IE Business school

Startup Europe, the European Commission’s flagship initiative for startups, was in Madrid on the 27^th of June to meet the main players of the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Spain has been one of the main countries for two Startup Europe projects: WELCOME and Startup Europe Partnership (SEP).

WELCOME has brought dozens of Spanish startups (such as Wayook, Videona, BeOnPrice) across Europe to make business and gain visibility and SEP has developed a European-wide matchmaking club for the best startups and corporates (Telefonica, BBVA, etc.).

The meet-up was held at 17:00 at IE Business School with the objective to have an open discussion on the impact of the Startup Europe initiative in Spain, how it could improve and how can European Commission collaborate with the Spanish ecosystem to develop more opportunities for startups and promote entrepreneurship.

The opening was delivered by Professor Paris de L´Etraz, Director of the Venture Lab Accelerator of IE Business School. Isidro Laso Ballesteros, Head of Unit for Startup Europe, led the discussion together with the project coordinators, Emilio Corchado from BISITE Accelerator (WELCOME) and Alberto Onetti from Mind the Bridge (SEP).

In attendance were various representatives from corporates, accelerators, investors, media and startups (such as Connector, Endeavor, TetuanValley, Fundera.eu, Google Campus, Banco Sabadell, Global Exchange) ensuring a rich and community-led discussion.

There was a general feeling that Spain and especially Madrid is a great place to start a startup, even if that isn’t a well-known fact outside of its borders. Overall, it was felt that the government should listen to the needs of the startup ecosystem and provide support where needed, otherwise not intervene. A particular call to action was to make conditions better for startups to scale up, namely with what concerns tax and fiscal regulation.

The meeting was very organic and fluid as members of the Spanish ecosystem are well aware of each other. The final point of the meeting was to invite everyone to attend the next IE venture day, 6^th of July.

At 19:00, there was a press moment followed by networking and cocktail, where journalists had the opportunity to seize the room.

 

Professor Paris de L´Etraz, Director of the Venture Lab Accelerator of IE Business School, welcoming the attendees.

 Isidro Laso Ballesteros, Head of Unit for Startup Europe, presenting the initiative and engaging with the local startup community.

Alberto Onetti from Mind the Bridge (SEP) presenting the results of the project an opportunities for corporates.

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Emilio Corchado from BISITE Accelerator (WELCOME) presenting opportunities for Spanish startups

 

WELCOME project – www.welcomestartup.eu

Short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWsjVt-lzp4

WELCOME strives to break down the barriers between 5 different major EU startup ecosystems (Berlin, Dublin, Milan, Madrid and Salamanca) and help tech startups to go international from the start.

Startup Europe Partnership – http://startupeuropepartnership.eu

Short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdOT9GdIeqI

Startup Europe Partnership is a platform where the best startups meet the best corporates, with a goal: to make things happen, whether that means procurement (corporates buy products and services from startups), strategic investments and eventually acquisition/acqui-hires.