Hi & happy Halloween 👻,

This week’s main headlines:

• 💸 BCN startups raise over €50M

• ⛓️ Spain becomes #3 largest crypto ATM hub

• 🚲 “Bicing” for BCN’s metropolitan area

Poll results: Are accelerators still worth it? 🧐

Last week we talked about the value of accelerators in today’s times. And to settle this never-ending debate on whether they’re worth it, we ran a poll on LinkedIn. Now the votes are in, let’s dissect:

• Yes – they help you grow 🌱 = 79%

• No – they just steal your 🍰 = 21%

Turns out Barcinno readers are fans of accelerators, with more than three-quarters voting in favor ✅ of these institutions. Yet, we’re aware that while we purposely limited the answers to two options, the reality is not black-and-white 🦓. So of course, it does depend on the situation.

For instance, YC & TechStars have pretty strong track records – hard to say they don't add value. Similarly, if you’re in a niche industry targeting a limited number of key accounts and you're hard to reach, a specialized program can open up a lot of doors 🚪.

But just as there are bad companies, there are also some bad accelerators out there. So ultimately, you need to do your own research and due diligence. Especially for questions like:

• Are the mentors really great? 👩‍🏫

• Are the contacts & corporates involved useful to your specific project? 📱

• Do the monetary benefits really matter (e.g. real cash instead of credits for SaaS that you don’t need)? 💸

• What is the track record of the program and do they have any strong success stories? 🏅

👉 And one final tip, don’t just take everything you read for granted. Marketers excel at spinning the positive, so take advantage to reach out to a few entrepreneurs who have gone through the accelerator program and ask them about their real experience. This will give you a much better, and more truthful, idea.

Have I missed anything or do you have a different view? Let me know on LinkedIn here!

(Written by Clemens)

Have fun & scale up! 📈

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Barcelona-Toronto healthtech Seqera Labs brings in €22M

• Plant-based meat producer Heura gets €20M ahead of larger Series B next year

• Hair loss & wellness brand Olistic secure €6M 

• Collaborative team design platform Ourspace get €2.5M

• New study abroad platform StudiesIn receive €570K

• Farm-to-table produce startup Freshis raises €330K, well above its €200K target, via Crowdcube

• Brava Fabrics raise €359K through La Bolsa Social

Barcelona startup news

• CEO of Neuroelectrics Ana Maiques recognized by Goldman Sachs as one of the Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2022

• Wallbox opens its 'superfactory' to conquer the US market; a 12K square meter plant in Texas with capacity to produce 250K next year and 1M by 2030

• Holaluz closes 2021 with €571M and hopes to multiply EBITDA 70x by 2024 despite the energy crisis

• Freshly Cosmetics continues expansion in Spain with the opening of physical stores in Gijón & Pamplona

• Filmin doesn't follow the example of Netflix; they won't include ads in its subscription

Spanish investment news

• Madrid-based mental health service TherapyChat gets €6.5M

• Madrid coupon & discount extension Qoala recieves €1.6M

• Zaragoza streaming recommendation platform Bubbo raises €90.5K via crowdfunding

• Bit2Me makes another acquisition: Valencian crypto software company Dekalabs

• French dental tech startup Allisone enters Spanish market after raising €10M from Samaipata

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• Impact investment platform La Bolsa Social gets green light from CNMV to operate in all of Europe

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• Banco Santander & Oxentia Foundation launch global challenge for startups and scaleups addressing food scarcity, access to healthy and sustainable food etc; apply until Nov 10

• SmartCatalonia & the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC) pose 3 real challenges for startups and SMEs in the New Space sector; apply until Nov 25

• Cinfa & Lanzadera launch Cinfanext, a new open innovation platform to promote healthtech projects

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• Lessons from fundraising in a downturn by Cristina Viles, Founder & CEO of Cledara

• Lluís Juncà: Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at BCN council, “I would like there to be 10 Catalan startups with 1,000 workers in 2026"

• Sergio Balcells: Founder of Solfy wants the solar company to be the world’s first ‘ethicorn’

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona:

• US semiconductor company MPS will expand its Catalan offices, creating 150 highly qualified jobs

• Metropolitan areas of Barcelona will get their own “Bicing-like” bike-sharing service, AMBici

• Farside Ventures joins Tech Barcelona to go after technology transfer projects

• American startup Blueground to launch 300 seasonal rental apartments in Barcelona

• Damm to invest €3.6M into solar panel expansion; it already produces 60% of the energy it uses

Tech & big company news in Spain:

• Google's new centre of excellence in Malaga will be a global hub for cybersecurity

• The first home delivery robots have been released in Madrid, working with Dia & Telepizza

• Repsol and PLD Space join forces to develop renewable rocket fuel

• Zara steps into the circular economy with a pre-owned clothing platform

• Spain overtakes El Salvador to become 3rd-largest crypto ATM hub

• The Spanish wine market enters the world of NFTs with well-known winery Clos Mogador

Politics, legal & economics

• Spain's (EU harmonised) 12-month inflation slows to 7.3% in Oct; down from 9% in Sep and better than forecasted; the newly rolled out free rail travel & cheaper urban public transport helped

Good Reads

• Food tech nation: The new ingredients shaping the future of food from Spain

• K Fund’s Pablo Ventura on his investment luck in unicorns like Factorial, Jobandtalent and Flywire

• Forbes: Is Europe’s fintech boom running out of steam?

• The hottest tech jobs that didn’t exist a few years ago 

Good Videos & Podcasts

• How to test, explore and validate your first product ideas as an early-stage startup (Seedcamp podcast, EN)

• Factorial’s Bernat Farrero and Jordi Romero on the round that made them a unicorn (ES)

• Chat with Manuel Marina, researcher, cardiologist, Co-Founder & CEO of Idoven (Hablando con líderes podcast, ES)

Great Events

This week:

• Thu, 3 Nov @18:00: Barcelona Tech Job Fair Autumn 2022

• Fri, 4 Nov @13:30: FutureTravel Summit 2022

Upcoming:

• Thu-Fri, 10-11 Nov: Democracy4All - Blockchain for Governance Conference

• Thu, 10 Nov @18:30: Scale Up Stories – Bit2Me and Metasoccer (Wayra)

• 14-18 Nov & 19-20 Nov: ETH Gathering & Conference Weekend: curated onsite experience for decentralized teams

• Wed, 23 Nov @ 18:30: BCN FinTech: DeFi vs FinTech - with Philippe Gelis (CEO Kantox), Victoria Gago (Co-CEO European Blockchain Convention) & Claudia Giraldo (CMO Common Sense)

• Wed, Nov 30 & Thu, Dec 1: Tech Spirit Barcelona (Tech Barcelona event)

See the full event calendar here & add your event here.

Startup Jobs:

• Riverbed want a Digital Sales Representative - German Speaking

• SolarMente want a Founder Associate

• FlexiDAO is looking for a Marketing Specialist

• Creditiz is recruiting a Business Intern

• Impress is hiring a CMO

• Payhawk is looking for a Marketing Director

• Heura Foods is recruiting a Head of PMO

• Qida is hiring a Strategy & Growth Manager

• Bourbon Creative is hiring:

• - Freelance Content Writers and/or Project Managers (German, 100% remote)

• - Freelance Content Writers (English, 100% remote)

• Opticks is looking for an Account Executive & an Engineering Manager

• Unnax want a Business Development Executive

• Cognizant Netcentric is looking for various Tech roles