Hi community,

This week’s main headlines:

• Exoticca may be BCN’s next unicorn 🦄

• Judit Camargo wins Global Women in Tech award 🥇

• Draper B1’s Alef launches flying car ☄️

Accelerators: Trick or Treat? 🎃

The value of accelerators vs. their “costs” is a never-ending discussion amongst the entrepreneurship community. A recent question posed on Twitter on this actually sparked some spicy feedback from founders all over the world.

So inspired by Halloween, I want to solve once and for all whether accelerators are worth it (treat 🍭) or not (trick 🦇).

The pros 👍 obviously range from access to subject matter experts to getting intros to companies you may have otherwise struggled to reach. And the cons 👎 include giving up a slice of your equity and sometimes not really getting anything valuable in return (e.g. credits for software you don’t need or weak mentors).

Since answering this as a one-person view would be biased, we’re looking for YOUR help. We’ve created a LinkedIn poll 📊 on this and will present the results in next week’s newsletter. So please share your vote & thoughts here.

​​Learn about the official support service that helps you with your landing in Barcelona

Have you heard about Barcelona International Welcome Desk? It's the personalized support service provided by Barcelona City Council to make settling in the city easier.

If you've just arrived in Barcelona to set up a business, invest, study, do research or are thinking about pursuing a career here, at Barcelona International Welcome Desk we can answer any queries you may have.

You’ll find information, expert advice, and help with carrying out some useful procedures upon arrival in the city, both in person and online.

Learn more about Barcelona International Welcome Desk and book an appointment now.

Have a grand week! 🧛🏻

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Medical diagnostics company DeepUll raise €13M Series B

• E-mobility group VEGA Chargers close €2M

• Activity and leisure app for seniors Vermut get €1.5M

• Football figurine startup Banbotoys receive €400K

• SaaS for hoteliers Amenitiz acquire French firm Ododo

Barcelona startup news

• Traveltech Exoticca could be BCN’s next unicorn, set to increase revenue from €75M to €120M this year

• Founder & CEO of Roka Furadada Judit Camargo wins Global Women in Tech Award in Dubai

• Xavier Pladellorens leaves Deporvillage; ISRG Group will increase its stake to 98%

• Proptech Brickbro named best startup to invest in at The District awards

• Healthtech startup Methinks AI wins prestigious European EIC accelerator, receiving €2.5M & €15M capital co-investment

• Cleantech startup Bioo launch its soil-powered electricity panels internationally

Spanish investment news

• Madrid-based mobility solutions company Pulpo raise €8M

• Madrid medtech startup Nuubo gets €8M

• Spanish sustainable beer producers Ekonoke close €4.2M 

• Madrid-based recruitment platform Viterbit secure its first €1.6M

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• McWin gets the green light from the CNMV for its €250M food tech fund

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• My Start BCN project returns to Barcelona, ​​a competition aimed at the promotion and international growth of Italian startups in Spain; apply until Oct 30

• AtticoLab’s 5th call for disruptive startups is open; apply until Oct 30

• IEBS has released its micro masters material for 4 digital business and entrepreneurship courses completely free (in ES); sign up now

• 5G Ventures, the first venture builder specialized in 5G, launches its first Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR); apply now

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• Arospace: Startup printing 3D flyers for video games

• Athos: Launching the world’s first 3D-printed climbing shoe

• Sparks: Just-launched app helping couples keep date night exciting

• Väcka: Amazing milk-free cheese made in BCN

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona:

• Barcelona IESE’s MBA ranked in the world’s top 10 by the Financial Times

• Gebro Pharma and Barcelona Health Hub collaborate to promote innovation in the digital health field; BHH also expands its headquarters with €10M investment

• French tech company Extia expands Barcelona offices to create 40 jobs next year

Tech & big company news in Spain:

• Draper B1-owned Alef launches “Model A”, the first flying car with vertical takeoff & landing

• Amazon touts €1B investment in EVs in Europe

• Booking.com under investigation by Spain’s antitrust watchdog for unfair competition practices against rivals

• Banco Santander and Forgepoint Capital announce strategic alliance to advance cybersecurity investment and innovation

Politics, legal & economics

• Spain, France & Portugal agree to build an underwater ‘green corridor’ between Barcelona and Marseille to transport hydrogen and gas

• South Summit report claims ‘solopreneur’ phenomenon is leading in Spain

Good Reads

• 4 reasons that shaped Factorial into the new Spanish unicorn

• MiCA: What Europe’s cryptoassets regulation means for the continent

• Skype Co-founder Niklas Zennström on why the European startup scene will lead the tech revolution – not Silicon Valley

• Inside Sono Motors’ family-friendly $25,000 solar-powered electric car

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Spanish diaspora with Itxaso del Palacio (Notion Capital): teaching, investing and PLG (Kfund podcast, EN)

• Elon Musk and Twitter (maybe) close in on a deal & the glorious, curious world of bots (WiredUK podcast, EN)

• The round that turned Factorial into a "unicorn" (Itnig Podcast, ES)

Great Events

This week:

• Tue, 25 & Wed, 26 Oct: AI & Big Data Congress Barcelona

• Wed, 26 Oct @08:30: Barcelona Health Hub Summit

• Wed, 26 Oct @15.30: 2022 Amb Ulls UPF: Consumption in times of inflation

• Wed, 26 Oct @18:00: Google Analytics 4 Workshop: Migration, differences, metrics and the future

• Thu, 27 Oct: 18:00: October Afterwork – Pier01 | Tech Barcelona and Z by HP

Upcoming:

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

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

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

• 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)

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

Startup Jobs:

• 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 Strategy

• Qida is hiring a Strategy & Growth Manager

• Danone is looking for a Digital Transformation 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