Glovo was named Best Start-up of the Year at ESADE Alumni Start-up Day. The company has developed an app that connects customers who want to buy, receive or pick up products with “glovers” – independent messengers who can help out by delivering the goods in a matter of minutes. At present, Glovo has over 325,000 users and more than 5,600 associated partners. The company is currently expanding nationally and internationally and expects to begin service in several new cities over the coming weeks. The award recognises the company primarily for its innovation, originality, and long-term technical and economic viability. Previous editions of the Best Start-up of the Year Award have been presented to Wallapop, Wuaki.tv, Red Points, Kantox and Signaturit.

“I am truly grateful to receive the Best Start-up of the Year Award. These last three years at Glovo have been very intense and demanding for the entire team and we are honoured to see the work of so many people being recognised by an award like this, especially coming from an institution like ESADE,” commented Oscar Pierre, co-founder and CEO of Glovo.

The boom of the health sector

As part of the entrepreneurship-focused ESADE Alumni Start-up Day, BStartup Banc Sabadell organised a panel discussion on the current effervescence of the health sector. The debate was moderated by BStartup Director Yolanda Pérez, who commented: “In 2017, the Catalan healthcare sector raised €102 million in larger rounds of investment that involved a greater international presence.” Among the panellists were the founders of two leading international companies: Dr. Judit Anido, General Manager of Mosaic Biomedicals, a spin-off of the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, who described the technological revolution as a game changer in the health sector; and Dr. Marc Martinell, CEO of Minoryx Therapeutics, a company committed to fighting rare diseases, who highlighted the trend of personalised medicine. Also taking part was Dr. Lluís Pareras, Director of HealthEquity and Innovation Director at the Official Medical Association of Barcelona, who commented: “The health sector is unlike others, from the time an idea is born until it reaches the market. And the value depends on the execution, not on the idea itself.” He continued: “The year 2018 will be a spectacular one for biotech investment in Catalonia. The sector is having an enviable moment, but a we need policy of doing more to help early on.” He added: “It is not acceptable for doctors to finish university without knowing how to start a business in the health sector.”

The generation of young entrepreneurs

ESADE Alumni Start-up Day also featured a panel discussion on the new generation of entrepreneurs, which was moderated by Fernando Zallo, Director of ESADE BAN, the ESADE Alumni business angels network. During the discussion, Diego Arroyo, co-founder and CEO of Laagam, commented that the new generation has generally “become entrepreneurs because they wanted to, not out of necessity”. “The most complicated thing is to scale at the personal level; it has more to do with speed than with experience,” commented Alberto Bonhomme, co-founder and CEO of Instamaki. Marc Soler, co-founder and CEO of 21 Buttons, added: “As a company grows, the motivations of its employees change.” Also taking part in the discussion were Andrés Cester, co-founder and CEO of The Colvin Co, and Anna Martínez, co-founder and CEO of Sheltair. All of the panellists were ESADE alumni.

ESADE Alumni Start-up Day began with a Matins ESADE session featuring Genís Roca, Chairman of RocaSalvatella and ESADE alumnus, who discussed the topic of digital transformation: “Digital business only makes sense if we target large volumes of people, concentrate the information, win people’s trust and operate in a very segmented way by offering service before product and optimising scalable processes.” He added: “The organisational model for digital business has to accept disruptive changes.”

The event ended with a talk by Ivan Bofarull, Director of Global Insights & Strategic Initiatives at ESADE, who discussed the eight rules of moonshot innovation.