Hello and happy Monday - we hope you had a great holiday weekend! We're back in the saddle and ready for a new week. Let's go!

Xarxa Emprèn: a helping hand for entrepreneurs

Xarxa Emprèn is a public/private entity that provides services and support to entrepreneurs in Catalonia during their first three years of business. With wide-reaching expertise, valuable contacts and comprehensive knowledge of the region’s business landscape, it acts as a mentor and guide for new companies. If you’re an entrepreneur in Catalonia looking for support, advice and information, see how they can help you in our latest article here.

Growth Marketing Barcelona CMO edition

Next Tuesday, December 17th, Growth Marketing BCN will host Mark Smit CMO of ModelManagement.com for a talk on how to create a viral loop and convert freemium users. Register for the meetup here.

20th DataBeers Barcelona

If you're not cut from the marketing cloth then check out DataBeersBCN also on Tuesday, December 17th. This edition features four amazing data-related stories on the future of deep learning. Sign up here.

Ok, that's it from me. Have a great week and we'll see you out there!

Startup & Investment News

Investment news

• Barcelona medical device startup Anaconda Biomed gets €20M

• Barcelona telco startup Parlem secures a €2M investment

• Catalan startup TAPP Water lands €1.8M to continue cutting down on plastic bottle usage thanks to their biodegradable‎ water filter subscription model

• Barcelona social impact startup Berdac raises €445K

• Spanish Hyperloop startup Zeleros receives investment from Angels Capital

• Spanish fintech StudentFinance closes a €1.15M funding round

• Investment into Spanish startups is expected to decline this year; in contrast to the rest of Europe

Startups news

• Catalan sports ecommerce platforms had a great Black Friday week:

• - Tradeinn reached over €12M in sales during the Black Week, a 60% increase compared to last year

• - Deporvillage closed its Black Friday campaign with over €4.8M in sales

• Carrefour & Glovo strengthen their alliance by expanding their services to eleven new cities in Spain

• Chimpy launches mobile phone charger rental service in Barcelona

• El Referentate published 'Ranking of the 100 most innovative startups in Spain 2019'; 38 Barcelona startups make the list ahead of Madrid (27) and Valencia (11)

VC, investment & crowdfunding news:

• Spanish asset management firm TREA raises €120M for fund

• aimed at medium-sized companies

• Barcelona-based equity crowdfunding firm Capital Cell has helped health startups raise €11.6M this year; a 301% increase

• Antai Venture Builder records €6M profit for the year 2018 thanks to the sale of Wallapop & Glovo shares

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories:

• ONCE INNOVA Emprendedores open call extended until 31st of Jan 2020

• PcComponentes launches a startup accelerator aimed at firms with innovative e-commerce and retail solutions

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• Koduz: digital interior design services for your home

• Neuroelectrics: the digital brain health firm that works with NASA, Facebook & Warner Bros and is led by CEO & co-founder Ana Maiques (psst - they're looking for a new CMO)

Tech News

• Barcelona ranked as the 8th best city when it comes to work-life balance

• Barcelona is ​​the 4th most innovative city in Europe and the 5th most attractive city for digital talent worldwide

• Catalan fashion company Mango to invest 35M€ in logistic center expansion

• Barcelona-based airline group Vueling launches a new innovation program with an investment of €30M

• After opening a new HQ in Catalonia, Swedish company King is leading the video game industry from Barcelona

• Japan’s investment projects in Catalonia doubled over the last five years

• The success of 22@ model in Barcelona pushes suburbs and near cities towards 'low cost' office models to attract companies

• Industry & manufacturing sector in Catalonia hit recession after four consecutive quarters with year-on-year according to Idescat

• HP warns of investment risks due to riots in Catalonia

Mobility in Barcelona

• AMB announces new public transport ticket tariffs for 2020:

• - popular T10 ticket will be replaced by a more expensive 'T-Casual' which you won't be able to share with other people;

• - T-Mes will be renamed as 'T-Usual' & will cost just 40€ after a 14€ price drop to encourage frequent public transport usage

• Construction work around the famous Glòries tower will interrupt train services between Arc de Triomf & Sant Andreu Arenal throughout Christmas

Climate-conference special:

• Spain is amongst the most generous EU countries when it comes to monetary incentives for purchasing an electric vehicle 

• Maritime transport in Spain emits more CO2 than all vehicles of the 30 largest Spanish cities combined

• The Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX) is looking at how to better finance projects in sectors associated with clean technologies & sustainability

• How to save energy at home

Telco news

• Telefónica president announces 5-step plan to relaunch the company

• Vodafone manager explains the company's decision last year to not purchase football streaming rights (and which ultimately saw them lose a lot of customers)

• Cellnex acquires 1.500 towers from Orange Spain for €260M

Banking news

• Bankinter joins the Samsung Pay mobile payment service

• Grifols reinforces its commitment against Alzheimer's with new, promising data that shows a reduction of the disease progression in patients who underwent plasma exchange

• Overview of the best bank payroll accounts in Spain

Tech news in Spain:

• El Corte Ingles sells its computer subsidiary to the Qatari group GFI for €300M+

• Most Spanish banks plan to sign partnership with big tech firms like Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple

• AliExpress will offer click & collect at El Corte Inglés in 2020

• Correos launches Correos Market, a marketplace to help remote areas in Spain sell local goods to the rest of the country

Political, economic & legal news in Spain:

• Spain planning on going ahead with ‘Google tax’ despite US tariff threats

• Insights into TRADE Digital, the new employment type favored by Glovo & Deliveroo in order to strengthen the rights of riders in Spain

• Outlook for Spanish economy improves as slowdown is set to halt according to latest indicators

Good Reads

• Xarxa Emprèn – A Valuable Helping Hand for Entrepreneurs and New Startups in Catalonia

• Cybersecurity in Catalonia: facts and figures

• 9 ways PSD2 is fundamentally changing e-commerce payments

• Interesting article about how LaLiga is increasingly becoming a tech company

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Interview with Alberto Espinos, CEO & co-founder of Tropicfeel (Itnig Podcast Video)

• Interview with Juan Zamora, CEO & Founder of Signaturit (Startup Grind Barcelona)

Great Events

This Week

• Tue, 10 Dec @18:00: Learning to thrive in transforming world – Industry 4.0.

• Tue, 10 Dec @17:00: PREMIO 22@START

• Tue, 10 Dec @18:00: IndieHackers Barcelona #4 with Amir Salihefendić

• Wed, 11 Dec @18:30: Founders in Barcelona

• Wed, 11 Dec @19:00: B-Boost: How to amaze potential investors with a pitch that stands out?

• Wed, 11 Dec @19:00: The Future Economy: a conversation about today’s crises and tomorrow’s financial system

• Wed, 11 Dec @20:00: MATCH MODE XMAS EVENT

Next Week

• Mon, 16 Dec @17:00: WILD WOMEN CODING WORKSHOP- Win a scholarship and become a developer

• Mon, 16 Dec @18:30: Women Who Have Transitioned to Tech – Part Two

• Tue, 17 Dec @18:30: DatabeersBCN Tuesday Dec 17th

• Tue, 17 Dec @19:00: Growth Marketing Barcelona Meetup

• Wed, 18 Dec @20:00: BUSINESS MATCHING PARTY

See the full event calendar here.

Startup Jobs In Barcelona

• Choco is recruiting a Business Development Representative

• Cien is looking for a Sales Performance Consultant

• OneCoWork is recruiting a Community Associate

See the full job board here.