The True Importance Of The Barcelona Startup Map Project – {sponsored}

A healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem is without a doubt the single most influential factor for long-term economic growth and sustainable innovation for cities and countries worldwide. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the global epicenters of innovation: Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, London, Seattle, Boston. These cities, and the professionals that inhabit them, made a conscious decision decades  ago to collectively invest in their surrounding community and fostering their own entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Building an entrepreneurial ecosystem is no small feat and it isn’t accomplished overnight, or even over one generation. While the world drools over the inspiring history being made today in Silicon Valley, most people don’t realize that the seeds for what is now the most successful startup ecosystem in the world were planted in the 1960s and fostered for decades before the rest of the world took notice.

What Is A Startup Ecosystem?

A Startup Ecosystem is the collection of the people and organizations that support and drive innovation in a given city or location. This collective is comprised of 7 key pillars:

• Entrepreneurs – action-oriented leaders that create the context that motivates others to change the world
• Government – support role that creates policy and programs to foster innovation and improve the ease of doing business
• Universities – a treasure trove of fresh talent, training, research and technology.
• Investors – sponsor the growth early stage ventures with funding and other resources, such as incubators or accelerator programs
• Mentors – experienced professionals that offer their time and expertise without asking for anything in return
• Service Providers – lawyers, accountants, marketing professionals, PR agencies that provide their services for little or no cost to early stage companies
• Large Corporations – provide space, programs, clients and resources to startups that will ultimately expand their own economic ecosystem and competitive advantage

The Barcelona Startup Ecosystem is a rapidly growing and constantly evolving community talented professionals and forward-thinking organizations. It has every single element of a successful and healthy startup ecosystem that will pave the way for innovative new companies for generations to come. However, it needs a little nudge in the right direction and some glue to hold it all together.

The Barcelona Startup Map

The Barcelona Startup Map is an interactive resource that presents vital information about the startups, investors, accelerators/incubators, talent and spaces that make up the Barcelona Startup Ecosystem. Every startup or supporting organization that is added to the map brings more value to our community as a whole and helps attract foreign investment, talent and innovation. 

The Barcelona Startup Map is a public-private partnership led by Barcelona Activa and MarsBased – the team that also brings us inspiring talks every month under the moniker Startup Grind BCN. By adding your startup to the map, you provide critical data that can be analyzed and shared as actionable infographics to help our community connect with other startup ecosystems around the world. This exchange of ideas, information and contacts may one day prove invaluable for your startup as you raise investment, attract new talent and scale worldwide.

CLICK HERE TO ADD YOUR STARTUP TO THE BARCELONA STARTUP MAP

What Value Does The Map Have For You?

• Promotion: The Barcelona Startup Map is currently the #1 search result on Google for “Barcelona Startups.” Adding your startup or oganization to the map is a free promotional tool to showcase your company alongside the rest of the Barcelona startup ecosystem. Investors, entrepreneurs and corporations around the world access this tool everyday for insights into the Barcelona tech community. 
• Information: The premise behind a visual resource is the “network effect” – the higher percentage of participants, the greater the value it provides to everyone. You now can sift through hundreds of organizations to look for potential partners, talent, investment and future clients.
• Ongoing Resource: This is only the beginning! The city of Barcelona has made a commitment to consistently update and invest in the Barcelona Startup Map as resource for international professionals seeking information about Barcelona’s fast-growing tech, startup and entrepreneurship communities. As of today, the map offers two new categories: one for “service providers” and one for “corporations“, two critical pilars that support the Barcelona startup ecosystem. 
• Be Everywhere: The Barcelona Startup Ecosystem Map can now be embedded on any website looking to share Barcelona entrepreneurship with their audience. If you’d like to add the Barcelona Startup Map to your webpage, you can find the embed code here. 

Who Else Is On The Barcelona Startup Map?

The Barcelona Startup Map is already a powerful resource and database featuring more than 200 high-growth startups, 19 investment firms, 24 incubator/accelerator programs and 60 supporting education & co-working spaces. Here’s a quick snapshot of who’s already on the map:

ADD YOUR COMPANY TO THE MAP!

We don’t need (or want) to be “the next Silicon Valley”. In fact, that’s the wrong mindset to have. Barcelona has an entirely different set of strengths and advantages to make it one of the most compelling and attractive cities for innovation and new company creation. It’s up to us to work together to build on those strengths and develop the cohesive startup ecosystem that will attract the best minds and ideas to Barcelona.

The Barcelona Startup Map is an evolving project that will continue to get public and private support and investment so long as we keep it updated with accurate information. Take a minute to add or update your organization to the Barcelona Startup Map today.