Episodes
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My guest today is Sandra Nolasco, Founder and CEO of Twinco Capital:
Sandra Nolasco Twinco CapitalTwinco is an ambitous, mission driven fintech company based in Madrid providing financing to small and medium sized companies around the world. Through better technology and risk analytics they can extend more credit at lower cost to the manufacturing suppliers for European retailers. It is a unique model that significantly reduces financing costs and improves supply reliability, with benefits for both suppliers and buyers.
Sandra founded the company after a succesful career in trade finance, as a Managing Director at BBVA and before that as Head of Commodities for Brazil at Fortis Bank. In this conversation we talk about that career path, and the insights that led to starting Twinco.Sandra shares:
Designing the initial product and developing the why now? case for the business Setting a company up for purpose, and defining a mission with clarity Managing a new startup through the pandemic Developing a co-founder relationshipThis is a great conversation for entrepreneurs and investors interesting in innovation in finance for societal benefit. Sandra brings infectious optimism and deep expertise to challenging global issues. I hope listening to her share the strory of Twinco inspires you as much as it did for me.
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My guests today are Aris Xenofontos and Mary Egan from Seaya Ventures:
Aris Xenofontos Mary Egan Seaya VenturesSeaya is a top VC fund in Spain, with over 650M Euros in assets under management. The fund has supported Spanish tech breakouts like Glovo, Wallbox and Clarity. Yet, Seaya is not resting on past success.
Our conversation highlights how Aris, Mary and the team are building an investment firm for differentiated future returns. They share about the ongoing data investment at Seaya, and how they are using technology to find companies before competitors. We discuss how the investment process works internally, including how the team works across three distinct investment strategies.
Founders and investors interested in learning more about how Seaya works and what they are looking for will love this conversation. Seaya doesn't do a lot of interviews, so I am excited to share this conversation.
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Missing episodes?
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My guest today is Fer Pedraz, founder and CEO of Reveni:
Fer Pedraz Reveni"Your pessimism is my opportunity." With a nod to Jeff Bezos, that's my summary of Reveni's approach. Fer and team are on a mission to help retailers improve their profitability, initially by supporting an instant returns and exchange process, but with plans for deeper integrations to support wholistic planning and customer support across the retail business.
Reveni makes money today by betting that customers will do the right thing when returning or exchanging a product. They advance the refund immediately, and take on the risk if the product does not return, or comes back damaged. They do this through better data - building a customer risk profile to help them anticipate what will happen.
It is inherently an optimistic business model, and a global vision. We talk about that, and much more. Fer shares his lessons for coming up with the initial idea, and getting early momentum for the business.
Enjoy my conversation with Fer Pedraz
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My guest this week is Marta Higuera, AI Labs Director at Insud Pharma:
Marta Higuera Insud PharmaOur conversation focuses on building an entrepreneurial career: how to navigate a 'sea of gray', in Marta's words, when making career decisions.
After growing up in a small community outside Santander, Marta has helped lead organizations on four continents. She has worked for prestigous global brands like McKinsey and BCG, and also started and run her own company.
My hope is this conversation provides inspiration and specific actionable advice for listeners following their own entrepreneurial journey.
This show is about the rise of the technology industry in Spain. Marta's story is one that is both unique and representative of the ongoing growth and diversification of our economy - not just in Spain but also in emerging tech hubs around the world. Please enjoy.
Also, Marta and the team at Insud Health are hiring. Here is the Career page for more information on open roles at: https://jobs.insudpharma.com/
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Today, we have a special episode. On Dec 9, 2023, European Parliament negotiators and the Council presidency agreed on the final version of the world's first-ever comprehensive legal framework on Artificial Intelligence; the EU AI Act.
My guest today was a central figure in that negotiation. Carme Artigas represented Spain as the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence. Because Spain held the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU her voice and her role were crucial in getting the agreement done.
As you will hear, Carme worked on this process for several years. She shares what the regulations require, and also the balance the policy makers were trying to accomplish in developing this new framework. We talk about the implications for competitiveness between Europe and other parts of the world, and also between startups and large incumbents within Europe.
It is hard to overstate the importance of this legal framework for European consumers, for technology startups and investors globally, and for future economic growth for all. AI is already shaping global markets and industries. The US and India, two major markets, have not yet determined how to regulate. In just the past month since the EU framework was announced, several countries across the world have indicated interest in following the path provided by the EU AI Act. As more countries follow the 27 members of the EU, this policy framework will shape AI’s development and use for years to come.
Carme is now Co-Chair of the UN AI Advisory Board, which recently released an interim report here: https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/ai_advisory_body_interim_report.pdf
Her request to the audience is to share input on this report and process here: https://www.un.org/en/ai-advisory-body
Please enjoy my conversation with Carme Artigas
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My guest this week is Sergio Gonzalez, co-founder of Piper AI:
Sergio Gonzalez Piper AIAlong with his two co-founders, Sergio is building Piper as a generation AI CRM. He comes to the challenge after years leading sales ops and sales teams at world class companies (Google, Twitter, Stripe, Job & Talent).
In our conversation, Sergio names the 'false premise' of CRM systems today - the idea that sales teams will consistently put in the data needed to get actionable insights from a CRM. Piper is building a solution that addresses this fundamental challenge.
We cover:
Moving to Madrid at a young age, and studying abroad for college Building an international career Lessons learned from leading teams in great companies What Piper is building and why Building and training models for AI products Making the transition from large companies to being a FounderSergio's story fits well within the Investing in Spain thesis. Piper is international from day one, developing initial customers across Europe. With the growing global importance of industry specific AI applications, Piper is a noteworthy startup not just for Spain, but globally. Enjoy this conversation with Sergio Gonzalez.
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My guest his week is Haydee Barroso, founder and CEO of Atani:
Haydee Barroso Atani ExchangeAtani is a European-regulated company that has built the first crypto broker that enables access to all the crypto market with only one account. Atani aggregates the liquidity of top exchanges (centralized and DeFi) so users can access all the coins with only one KYC.
Haydee's story fits squarely within the thesis for this show: Atani is a one of one tech company building a unique technical product. Haydee and team are globally ambitious, already serving over 300,000 customers from all over the world.In this conversation, we cover how Haydee and her brother Paul are building this company, and why they are doing it from Madrid.
Haydee's early professional experiences, and advice on skills for entrepreneurship Finding Bitcoin in 2013 and shifting career focus Innovation & regulation in the banking industry in Europe Why Atani exists Serving customers in the crypto space Building Atani as a platformIn the last part of our conversation, Haydee talks about building the Atani technology platform in a way that they could open up core services to others similar to how Amazon opened up AWS. If you are long crypto markets in general, the Atani team is one to watch.
And, here's the 2011 Wired article about Bitcoin mentioned in our conversation:
https://www.wired.com/2011/11/mf-bitcoin/
Enjoy,
Rory
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My guest today is Jose Bayon, CEO of Enisa.
Jose Bayon ENISAENISA is a state owned company integrated into the Spanish Government’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. ENISA's mission is to promote entrepreneurship and support small and medium sized businesses throughout Spain. Last year, ENISA provided over 100M Euros of funding to Spanish startups.
I wanted to talk with Jose about the work ENISA does throughout the Spanish startup ecosystem. We discuss:
the Startup Law, and the impact on startups the rise of new hubs of innovation in Spain, beyond the traditional areas of Madrid and Barcelona the role of ENISA in providing catalytic capital to the ecosystem the next stage of growth for venture in Spain, and what needs to happen to improve the ecosystem overallAfter talking with many investors and founders directly, this conversation provided me a broader lens on the ongoing transformation in Spain. At least according to Jose, there is wide support for continued investment and policy change to accelerate the entrepreneurial economy in Spain as a key lever of future growth. I found this conversation helpful in understanding that broader economic goal.
I hope you enjoy this conversation with Jose Bayon.
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My guest today is Isabel Rodriquez, Partner at King & Wood Mallesons:
Isabel Rodriquez King & Wood MallesonsIsabel is the head of the Investment Funds team at King & Wood and the preeminent attorney in Spain for all things venture capital. She advises LPs and GPs in structuring and establishment of domestic and international investment funds (including venture capital), secondary transactions, carried interest arrangements, co-investment plans and other related transactions such as restructuring of funds or creation of special purposes vehicles for investment into private equity.
Isabel shares her expert perspective on the challenge for Spanish venture firms raising capital from international investors. We cover:
History of regulation in Spain Typical fund structures for VC and PE in Spain Tax considerations Compliance costs for local VCsThis conversation solves a riddle for me in this inquiry - there are added costs and complexities for Spanish GPs, but not from the side of Spanish regulation. Enjoy this conversation with Isabel.
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My guest today is Juan Montero, Founder and CEO of Fence.
Juan Montero FenceFence is building internet native debt capital markets. The first offering is a SaaS product that allows asset based lenders to monitor a portfolio of loans in real time. The service went live earlier this year to support BBVA's €20M lending facility with Payflow.
I talk with Juan about:
Growing up coding as a student in Madrid Early experiences learning about business models Defi Summer The Fence origin story What success looks like for Fence and its customers Juan's views on tech in Spain right now.Like Fence, this conversation touches on crypto, existing bank infrastructure, building products for customers that matter, and optmism for the future.
For disclosure, I met Juan soon after moving to Spain this summer and have since talked with him about his company and vision many times. I believe this product has significant potential, as I share in the introduction to our conversation. I wish Fence was around when CircleUp started our lending program. I became an investor in Fence in early November.
Enjoy this conversation with Juan Montero.
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My guest today is Rika Christanto, Partner at LifeX Ventures.
Rika Christanto LifeX VenturesRika is a global investor, based in Madrid. She and the team at LifeX invest in software and AI companies focused on improving outcomes in health and climate. Rika is also a builder, having been COO at two different Spanish startups. We talk about
the climate and health care markets today, the perspective gained when investing globally from Madrid US vs Europe AI innovation what she looks for in foundersHere is the Endeavor Report on the Spanish Tech ecosystem referenced in the conversation:
https://lp.endeavor.org/spaintechmap
Throughout, we learn more about what to expect from the LifeX team as the portfolio grows and what it takes to to build a globally focused fund from Madrid. Rika brings operating experience building startups in Spain and a global perspective to her investing - enjoy this great conversation.
Rory
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My guest today is Gioia Cerbelli, VP of GP Bullhound and co-founder of Calafia Syndicate.
Gioia Cerbelli Calafia SyndicateGioia brings a wide lens to our study of the Spanish venture market, advising founders when selling their company to large international investors, and also investing personally at the very earliest stages. Our conversation covers:
How the Spanish market is weathering the current environment The pace of change for local founders and investors over the past five years The exit market, and how it is evolvingGioia also shares her own entreprenurial experience, creating a new network of female investors investing in globally ambitious Iberian founders.
This conversation highlights for me both the energy and the increasing complexity of the Spanish venture market - many things are happening all at once, sometimes contradictory. Enjoy
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My guest today is Carina Szpilka, General Partner at K Fund.
Carina Szpilka K FundCarina and her partners founded K Fund in 2016, marking an important milestone in the growth of the Spanish venture market. The K Fund founders emphasized operating experience, focusing on partnering with their portfolio companies to build great products and companies. Today, K Fund manages over 500M euros.
Carina and I discuss
The impact of the recent Spanish Startup Law, a law Carina helped pass in her role as then President of Adigital. How the Spanish venture market has changed in the past 7 yrs The relationship between VC returns and the Spanish economy K Fund's growth into Latin America Her philosophy for investing And moreHere is the Deal Room report referenced by Carina in the conversation
Spanish Startups and Venture Capital - 2023
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My guest today is Sonia Fernandez, Partner at Kibo Ventures.
Sonia Fernandez Kibo VenturesSonia brings a multi-decade perspective on building technology companies in Spain. She is both an operator, having led the Spanish offices for MercadoLibre and Match.com, and an investor. In our conversation, we talk about the changing level of ambition in Spanish entrepreneurs, and how investors like Kibo are meeting this moment.
This is a great conversation for anyone curious about the trajectory of the venture market in Spain, and what leading investors are looking for today. We cover:
Kibo's origin story and growth The rising bar for fundraising in today's market What Sonia looks for in Founders today Spain's role in global tech development -
Today, Spain is the fastest growing large economy in Europe. A rapidly growing technology industry is driving optimism and creating new global champions for the Spanish economy. Companies like JobandTalent, Glovo, Cabify, and Flywire all begun in Spain and grew to markets around the world.
In the past two years, more than $7B has been invested in Spanish startups. Google announced a new cybersecurity center for excellence in Malaga, and Apple acquired Vylinx, its first acquisition in Spain. A new generation of Founders and investors have committed to building in Spain, including technologically driven companies like Carto, Clarity, and Devo.Yet, there is almost no North American investment capital. Madrid and Barcelona rank behind cities like London, Berlin, and Paris in both capital invested and unicorns created. Is that a lagging indicator? Or is there a structural reason Spain cannot compete in global venture capital markets?
Investing in Spain is a series of conversations with the leaders of the startup community in Spain. We talk with the prominent investors, entrepreneurs and partners building the Spanish technology industry. We explore the challenges, and the opportunities, that lie ahead. The goal is to provide a global audience an introduction to Spanish VC, a snapshot of the people, firms and strategies defining this period of growth and transition.
I invite you to join us. Whether you are an allocator, a co-investor, a founder or just curious about how an emerging venture ecosystem breaks out, you will take away from these conversations a deeper understanding of the builders in Spain.
