We have normalized saying that Barcelona (understood as a country concept, the great Barcelona) is a city of innovation and startups and, in fact, the city has crept into world rankings, and I strongly celebrate it. This message twenty years ago seemed like science fiction. But I, who am an optimist by nature, am not clear that this reality of the technological ecosystem has the impact we want as an engine of economic and social transformation for the country (and not just as an element of gentrification in some neighborhoods).
In fact, I don't understand why in the city of the Mobile World Congress and 4YFN, where world leaders in telecommunications come every year; in the city that hosts more than 100 tech and digital business headquarters of large corporations, the city where talent from all over the world is eager to come, the city that has champions league research centers (the BSC, the ICFO, the CRGB), where there is money, local and international venture capital... well, that this city has not seen the birth of a Spotify or Klarna (they are Swedish), a Vinted (from Lithuania) or a Booking (from Amsterdam).
We lack true role models, of the type of technological company we mean when we talk about startups. We have Fractus, which is the Catalan startup that changed the global standards for mobile phone antennas. Fractus is the UPC spin-off that made it possible for iPhones, and all the other mobiles that have come since, not to have an antenna protrusion. Fractus was founded 26 years ago, and it is still a too little-known story (I encourage you to read it). It is a story of vision, ambition, and execution: what could have been an antenna manufacturing company was reconverted into an intellectual property business. And perhaps it is the only great real success story of technological transfer in the Catalan startup ecosystem. There have been and still are important startup names, but most have been sold, have little roots here, or are suffering. Okay, there are also some that work, that grow, solve problems, create jobs, and that earn or will soon earn money. And surely they will not be, nor do they need or want to be, unicorns.
At this point, the ecosystem could already be considered mature: we are seeing first and second-generation entrepreneurs investing in young entrepreneurs who could be their children. And projects continue to emerge. There is talent and there is experience. But, beyond the financial business itself (which justifies the necessary venture capital industry), what is the focus, the purpose of these startups?
And I ask this question with two exceptions: deep tech, which is the engine of a change that surpasses us and is driven by world-class research centers, led by the BSC; and life sciences —biotech and med tech—, which are part of a complete ecosystem, with hospitals, research centers, pharmaceutical companies, and specialized investors, whose objective —to improve people's health and lives— sells itself. Perhaps here we do have the great hope of the country, the bet is made and it is only a matter of time. But the path of entrepreneurship in science and health is also hard, very hard.
In general, we continue to see many projects that, yes, use technology to make small improvements to current processes, and that perhaps do not justify endless millionaire investment rounds. And there is a boom of vertical brands that, yes, use technology, but are hypes like those that have been experienced all their lives in B2C. And they resonate a lot with the first e-commerce boom. Many years ago an entrepreneur told me that there were startups that would not go beyond being small SMEs, and that this is not bad either. And of course not: we are a country of SMEs!
Long before entrepreneurship was reinvented in Silicon Valley, here at home, an entrepreneur was someone who had a brilliant idea and knew how to turn it into a good business
The concept of entrepreneur is associated with having a brilliant idea and making a deckbrilliant and that seduces investors (that creates FOMO in them) to get on board. Monetizing sometimes costs a little more...We have been creating this figure of the visionary technological entrepreneur for twenty years, looking for the messianic successors of Steve Jobs... And knowing that yes, 80% (only?) fail, that some survive, and that some others succeed (here I would open another can of worms: what does it mean, for astartup, to succeed? Do we celebrate having clients or do we celebrate making a big investment round, or selling the company for a figure with many zeros? But that's another topic).
Long before entrepreneurship was reinvented in Silicon Valley in the 90s and commercialized in business schools, the word in our country was used differently: an entrepreneur was someone who had a brilliant idea and knew how to turn it into a good business (with the help of investors, or banks, but, above all, clients).
What if being an entrepreneur should be what it always was? What if we go back to talking about companies, those that know the market, the clients, and those that can finance and lead innovation? And while we're at it… Where are the companies willing to take risks and break new ground, instead of waiting to see where the shots will come from? This culture of ours of denigrating companies: it's more appealing to distrust the success of others and to rub salt in the wound of failure… That's why at a certain point (do you remember? It coincided with the great crisis of 2008!) it was so good to talk about entrepreneurs and startups, because it's more cool and there was no need to commit to defending companies and entrepreneurs. But just as Puig wasn't afraid (or yes, but they went for it anyway) to aspire and reach the world's top 5 in luxury perfumery, or Fluidra was able to buy the American competitor and lead the global pool market… we have several more local companies with global leadership, and little attention is paid to them. We have also had many that could have been and are not, as getting stuck halfway is not exclusive to startups.
The startup ecosystem should not go it alone, detached from the life and people of the city and the country's companies.
At the turn of the century, a young Catalan scientist was doing his research in Switzerland, he created a biotech startup and sold it to a large pharmaceutical company:that day it was the main news on Swiss television news. That was twenty years ago, but he already explained that back then, one day at any car dealership, chatting with the salesman, they ended up talking about biotechnology stocks on the stock market.
When you're stuck on the Ronda de Dalt, few people think that just a few meters away, at the BSC, more than 1,000 researchers from all over the world are performing stratospheric and quantum calculations looking for solutions to humanity's great challenges. Nearby are the works of the future CaixaResearch Institute; a few more exits away is the VHIR, and heading towards the beach, the Ciutadella del Coneixement is being built at the old Mercat del Peix. Frontier science, innovation and cutting-edge technology, right at home. We are not sufficiently aware of what this represents, of how it puts us on the map.
The startup ecosystem should not go it alone, detached from the life and people of the city and the country's businesses. We have to believe in it for it to truly succeed. And yes: there is a lot of good work to believe in. A Catalan entrepreneur, who is part of the international elite, told me the other day that he was tired of playing the fool from Barcelona, that he would set up his next startup in the United States; that here good projects get lost in short-sighted political discussions.
Having it, we could say we have everything. What is a gift and what we have built. The location, the geography, the climate. The infrastructures. The culture, the gastronomy. The universities, the research centers. The talent. We have innovative companies. And people eager to do great things. Perhaps not always sufficiently coordinated.
So, what are we missing? That we truly believe in it. Aim high, big and strong, and that we all act accordingly.