23 figures that are undoubtedly encouraging, especially for young, and not-so-young, non-conformists who don't just want to work. Who, in fact, seek to help change the world a little thanks to their ideas.
Just as the number of startups has increased, so too has Investment has grown in these types of companies. For example, in September last year, more than 65 million euros were invested, bringing the annual total to 1.210 billion euros. This figure is already far from the over 840 million in 2017. Continuing with the September figures, a total of 18 operations were closed this month with companies such as eCooltra, the motosharing company; Black Limba, an online lingerie shop; We Are Testers, a startup specialising in market research; and La Pirata, an artisan beer manufacturer, among others.
Entrepreneurship came to life, approximately, when the crisis began. As explained by Esteban Redolfi, director of entrepreneurship and innovation at Mobile World Capital, in an article Digital Economy, “Spain wasn't entrepreneurial and was compared to Anglo-Saxon countries, where there was a stronger culture.” He also adds that “we didn't know what a startup was, we didn't understand the possibilities of technology (...) but today, every day, the media talk about startups.”.
According to El País data, Spain is a country with few but strong entrepreneurs. This conclusion is based on the rate of new entrepreneurs (2.6% of citizens aged 18 to 64 are setting up a business, as yet without remuneration) and the rate of established entrepreneurs (2.6% of citizens in the same age group who own a business that has been operating for between 3 and 42 months). But we have a message for all these entrepreneurs: you are brave. Brave for seeing an idea through, for holding on to your dreams, and for wanting to help society take a step towards the future.
To be able to bounce back in these figures, the executives of large companies such as Telefónica, Indra, and Siemens are betting on investment, training, and entrepreneurship. The objective? To drive the digitalization of industry. This is how they explained it at the Industry 4.0 Congress where it has been shown that, although Spain does not have that culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, it is necessary, as explained by the president of Accenture Spain, Portugal and Israel, Juan Pedro Moreno, to “have courage”, “think long-term” and consider everything we can do to evolve.
In addition to changing the mindset to make Spain an entrepreneurial country, we also need to ensure that women's prominence in this field increases. Only a quarter of Spanish start-ups have been “founded” with women in leadership roles. It must be acknowledged that this figure has risen since 2017, when it stood at 18%. Even so, the typical profile of an entrepreneur in Spain remains that of a middle-aged man with a higher education qualification.
On the other hand, Amazon has also wanted to get on the startup bandwagon, launching a specific store for products from these companies. Launchpad, as explained in this article from Cinco Días, will help startups manage their inventories, ship orders, and customer service, among other activities. Launchpad, which was launched in 2015, is available in the USA, Canada, India, China, Japan, France, Germany, the UK, and Spain, and supports over 2,100 startups worldwide, with more than 650 in Europe.
In just a few years, thanks to Medicsen we will be able to treat diabetes; with AIPark we will find somewhere to park in the city; and with Play2Speak we will learn new languages. The startups that want Change the world They have arrived.
