pandemic on the land-based industry and how they managed being closed for almost a year, importance of knowing your customers and being able to give them what they wanted03:16 - Most popular sports aside from soccer, influence of the US and the popularity of the US Sports04:33 - Gaps in the market that Logrand are trying to fill, focus on local/national/regional sports leagues, sponsoring local teams and events06:20 - Explosion of the Latam market, competing with international operators and local competitors, the advantages Logrand have by knowing their customers, being established in the market how the land-based and online arms work together 09:00 - Launching strendus, the challenges in launching a brand new revenue stream, the thought process behind launching time spent doing strategic planning, being patient, planning and creating the right team11:14 - Surprises Lenin found along the way, the importance of being agile and being able to react13:08 - Moments that have defined Lenin's career, Lenin's experience in other industries, lessons learned from the building, banking and clothing industries that have stood him in good stead for his betting career the ability to think outside the box and analyse things differently, innovating, taking ideas from other industries and adapting them14:46 - What has surprised Lenin about his role, surprises in the gaming industry, combining different factors, the statistical and entertainment side of the product being able to innovate, and put your ideas into practice16:26 - Lenin's thoughts on Leadership, advice to leaders and aspiring leaders in the industry, the importance of knowing your market and your customers, the culture of Logrand the company's DNA and philosophies that everyone believes in18:16 - What's next for Logrand and what we can expect in the future, Logrand winning the customer service award against big banking and insurance companies among others, keeping going with this strategy      20:36 - Outro