Kantox, Privalia, Wuaki.tv, Holaluz, Westwing and Marfeel urge Barcelona to promote ''global talent'' in order to raise its profile as an innovative city
As part of 4 Years From Now (4YFN), a fair for digital entrepreneurs organised in parallel with the Mobile World Congress, ESADE brought together several leading Barcelona-based start-ups that have managed to succeed in today’s increasingly challenging global marketplace. All participants agreed that Barcelona should promote “global talent in order to consolidate its position as an innovative city.
At the event – organised with the support of Barcelona Tech City, a local cluster of digital companies – the founders of Kantox, Privalia, Wuaki.tv, Holaluz , Westwing and Marfeel highlighted various elements of Barcelona’s appeal: “the cost of starting a business in the city, “the lifestyle, and the fact that prices are “less expensive than in other major European cities. However, the participants also complained that Europeans “think too much about regulating things when in fact “we should let global talent experience the city and create its own ecosystem so that a true entrepreneurial ecosystem can flourish.
Julio Villalobos, Director of Marketing at ESADE and Director of ESADE’s #inDIGITAL Executive Education programme, moderated the session, during which the entrepreneurs shared their success stories about becoming major players in their respective industries. Lucas Carné (Privalia) and Philippe Gellis (Kantox) agreed that “it is not necessary to open offices in the cities where investment capital is based, given that “the financial market is now more global. The important factor, according to Carlota Pi (Holaluz), is “demonstrating your scalability at the global level and confirming that “you are able to keep growing in your local market.
To persuade international investors, Mr. Carné recommended “having clear plans and choosing partners who can “play an important role in consolidating your position in the market you want to enter. Just a view days after closing a new round of financing at her company, Ms. Pi shared her insights: “Prioritise investors who think big and want to be players in the global future that awaits us.
Jacinto Roca , CEO of Wuaki.tv, urged the entrepreneurs in the audience to “be ambitious, before adding: “In Europe and in Spain, for cultural reasons we limit projects and cut their global ambitions down to size, when in fact we should be doing the opposite. In a world that is “undergoing a new industrial revolution thanks to digital technology, both Joan Margenat (Marfeel) and Víctor García de Santiago (Westwing) urged entrepreneurs to prioritise “quality content as a means of connecting with customers and to “spend as much time as you can recruiting top talent for your company.
One of ESADE’s priorities is to provide educational support to digital entrepreneurs and start-ups through programmes such as the Executive Master in Digital Business, the Programme of Owner-Managers, inDIGITAL and the MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The school also offers EGarage, an ESADECREAPOLIS-based centre for sharing, generating and launching ideas and fostering open innovation.
