Barcelona Startup Keonn Tech Wins The First Keiretsu Forum of 2014

Keiretsu Forum is the largest international association of private investors and business angels in the world.  Established in San Francisco in 2000, their network has grown to over 2,000 members across the US, Europe and Asia and has invested more than $200M in more than 250 ventures worldwide.

Here in Spain, Keiretsu Forum members have invested €5.1M in 17 startups over the last 4 years.  Yesterday, Keiretsu Forum BCN gathered for their first investors event of the year at the Barcelona Stock Exchange and heard pitches from the following Barcelona startups:

Icevault – providing offline storage for your online assets (did not present).  Founder: Frederic Thenault

Investment Sought: €200k

Iproteos  – a biotech company dedicated to the R&D of strategies to discover new drugs and treat human disease.  Founder: Teresa Tarragó

Investment Sought: €200k

Smartport  – a mobile application bringing nautical technology to and integrated marina services to the palm of your hand.  Founder: Pau Casas Griera

Investment Sought: €300k

Arboribus  – a crowdfunding platform founded in 2012 dedicated to financing small and medium sized enterprises in Spain.  Founders: Carles Escolano and Josep Nebot

Investment Sought: €500k

ViBook  – the largest search engine of actors and artistic talent for casting and online booking.  Founder: Jorge Martínez

Investment Sought: €500k

Keonn Technologies – a manufacturer of RFID hardware products preparing their clients for the Internet of Things revolution.  Founder:  Ramir De Porrata-Doria

Investment Sought: €600k

In the end, it was Keonn Technologies that took home the gold, however, all of the participating startups now have the opportunity to meet directly with Keiretsu investors to discuss future funding and company growth. In addition to the Barcelona and Madrid chapters that have been running since 2008, Keiretsu announced two new Spanish investor forums to launch later this year in Sevilla and San Sebastian.

The Keiretsu Investors Forum meets roughly once every 2-3 months to introduce new startups and keep their members updated to the progress of their previous investments. If you’d like to learn more about the Barcelona Keiretsu community or sign up to be considered to pitch as a future event, please visit the Keiretsu Forum Barcelona Chapter.

 

image credit: Shutterstock and Barcelona’s very own Adriana Freitas