Sadako, winning startup in IE Business School’s I National Venture Network

Venture Networks are informal meetings between startups and investors organized by IE Business School to boost entrepreneurship. Over the last year, the organizers have visited 12 Spanish cities, connecting investors with almost 200 startups. Among the panel deciding the winner were Juan José Güemes, the President of IE Business School’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center, as well as Yolanda Pérez, the director of BStartup.

“I would like to highlight the quality of the almost 200 projects taking part over the last year in our Venture Networks in different Spanish cities with the aim of boosting business creation and putting investors in touch with entrepreneurs,” said Mr Güemes at the presentation of the winning startup, adding: “The four finalists show how it is possible to innovate and become a benchmark in sectors such as managing waste, logistics, tourism, or the social networks, based on solid teams, growth plans, and an international outlook.”

Ms Pérez, the director of BStartup, set up by Banco Sabadell to advise and finance startups, calls on Spanish entrepreneurs to contact the entity and to take part in upcoming IE Venture Network rounds, saying that this will give young companies the edge in terms of having their projects and business plans assessed according to flexible criteria. “BStartup, aside from having more than 80 offices throughout Spain specializing in entrepreneurship, also works with venture capitalists that understand the needs of companies starting out, and that don’t only look at the bottom line,” she said.

This year’s runners up included Shipeer, a logistics platform to make use of spare space in car owners’ trunks, Travel Compositor, a “composer” of multi-destination and multi-service trips; and Tweet Binder, which monitors Twitter and other social network publications and hashtags. The four finalists presented their projects to a panel that included investors and experts in entrepreneurship. IE Business School lecturers Rodolfo Carpintier and Mari Cruz Taboada gave presentations on Venture Captal and Negotiation at the event.

Aside from Venture Networks, IE Business School organizes Venture Days to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit of its students in more than 100 countries, putting them in touch with investors in different areas of the world. Over the last two years, Venture Days has helped raise more than $15 million in financing for innovative startups.