Investing In Spain

My guest today is Joe Haslam, Executive Director of the Owners Scaleup Program at IE Business School & Professor at IE University

• Joe Haslam
• Owner's ScaleUp Program, IE University

In this conversation, Joe provides counsel and advice to those interested in jumping into the Spanish tech ecosystem, both expats considering a move to Spain and young founders contemplating a new venture.  He's also a fantastic story teller, with a wide ranging perspective on the past twenty years of tech growth in Spain.

Enjoy this conversation with Joe Haslam.

Chema Molina started Frenetic in 2014 while in graduate school in Power Electronics.  The company offers an online platform for magnetics design, sampling, and production, dramatically reducing the time for designers to interate when developing critical components for electrical processes.   

• Dr. Chema Molina
• Frenetic

Frenetic is an example of Spanish Deep Tech, one of the most rapidly growing areas of the Spanish tech market today. With a number of leading research centers producing PhDs each year, Spain is well positioned to develop a robust pipeline of startups in materials science, climate science, AI and beyond. 

In this conversation, Chema and I talk about developing a company from an academic background, and the evolving support network around Madrid and Barcelona to support such companies.  Chema also recently moved to the US to be closer to customers, while the company is still headquartered in Madrid. We talk about that transition, and considerations for Spanish founders thinking about a move to the US market. 

Chema is insightful and funny throughout.  This was one of my favorite conversations so far - enjoy.

Rory 

My guest today is Guli Moreno, co-founder of Capchase and founder of The Exponential Fellowship:

• Guli Moreno
• Capchase
• The Exponential Fellowship

Capchase is one of the most important scale ups building in Spain today.  In May 2024, the company announced another Euro 105M in fresch capital to lend to customers.  The company also just celebrated four years since it was founded by Miguel Fernandez, Przemek Gotfryd, Guli Moreno, and Luis Basagoiti.

In this conversation, Guli shares the story of how Capchase got started, and the emphasis the team put on culture and talent from the very start.  Guli's story is inspiring - with practical advice for founders and investors throughout.

The second half of our conversation introduces The Exponential Fellowship (https://goexponential.org/) a new initiative Guli is spearheading to help the Spanish tech ecosystem.  The model is simple, and powerful - providing the most promising potential founders of Spanish tech companies a career changing professional growth opportunity.  I encourage everyone invested in the future of Spanish tech to check out this important new program and get involved directly at goexponential.org

Enjoy - 

My guest today is Jose Miguel Herrero, Founder and Managing Partner of Big Sur Ventures:

• Jose Miguel Herrero
• Big Sur Ventures

Jose Miguel is a pioneer of the Spanish tech ecosystem. He has been building and investing in tech companies since the late '90s.  He take a long view on innovation in Spain, and in our conversation shares his reason for optimism today.  

Big Sur is investing out of Fund III, focusing on deep tech and consumer internet.  Giving examples from his portfolio, Jose Miguel shares how Spain is producing a new generation of tech talent.

This episode is also full of great anecdotes from the early days of the internet in Spain, and the roller coaster ride that is early tech markets around the world.  Helpful listening for anyone looking to know more about the history of VC and tech in Spain, and those interested in where it is going.

Rory

My guests today are Ale Piedrahita and Giulia Cerbelli from the Calafia Syndicate:

• Alexandra Piedrahita
• Gioia Cerbelli
• Calafia Syndicate

The Calafia Syndicate is a new angel investing group of 20 leading women in Spanish tech.  Calafia's mission is to increase the participation of women in the early-stage capital market in Spain, support Spanish founders to grow globally, and to promote diversity in the ecosytem as a whole.  The group has a decidated fund to invest in Spanish startups, and is already closing on a first deal.

In this conversation Ale and Giulia share the thinking behind Calafia - how they were able to bring together such a talented group of operators, investors, founders, lawyers and bankers around this mission.  We learn how Calafia operates, what they are looking for in new investments, and why founders should consider adding Calafia to their cap table.

Calafia is a great new addition to the Spanish tech market. I hope founders and other VCs enjoy learning more about this talented group and find ways to collaborate.  

My guest today is Sandra Nolasco, Founder and CEO of Twinco Capital:

• Sandra Nolasco
• Twinco Capital

Twinco is an ambitous, mission driven fintech company based in Madrid providing financing to small and medium sized companies around the world.  Through better technology and risk analytics they can extend more credit at lower cost to the manufacturing suppliers for European retailers.  It is a unique model that significantly reduces financing costs and improves supply reliability, with benefits for both suppliers and buyers. Sandra founded the company after a succesful career in trade finance, as a Managing Director at BBVA and before that as Head of Commodities for Brazil at Fortis Bank. In this conversation we talk about that career path, and the insights that led to starting Twinco.

Sandra shares:

• Designing the initial product and developing the why now? case for the business
• Setting a company up for purpose, and defining a mission with clarity
• Managing a new startup through the pandemic
• Developing a co-founder relationship

This is a great conversation for entrepreneurs and investors interesting in innovation in finance for societal benefit.  Sandra brings infectious optimism and deep expertise to challenging global issues.  I hope listening to her share the strory of Twinco inspires you as much as it did for me. 

My guests today are Aris Xenofontos and Mary Egan from Seaya Ventures:

• Aris Xenofontos
• Mary Egan
• Seaya Ventures

Seaya is a top VC fund in Spain, with over 650M Euros in assets under management. The fund has supported Spanish tech breakouts like Glovo, Wallbox and Clarity.  Yet, Seaya is not resting on past success. 

Our conversation highlights how Aris, Mary and the team are building an investment firm for differentiated future returns.  They share about the ongoing data investment at Seaya, and how they are using technology to find companies before competitors.  We discuss how the investment process works internally, including how the team works across three distinct investment strategies. 

Founders and investors interested in learning more about how Seaya works and what they are looking for will love this conversation.  Seaya doesn't do a lot of interviews, so I am excited to share this conversation.

My guest today is Fer Pedraz, founder and CEO of Reveni:

• Fer Pedraz
• Reveni

"Your pessimism is my opportunity."  With a nod to Jeff Bezos, that's my summary of Reveni's approach.  Fer and team are on a mission to help retailers improve their profitability, initially by supporting an instant returns and exchange process, but with plans for deeper integrations to support wholistic planning and customer support across the retail business. 

Reveni makes money today by betting that customers will do the right thing when returning or exchanging a product. They advance the refund immediately, and take on the risk if the product does not return, or comes back damaged.  They do this through better data - building a customer risk profile to help them anticipate what will happen.

It is inherently an optimistic business model, and a global vision.  We talk about that, and much more.  Fer shares his lessons for coming up with the initial idea, and getting early momentum for the business.   

Enjoy my conversation with Fer Pedraz

My guest this week is Marta Higuera, AI Labs Director at Insud Pharma:

• Marta Higuera
• Insud Pharma

Our conversation focuses on building an entrepreneurial career:  how to navigate a 'sea of gray', in Marta's words, when making career decisions.

After growing up in a small community outside Santander, Marta has helped lead organizations on four continents. She has worked for prestigous global brands like McKinsey and BCG, and also started and run her own company.

My hope is this conversation provides inspiration and specific actionable advice for listeners following their own entrepreneurial journey. 

This show is about the rise of the technology industry in Spain.  Marta's story is one that is both unique and representative of the ongoing growth and diversification of our economy - not just in Spain but also in emerging tech hubs around the world.  Please enjoy. 

Also, Marta and the team at Insud Health are hiring. Here is the Career page for more information on open roles at:  https://jobs.insudpharma.com/

Today, we have a special episode.  On Dec 9, 2023, European Parliament negotiators and the Council presidency agreed on the final version of the world's first-ever comprehensive legal framework on Artificial Intelligence; the EU AI Act.

My guest today was a central figure in that negotiation.  Carme Artigas represented Spain as the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence. Because Spain held the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU her voice and her role were crucial in getting the agreement done.

As you will hear, Carme worked on this process for several years. She shares what the regulations require, and also the balance the policy makers were trying to accomplish in developing this new framework.  We talk about the implications for competitiveness between Europe and other parts of the world, and also between startups and large incumbents within Europe.   

It is hard to overstate the importance of this legal framework for European consumers, for technology startups and investors globally, and for future economic growth for all.  AI is already shaping global markets and industries.  The US and India, two major markets, have not yet determined how to regulate.  In just the past month since the EU framework was announced, several countries across the world have indicated interest in following the path provided by the EU AI Act. As more countries follow the 27 members of the EU, this policy framework will shape AI’s development and use for years to come. 

Carme is now Co-Chair of the UN AI Advisory Board, which recently released an interim report here:  https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/ai_advisory_body_interim_report.pdf

Her request to the audience is to share input on this report and process here: https://www.un.org/en/ai-advisory-body

Please enjoy my conversation with Carme Artigas