Hello and happy Monday,

Today's main headlines:

• Revolut registered by Bank of Spain for crypto trading 📈

• Barca gets €100M from Socios to expand web3 efforts 🌌

• Heura’s turnover surges by 93% 🌿  

Phrase of the week: “Cerrado por vacaciones” ⛱😎

There’s been lots of articles & LinkedIn posts circulating about the internal battle of taking time off as a CEO, founder or other generally relied-upon member of staff. 

Some are feeling guilt, some admit they never really switch off even when on a tropical island, and some thrive on the non-stop entrepreneur lifestyle. Others are finding a balance to ease the angst: VP at Bumble Priti Joshi says she feels better doing a 5-minute email and Slack check-in every morning, even though she doesn’t respond. 

On the flipside, there’s Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who always takes 6 weeks off a year to ensure a proper work-life balance.

So what’s the best way to go about it? 

Here’s our thought: it’s about building and training the right team. If you trust them, you’ll be less stressed about unplugging and more able to relax. 

Do you agree? What's your approach? Let us know by replying to this email :)

Learn Blockchain & Crypto from the best 🤓

European Tech School's mission is to educate and empower the Web3 & Crypto community. It is a first-of-its-kind online blockchain school set to disrupt the way we learn about technology. 

You will learn via live classes directly from leading professionals in the crypto space with a diverse and growing supportive community.

The next program starts on August 31st!

Save 25% with the code ETSBARCINNO – valid until August 15th - here.

For an inside look into what the program involves, check out Clemens's review on Barcinno, Blockchain Executive Program at ETS: My Experience.

Have a good one!

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Barcelona Supercomputing Center gets €5M from EU to research climate change

• Orthodontic firm Impress merge with US-based Uniform Teeth

• Tarragona winery Reserva de la Tierra acquired by Sherpa Capital after its insolvency over counterfeit wine 

Barcelona startup news

• Fintech ID Finance close first half of 2022 with €5M net profit; up 25% 

• Plant-protein brand Heura’s turnover surges by 93% YOY, reaching €14.7M

• Wallbox’s Supernova public charger gets certification to launch in Portugal; they also installed the first DC charger in Africa, in Cape Town

• San-Fran travel tech company Beyond opens BCN office & job ops

Spanish investment news

• €363M invested in Spanish startups in July; the recent Seedtag round represented 70% of this

• Madrid-based SME management software Grupo Primavera acquired by French counterpart Cegid

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• ENISA allocated €98.5M to finance SMEs and innovative entrepreneurship

• Demium launches fund for investing in Central European startups; €7-9M in July & €30-40M in September

• Samaipata accelerates internationally with investment in 2 new British startups

• Biohub VLC unveils first investment vehicle, Biozell Ventures, for startups & scaleups in biotech, pharmacy and health sectors

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• ​​FutureTravel Summit will showcase 10 startups (from anywhere in the world) driving innovative solutions for the travel & tourism industry; apply until August 19

• Barcelona Activa’s Blue-UP program open for innovative blue economy (sustainable maritime) startups; apply until Sept 4 

• Web Summit Lisbon’s ALPHA program offers event attendance, access to Investor to Startup meetings, PITCH & Startup masterclasses, Mentor Hours and more; apply now 

• Spain’s Ministry of Industry launches startup acceleration program to support 6K entrepreneurs

• Norwegian VC firm Antler opens office in Madrid 

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• Silt: Helping SMEs and freelancers avoid identity theft

• Nuwe: Recruitment software reinventing staff selection beyond the CV

• Roda Cosmetics: Using data tech to scale up production & save hours in the lab

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona:

• FC Barcelona receive €100M from Socios to expand its web3 efforts

• Barcelona finalizes network of 190 micro taxi stops to modernize the system, reduce pollution & improve traffic

• Port of Barcelona breaks its cargo traffic record

• Alstom to deploy APS tech on Barcelona tram network

Tech & big company news in Spain:

• 6.8% of people in Spain have invested in crypto at some point

• Spanish research center suffers cyberattack linked to Russia

• Revolut ES customers will be able to buy & sell crypto after Bank of Spain’s approval

• Telefonica relaunches Bluevia, which focuses on building fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks in rural areas

• Mobility startup Goggo Network become first company in Spain to operate autonomous delivery vehicles in Zaragoza

• Basque startup Multiverse Computing join Bosch’s Madrid automotive electronics plant to create digital twin 

Politics, legal & economics

• Spanish unemployment rate falls to 12.5%, the lowest level since 2008

Good Reads

• Hybrid work is leaving Gen Z behind. Here’s how to engage the youngest professionals

• Big Tech’s guide to talking about AI ethics

• How Shein beat Amazon at its own game – and reinvented fast fashion

• Erasmusu decalogue for remote work (or how to work remotely without dying trying)

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Financial Times Podcast: Imposter syndrome: Turning self-doubt into a positive (EN)

• Bootstrapping an AI product in Barcelona, with Marc Assens (CTO @ Happy Scribe) (EN)

• Activism and community to revolutionize the food industry with Bernat Añaños from Heura (ES)

Great Events

Upcoming:

• Tue, 23 Aug @19:00: Open Coffee Startup Networking. Open conversations about startup life & fun

• Thu, 25 Aug @14-18:00: L​​e Wagon coding school open day

• Wed, 31 Aug@ 18:30: Startup Grind BCN Summer Party 2022

• Wed, 21 Sept: CoinPoint Catalonian Metaverse & Web3 Gaming Event

• Fri, 16 Sep & Sat, 17 Sep: Service Design Days Conference: product and service innovation & digital transformation

• Wed, 28 Sep @18:30: BCN FinTech Afterwork #003 

• Thu, 29 Sep @18:00: SaaStock Barcelona: Fundraising in a Downturn - What You Need to Know

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

Jobs

• FC Barcelona is looking for a Head of Digital Channels

• MarsBased is looking for Node.js & Ruby on Rails Developers

• Finch & Beak is recruiting a Business Consultant

• Cooltra is hiring a B2G General Manager

• Cognizant Netcentric is recruiting several IT positions

• European Tech School is hiring an Admissions Officer (Blockchain) in BCN 

• Bourbon Creative is hiring Freelance Content Writers (Native English, 100% remote)