It has been a week now after Euro 2012 which was held in Poland and Ukraine where Spain emerged as the winners. Spain has all the reasons to be happy; they hold the 2010 World Cup trophy, won Euro 2008 and now Euro2012. Why Spain? How did they do it? As of today, It’s the best in the world and best in Europe.

Team work

Nobody can do it alone. Team work is very critical. Quoting Bill Gates, “"The most important 'speed' issue is often not technical but cultural. It's convincing everyone that the company's survival depends on everyone moving as fast as possible." Without the right team of people, the best business idea will not work.

The Spain national team is one concrete block to penetrate. Everyone plays his role to his best. From the goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders to strikers. All are efficient in delivering when required to. 

Experience

Experience played a big role in Spain’s win. Players like Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, and Alonso have all played in big matches and won many cups in their life. The winning experience is what many teams lack and can only be achieved by having experienced players and bold management. Any startup that wants to succeed needs the experience that’s critical in creating traction and competitiveness. For instance, having an employee who formerly worked with/for Google in the team is an upper hand for a startup when it comes to culture creation and adoption

Consistence

I have come to realize that an important factor in being consistent is loving what you do.  Consistency is key and builds trust, makes people take notice of you and your product or service. A startup faces many overwhelming challenges as it moves along the path from an idea on paper to a fully fledged company that can stand on its own.  It has to be built out piece by piece, and function by function. 

Even with the rivalry from Barcelona and Real Madrid players, the Spain national team has been consistent since the World Cup finals. The team plays as one. Therefore, by understanding what challenges exist at startups, all individuals with a stake in the company's success, from the CEOs, management team members, board members, and venture capitalists should work as one. This will help move the company towards a new level of product competitiveness. 

Talent

Excellent, entrepreneurial thinking team workers are essential. Moreover, a start up team needs not only great people, but also the right combination of strengths and qualification. The Spain Football team is full of talented players. Though they played and won the cup without their key strikers starting up the game, the midfielders easily played the role because of their ability to multitask and being all round. 

In any startup, the team is not fixed to one duty but anything that arises. The founder can be doing three roles, others two each in a team of three with a target of achieving their goal until the company is big enough to hire extra employees.

Uniqueness

How can you make yourself stand out when there are so many people out there with the same idea as yours? The answer is to "focus". Focus on what makes you unique. If you’re trying to build a brand, it needs to be distinct

The way and play mode by the Spain national team was unique compared to other teams that participated in Euro2012. They played quick passing; a Brazilian kind of football, which denied the opponents the ball possession completely. Startups can learn uniqueness in approaching different aspects for their growth by using what competitors are not good at to their advantage. This is what will propel them further than copying others approach.