Stage2 accelerator is born to invest 15 million in industrial 'startups'

In the La Verneda neighborhood, one of Barcelona's industrial districts, is the operational base of the new accelerator Stage2, a private venture capital initiative that sees scientific-technical innovation startups as an opportunity and a key and indispensable piece for the competitiveness of the industrial fabric throughout Europe. To grow thestartups industrial will be the task that Stage2 will delve into, but it will do so not only with accompaniment, but also with direct investment in these incipient industrial companies. For thiswill seek projects across Europe that already have or are about to obtain product validationand that need resources to move to the industrialization and commercialization phase in international markets. The initiative corresponds toa group of ten entrepreneurs and industrialists who, led by Oriol Pascual, former director of IQS Tech Factory, have invested 1.5 million eurosto carry out this project, in an industrial warehouse of 560 square meters on Santander street. From Barcelona, as a new benchmark in the emerging sectorIndustrial Tech, financial support will be sought to create a 15 million euro venture capital fund that will allow 150 projects to be accelerated by 2030, with an investment of 100,000 euros per company, with the involvement and commitment to contribute to their development for a minimum of three years. The CEO of Stage2,Oriol Pascual highlights the weight that the Industrial Tech sector, which is in a clear phase of expansion, will have in ten yearsand has insisted that Barcelona cannot lose the opportunity to attract this segment with high added value and innovation, to have an increasingly competitive industry that creates wealth. Pascual mentioned a report from the portalDealroom, which determined that private investment in the fieldIndustrial Techin Europe has multiplied by nine in the last five years and has been fundamental for the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of its countries. "There are two ways to increase the role of industry in GDP: take existing industry and make it grow and produce more or help create new industrial companies with high added value," Pascual assured. Roberto Gili, from Crowdcube; Rubén Bonet, from Fractus; Francisco Andrés, from Plating Brap; Pablo Linz, from Immfly; Ignasi Tribó, from Parlem Telecom; Jordi de los Pinos, from Smadex; Lorenzo Ferrari, from Ipagsa; Rick Scavetta, creator of the consultancy specialized in data analysis methods for researchers, Scavetta; and the American entrepreneur Bruce Larr Holland, who has invested, among others, in the company of work mobile devices Spectralink, accompany Oriol Pascual in this project. The launch of Stage2Stage2 is launched with a first phase that will run until 2025 with the acceleration of 25 projects. It is expected to begin next September with fourstartupschosen by the European network ofStage2, which has started with collaboration agreements with other accelerators in Berlin and Helsinki. They have a network of European partners, in addition to the alliance with Hello Tomorrow, a Deep Tech community, an association born in France to support startups with innovative technologies rooted in science and advanced engineering that offer new innovative production methods. In Barcelona, initially, Pascual's team is completed by Oriol Vivet, who comes from the industrial design agency Lucid, and Miriam Segura, former director of the Clean Tech acceleration program, Cleantech Camp. "In two years, we expect to be ten people," explains the accelerator's general director. Stage2 will work a minimum of six months with each industrial project, combining investment and acceleration with the validation of innovative industrial products in the market, their development with product engineering and the first phase of manufacturing, the validation of work teams and the design of the growth strategy with an international vision.

In La Verneda, synergies with TMDC

To favor these processes, the choice of a space in La Verneda has not been fortuitous. Stage2 has been located in the warehouse on Santander street because that is where the industrial workshop TMDC ---co-founded by Pedro Pineda--- is located, which in 3,000 square meters has Electroportable machinery, industrial machinery and CNC (computer numerical control) machinery to work wood, iron and plastic, which operates with the coworking formula and facilitates that freelancers, entrepreneurs and SMEs can start manufacturing their industrial parts.

Among the external professionals who advise the Stage2 team are Heriberto Saldivar, head of the forecasting, strategy and coordination department of the European Space Agency; Marko Parkkinen, founder and CEO of Seedi, a venture focused on companies in the scientific sector; Nicolas Avril, founder of Enging, a hardware manufacturing company; and Xavier Simó, founder and president of Inlea, a consultancy that offers 360º advice to companies in 50 countries.