At Itnig, we know it’s hard to keep up with all the news and updates flying around. This month, well it is all about Itnig, because we launched our new fund, and we cannot be happier!
We prepared a special podcast where Bernat Farrero, Juan Rodriguez, and Jordi Romero reveal the launch of the Itnig Fund. It is an early stage fund that aims at investing 100.000€ in, at least 20 startups, in the following months. Itnig Fund is one of the few funds run by active company operators who are open to share and exchange resources, knowledge, network and ideas.
Moreover, they explain why now, more than ever, Europe needs to push its creative instinct and ambition to the limit and start leading industries,. As a matter of facts, the same way Daniel Ek did with Spotify in Sweden. In addition, we are at a time when later stages capital is available. There is no longer the need to move to the US to raise series N rounds. So, we, at Itnig, won’t keep feeding the excuses. We will take risks and help other entrepreneurs start their projects and grow.
They go on to debate the state of digitalization and competitiveness of small and medium business in Europe, who are facing fierce competition by huge platforms that fastly concentrate supply. That is the case of Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook, Uber… However, Juan says he is not scared by Amazon. As “the only industry that it has actually won so far is the book industry”, there is space for everything and his only fear is Alexa.
They conclude on revealing what to expect in Camaloon, Quipu and Factorial for 2019. In a nutshell, we go global, hire way more talent, expect some tech breakthroughs and growth, growth, growth!
Here you have a summary of January 2019 startups news! Hence, you will be able to catch up on last year news, podcasts and investments each week with a new article.
Startup Inside Stories Podcast
#71 : Philippe Gelis, from Kantox
This week on Itnig’s podcast, Bernat Farrero, CEO at Itnig and Juan Rodríguez, CEO at Camaloon, talk to Philippe Gelis, CEO and cofounder at Kantox, the multinational fintech company that offers currency exchange and international payment solutions to corporate clients.
Philippe talks about his first contact with the financing world and how he and his partners had the idea of funding Kantox.
He explains how they had to change 80% of their team when they pivoted their business model while growing. Furthermore, they discuss their several financing rounds, and how one of their future goals is to become a model in the “forex” industry.
#72: David Miranda, from Osborne Clarke
This week on Itnig’s podcast Bernat Farrero and Jordi Romero interviewed David Miranda, a corporate M&A lawyer at Osborne Clarke.
David reveals his career path from junior to partner at an international law firm. How he organizes his work and acquired his customers in the vivid nightlife of Madrid. This way he manages to become the lawyer of Wallapop, Glovo, Facebook, Airbnb, and monster international venture firms.
Moreover, David explains how to build the first shareholder agreement and when to hire a good (and expensive) M&A lawyer. That’s not it, he discusses how to negotiate a term sheet, and deal with an investment agreement. We also discuss how valuation, anti-dilution, and liquidation preference clauses can leave the entrepreneur anti-pocketed after an exit.
# 73: Malak Saber and Bettina Gross, from Factorial
This week on Itnig’s podcast Malak Saber (Sales development manager at Factorial) and Bettina Gross (HR manager at Factorial) show us a real recruiting process for a Sales Developer at Factorial.
They gather all candidates together and perform a role-playing exercise in which they have 45 minutes to kick someone out of a hypothetical bunker in a hypothetical post-apocalyptic world.
In this case, candidates shyly start to participate by stating their virtues. They end up having a hard time choosing who to kick out.
As a result, this process allows Malak and Bettina to understand how candidates behave in a group. They also discuss how they think, how they defend their own points of view, or fight for their goals. On another hand, candidates find this positive compared to a standard interview.
January Startup News & Updates
- 2018 closed with 1.227M€ inverted in Spanish startups, here you can find El referente resume month per month. And here you can find Novobrief’s article talking more about Spanish exits.
- Kippel is looking at 2018 foreign investments in Spanish startups.
- Mercadona will expand outside of Spain for the first time in 2019: in Portugal.
- As planned, Amazon workers went on strike just before “Los Reyes”. We hope you did get all of your gifts!
- The Spanish spent 27% more in online sales than in 2017.
- Which explains why logistical warehouse will continue popping up in Spain.
- Gender equality in companies to be one of the priorities in 2019.
- At the same time, el Economista reflects on how to reduce gender inequalities in the technological field.
- Nissan and the Spanish energy distributor Iberdrola join their forces to improve the integration of the electric car in Spain.
- New at the Mobile World Congress 2019: The Corporates & Startups Open Innovation Challenge.
- Chinese investments in Spain more than doubled in 2018.
- Investments in the Hotel sector in Spain reached a new hit during 2018 with €4.900M invested.
- Santander launch “Fondo Smart” a new investment fund of €620M for businesses of minimum 3 years of existence.
- Crowdcube canalized €166M during 2018, look at the numbers for Spain.
- Glovo would be planning to raise capital to open a new center in South America.
- Barcelona municipality is apparently about to kill Cabify and Uber with new restrictions.
- Barcelona El prat’s security guards on strike for the upcoming Mobile World Congress.
- After Madrid taxi strike, Barcelona taxi might be on strike as well for the Mobile World Congress to protest once again against Uber and Cabify.
- Vodafone about to fire a quarter of its workforce in Spain.
- Spain above the average labour satisfaction level in Europe according to Randstad.
- The “Universidad Autónoma de Madrid” and Tetuan Valley join their forces to launch an entrepreneurial project together.
- Catalonia about to approve a new decree to restrain Uber and Cabify. The taxis, still not satisfied, announce an undefined strike.
- At the same time, Madrid taxis started a strike today to claim regulations for Uber and Cabify in the capital.
- CaixaBank about to fire 2150 of its employees in Spain, 7,3% its Spanish workforce.
- Spanish companies prepare themselves to take actions to counter the probably happening Brexit.
- Private capitals invested €5.8M in Spain with 46% of it invested in IT startups.
- Wayra, the innovation hub from Telefónica, invested €1,3M in 13 startups during 2018.
- Barcelona-based Pangea AeroSpace is a finalist in the Sustainability in Space category at the World Future Energy Summit. For more info about Pangea AeroSpace, watch our podcast with their CEO.
- Sodexo speeds up Gym For Less development and wants the app to be present in 7 countries in 2019. Want to know more about GFL acquisition by Sodexo? Watch our podcast with its CEO.
- Mytaxi closes 2018 with a 75% reservation increases in Europe and 45,3% in Spain.
- Just Eat increased revenues of 55% more than in 2017.
- Advocacy for gender equality in the investment ecosystem in Spain.
- 6 Spanish company appears in Bloomberg Gender equality study for their effort to reach it.
- Huawei about to challenge Apple directly on Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona.
- Indra will open a technological center in Barcelona and hire 1500 new employees.
- A few updates on the Taxi battle against Uber and Cabify:
- Cabify offers its services to the taxis through its platform since they left Barcelona.
- Facua-consumidores denounced Cabify considering that the company violates the consumer’s defense legislation.
- In Madrid taxis are still on strike and waiting for the city to legislate.
- The CNMC (the national commission for markets and competency) requests norms to permit Uber and Cabify to keep operating.
- The startup Moove insight’s on the current situation for them in Barcelonadue to the new restriction.
- Sanchez about to meet a bunch of CEOs (from Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, IBM, Bookin.com …) to discuss their taxes situation in Spain.
- El País Retina investigates Barcelona reactions against the platform economy (Uber, Airbnb,…)
- A list of all the Spanish exits of last year.
- What Spanish companies could lose due to the actual situation in Venezuela?
- Iberia about to lose its right to flight in Europe due to the Brexit, the Spanish government asks Brussels for more time to find a solution.
- Privalia acquirer, Vente Privée, about to gather its six brands under the same platform.
- Deliveroo Spain general director, Diana Morata, leaves the company in the middle of Deliveroo juridic fight for its employees legal status.
- Telefonica closed a €570M deal by selling its Guatemalan and Salvadorian branch.
- South Summit lands in Hong Kong to connect entrepreneur ecosystems from Europe, Latin America and Asia.
- El confidencial make a list of 6 entrepreneurs that we should watch out for in 2019.
- Acorn TV, the British Netflix lands in Spain.
- El País Retina interviewed at María Ferreras, VP Business Development EMEA in Netflix.
- The Spanish publication for the entrepreneur ecosystem Kippel put on stand by for HR reasons.
- Digital Enterprise Show (DES) 2019 will have Germany as guest country.
- MásMóvil launches MASventures to support innovation and entrepreneur culture.
- Cleantech Camp call is open for clean energy businesses.
- Proa Capital closed its new Private Equity found with €500M and is now ready to invest.
- El País Retina and Huawei join their force for the second time to organize the StartMeApp awards.
New Funding for Startups
Local fund
- Valencia-based startups incubator Denium Startups raised €2.6M but is aiming for more.
- Barcelona-based platform to find the perfect flatmate Badi secures €26.1M => more about them in our podcast with their CMO
- Madrid-based laundry services startup Mr Jeff raises €10.4M
- Barcelona-based legaltech SaaS Pridatect secures €1M
- Valencia-based travel and tour agency Howlanders raises €250K through the platform Startupxplore
- Grefusa invest in the Valencia-based gamification startup Play&go
- Barcelona-based healthy cell-based fats company Cubiq Foods raises €12M
- Bilbao-based A.I. digital assistant Sherpa.ai raises €7.4M
- Barcelona-based saving and investment app Goin secures €2.2M
European fund
- London-based private equity firm Bowmark Capital raises €668M
- Berlin-based VC firm BlueYard Capital secures €105M
- Swiss A.I. healthcare startup Sophia Genetics closes a €67.3M round
- Berlin-based smart luggage startup Horizn Studios secures €10M
- Paris-based condo management platform illiCopro raises €1.5M
- Berlin-based neobank N26 raises €261.3M => More in our podcast with their Head of European Markets
- Galway medtech solution for incontinence Atlantic Therapeutics raises €28M
- German renewable energy fuels and combustibles startup Sunfire closes a €25M round
- Oxford-based AI and big data for drug development startup Exscientia secures €22.6M
- London-based meal-kit startup Gousto closes a €20.1M round
- Cambridge-based geospatial data startup GeoSpock raises €11M
- London-based computer vision startup Scape Technologies raises €7M
- Milan-based artisans marketplace ProntoPro secures €6M
- Stockholm-based online pharmacy Meds raises €5M
- London-based digital advertising startup Smartology raises €3.1M
- Belgian trading platform Customs4trade secures €2.1M
- Reykjavik-based fiat currency on blockchains Monerium raises €1.7M
- French senior housing platform Papyhappy closes a €1.5M round
- Paris-based medtech startup HighLife closes a €32M round
- Paris-based parking platform Onepark closes a €15M round
- London-based satellite terminal solution Isotropic Systems raises €12.3M
- German legal tech startup Helpcheck raises €11M
- Bristol-based cybersecurity platform Immersive Labs raises €7M
- London-based wellbeing platform Manual raises €5.6M
- Munich-based prosthetics customization platform Mecuris secures €3.6M
- London-based marketing and sales solution Cognism raises €3.2M
- Amsterdam-based travel tech startup Polarsteps raises €3M
- Belgian customs and trade compliance platform Customs4trade secures €2M
- English Concierge service for people moving home Just Move In raises €1.7M
- Paris-based online art marketplace Singulart raises €1.5M
Fintech
- Manchester-based cloud-based payment solution AccessPay secures €10.2M
- Minsk-based blockchain trading platform Currency.com secures €7M
- Danish startup payment facilitator Yourpay closes a €3M round
- London-based fintech business solution MarketInvoice secures €63M
- London-based wealth manager Nutmeg raises €52M
- Paris-based risk management solutions provider Optimind secures €25M
HR
- Munich-based HR management and recruiting solution Personio raises €35M
- London-based cloud provider of workforce management Quinyx secures €22M
- Stockholm-based HR startup Winningtemp raises €3.2M
Data
- London-based data intelligence solution AVORA raises €5.7M
- Reykjavik-based blockchain digital ID startup Authenteq receives €4.4M
- London-based machine learning startup Seldon raises €3M
Biotech
- Oslo-based biometric authentication solution Zwipe closes a €12.3M round
- London-based A.I. driven therapeutics company Kaia Health raises €8.8M
- Copenhagen-based biotech company MinervaX secures €4.4M
- London-based AI driven healthcare data and analytics startup Draper & Dash raises €3.5M
Other
- Berlin-based escooter startup Flash raises €55M
- Dutch powered real estate valuation platform Geophy secures €28.9M
- London-based will writing service Farewill raises €8.6M
- English data platform Exonar closes a €7.5M round
- French learning platform Teach on Mars secures €7M
- Paris-based TV analytics platform Admo.tv raises €6M
- London-based recipe kit service SimplyCook raises €5.2M
- London-based online marketplace for office space Hubble raises €4.6M
- Stockholm-based delivery solution Airmee raises €3.7M
- London-based A.I. driven production planning and scheduling solution Flexciton raises €2.8M
- London-based leads generating SaaS Growth Intelligence raises €2M
- Rotterdam-based multiplayer game optimizer Gameye secures €1.4M
- Latvian photography startup Giraffe 360 raises €1.1M
- Belgian drowsiness detection software startup Phasya secures €
Random Tech News
- Apple finally facing the changes in the Smartphone’s market, a bit too late.
- A cafe that uses robots controlled by paralyzed people just opened in Tokyo.
- Facebook uses AI to predict if you are suicidal.
- Trump wants Apple to make the iPhone in the US.
- FloWater, a company offering water refilling stations just raised $15M.
- Hackers steal data from German politicians and celebrities.
- Nissan wants you to hang with virtual friends in your windshield and will be able to make it look sunny outside.
- Overture, a supersonic passenger jet firm raises $100M and will start test flights this year.
- Bicycle graveyards start emerging in Spain. (spanish)
- London-based game development studio is working on the most powerful console ever built.
- More than 100M Alexa have been sold.
- Drone sightings cause more chaos at another UK airport, while DJI presents new controller with integrated screen.
- How driverless cars choose who to kill is an ethical dilemma.
- IBM presents the first commercial quantum computer.
- Amazon might be building a game streaming service to rival Google and Microsoft.
- Scooter startup Bird tried to silence a journalist.
- The 9 best CES devices you can buy now and the 5 weirdest products with Alexa.
- World’s longest aircraft gets full-production go-ahead.
- Netflix is receiving a lawsuit for Bandersnatch while people performing the Bird Box challenge are crashing cars into things.
- YouTube bans dangerous or harmful pranks.
- Spanish national department of traffic (DGT) will require a license to drive eScooters. (spanish)
- Tesla lays off 3000 workers.
- Hidden Facebook documents show how they made money off children.
- Average VC Ownership of 105 Tech Companies.
- Google buys mysterious smartwatch technology from Fossil for $40 million.
- Apple says Qualcomm refused to supply chips for the next iPhone.
- Facebook launches petition feature.
- Fortnite scares Netflix more than HBO.
- Pokémon Go maker Niantic valued at $4 billion after monster funding round.
- How the Linkedin algorithm works this year.
- Trump offered NASA unlimited funding to go to Mars by 2020.
- Deliveroo users are getting defrauded.
- Amazon Scout robots take to pavements in Washington State.
- Google has a 12.6M profit in Bermuda paying 0% taxes. [spanish]
- What is 5G?
- Report claims half Facebook users could be fake, while Zuckerberg plans to bring the back ends of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp closer together.
- Boeing’s experimental autonomous aircraft completes its first test flight.
- Dell returns to public stock market after years as private company.
- Munchery is shutting down after raising $125M
Those are the January 2019 Startups news!
This is a compilation of all the weekly newsletters we send in January 2019. We keep our community updated on everything related to startups, tech news, fundings, and we share our weekly podcast!
Subscribe and keep up with the startup universe, or feel free to come back for more startup news of the month here!