What happened at the launch of Madrid Startup House!

Launch of Madrid Startup House: A new startup platform that aims to give Madrid the final boost it needs to become a global startup hub

On 21 November, a number of Madrid’s most important startup players gathered at the Representation of the European Commission in Madrid to take part in the launch of Madrid Startup House. The new startup platform, Madrid Startup House (www.madridstartuphouse.com) aims to give Madrid the final push it needs to become one of the most important startup hubs globally, sitting alongside cities such as London and Berlin.

After a networking breakfast, the event was officially opened by Juanma Romero (Emprende TVE) and Isidro Laso (head of the European Commission initiative Startup Europe), who explained that we need one single point to connect all players in the Madrid ecosystem and strengthen the entrepreneur movement in the city. This platform is the first of many, to be repeated in cities all over Europe.

Victor Teodosio (Hugin & Munin) then proceeded to present the website Madrid Startup House, by showing a short video of the website design and its functions. He stated that “Madrid has many of different actors working on entrepreneurship, with each actor carrying out their work independently from the rest; with Madrid Startup House, we hope to provide a platform that combines all of these valuable efforts, under the umbrella of the European Commission, and strengthen the ecosystem as a whole.”

The challenges faced by the Madrid startup ecosystem were discussed throughout the panels, emphasizing the real need for a platform like this in Madrid. For example, Asier Basterretxea-Gómez (Socios Inversores), Karel Escobar (Tetuan Valley) and Emilio Corchado (Bisite Accelerator) discussed that startups in Madrid need to learn how to better promote themselves. In a panel including startups based in Madrid, Álvaro Sánchez (Wayook), Augusto Rodríguez-Villa (Alga Energy), Andres Dulanto (EFE Emprende) and Daniel Jadraque (Datary), commented that there are many resources available in Madrid, however they are widely dispersed and need unification. Along the same thread, Miguel Arias (Carto), Carlos Barrabés (Barrabés), Francisco Velázquez (Axon Partners), Manuel Gago (CEDE and Neo-si) and Andres Dulanto (EFE Emprende) mentioned that Madrid needs to not only connect its networks, but make sure that meaningful connections are created between each of its actors.

In terms becoming a global startup hub, the outlook for Madrid looks good: “we already have the foundations in place”, said Carlos Barrabés (Barrabés). In addition, Asier Basterretxea-Gómez (Socios Inversores) spoke about the city as a future European startup hub for entrepreneurs and investors from Latin America: “Madrid is a city that has everything to attract investment and entrepreneurship of the highest level (…) we just need a little time, a little push.”

As Madrid Startup House is an initiative designed by Madrid, for Madrid, all startup players are invited to take part- and there are various ways to participate. Follow this link to find out the different ways to be part of the platform and be part of the movement turning Madrid into a global hub for entrepreneurship.

Twitter: @MadridSHouse
Hashtag: #madridstartuphouse