Barcelona Startup News October 9, 2017 – Barcinno

Hello and Happy Monday! With tensions between Spain and Catalonia still running high and the level of uncertainty rising, we hope elected politicians can finally start doing their jobs this week and find a peaceful way forward through dialogue and democracy.

That way the rest of us can get back to our responsibilities of solving problems and building new companies!

Speaking of which, our friends at Impact Accelerator launched an Open Call for their Connected Car program. Selected startups will receive €60k in equity-free funding and mentoring support. 

Today also kicks off the first ever Startup Grind BCN Conference.  If you don’t have tickets, you can save 40% with the code: B4rc1nn0

Lastly, the 4th annual Barcelona International Community Day is coming up on Saturday, October 21st at Museu Marítim. 

Have a safe and productive week and we’ll see you out there!

Ok, let’s take a look at the latest Barcelona startup news from this week: 

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS:

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Startup & Investment News

• Spanish startup LogTrust receives €29,8M investment
• Catalan startup 21Buttons closes €8,5M investment round
• Barcelona-based energy firm Enertika gets €5M
• Catalan insurtech startup Coverfy raises €3,5M
• Catalan startup Wallbox wins startup competition at South Summit 2017
  • Barcelona startup Caravelo crowned most disruptive
• Catalan startup AQUA.abib wins “Best Impact Startup” award
• Barcelona startup Electric Feel selected for “Initiate Startup Awards” at European Utility Week
• Glovo’s recent funding round makes it the first exit success story for an equity crowdfunded startup in Spain
• Barcelona was ranked the 5th biggest startup hub in Europe
• Barcelona startup profiles, interviews & success stories:
  • Prezo: a marketplace connecting restaurants & providers
  • Clubs DiR: more than just a gym
  • myWorkUp: a platform for recruiting staff for events 

Tech News

• Mobile video-gaming firm Scopely to open new office in Barcelona & to to hire 60 people in the next 12 months
• Due to the uncertainty created by the Catalan independence movement, major firms are moving the official address of their legal residence to other parts of Spain:
  • CaixaBank, Banco Sabadell, Gas Natural & Oryzon Genomics are some of 10+ companies that are leaving
  • Freixent, Codorniu & Catalana Occidente consider leaving too
  • SEAT, Grífols, Lidl & Mango staying for now
• The mass exodus follows a newly approved law by Spain’s government that makes it easier for firms to move their HQs
• What companies’ departure from Catalonia means
• Over 2.69 million Spanish homes don’t have internet access

Good Reads

• Interview with Miguel Vicente (Barcelona Tech City)
• Catalan startups fear funding problems as a result of independence movement in the region
• Catalonia’s technology startups are optimistic for the future

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GREAT EVENTS THIS WEEK

• Mon-Tue, 9-10 Oct: Startup Grind Conference
• Mon, 9 Oct @ 18:00: Funding approach for early stages  
• Wed, 11 Oct @ 17:30: IMAGINE IF! Barcelona Demo Day
• Thu, 12 Oct: ICMA – Fall conference
• Thu, 12 Oct @ 19:00: Digital Nomad Meetup
• Fri, 13 Oct @ 18:00: Hackshow: Web Dev & UX/UI

See the full Event Calendar here

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STARTUP JOBS IN BARCELONA

• Totally Communications is hiring a WordPress Developer
• Mondo is recruiting a PHP Developer
• MarsBased is looking for a Full-stack Developer