Why is a finance course applied to startups? Many initially doubt whether the training will be useful to them

• The opportunity to train in startup finance gives you a perspective, tools, and skills and saves you hours and hours of trial and error.

Key points on why it's worth training in startup finance: 1. Crucial decisions from day one: financial decisions in your startup are critical for its medium/long-term future. Learning from real case studies is vital so you can see how others have faced similar situations. 2. Resource optimization: a startup's budget is limited in most cases, and it's essential to learn efficient management and how to prioritize. 3. Raising capital: nobody teaches how to raise money, and the one thing that all entrepreneurs agree on, is that they wish someone had trained them beforehand. 4. Ability to adapt to changes: startups are highly affected by changes in the market, technology, and trends. It's crucial to have the skills that allow you to adapt to these financial changes.

Become your own CFO, sign up for the Startup Finance Course here. Limited seats, apply now! Next edition: January 2024

Startup funding news 💸

• Barcelona-based EV charger manufacturer Wallbox, a public company that floats on the Nasdaq, raised €29m in a round involving key partners like Iberdrola and Francisco Riberas (Gestamp). The capital injection comes at a challenging time for Wallbox in the stock market, marked by significant share price declines (-45% YTD). This funding round also includes US energy solutions company Generac (market cap $7.4b), which has also signed a commercial alliance with Wallbox and will take a seat on the board. It's also worth noting the financial support that Francisco Riberas continues to provide to Wallbox (9% stake), as well to other Spanish tech companies (Cabify, Mundimoto and Marsi Bionics). More on his investment activity here
• Madrid-based Strong by Form raised €4.8m to bring a sustainable alternative to concrete. The round was led by CMPC Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of CMPC
• Barcelona-based Ignion, an IoT antenna manufacturer, announced a new round of funding led by Barlon Capital, the investment vehicle of one of the founders of Nauta Capital and Galdana. Ignion is founded by former employees of also antenna company Fractus (more on Fractus here )
• Other rounds of funding: Bolsa Social, Cycle Platform, AsFIn,

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

• Profile of Pedro de Álava, of investment firm Clave Capital. He launched Spain's first public university tech transfer fund in 2016 with the Universitat Politècnica de València: "Monté el primer fondo de transferencia de tecnología de una universidad pública en España en 2015. Vi lo que se hacía en Oxford y, simplemente, me pregunté si se podía aplicar aquí". Clave is a very relevant investor in foodtech companies
• BStartup, Banco Sabadell's service for startups, has expanded with 20 new specialists and two new centers in Barcelona and Madrid. BStartup has invested in 89 companies in the past 10 years

Startup news 💡

• Indexa Capital published financial results for the first three quarters of 2023: €3.4m in revenue (+21% YoY) and €1m in profit (+29%). Full report available here
• Capchase announced Collect, a new product to help companies with invoice collection and accounts receivable. More info here. Miguel Fernandez, co-founder and CEO of the company, also published last week an article on "the most important metrics for SaaS funding in 2024"
• Biotech startup Airbiometrics has developed a non-invasive technology for early detection of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The innovation significantly reduces diagnostic time and healthcare costs, marking a breakthrough in precision medicine for chronic inflammatory conditions like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
• ENISA says it has certified more than 500 startups to date. Certified startups can receive the benefits of the recently approved "Ley de startups"
• Startup profiles:
• DeuSens: hyper experiences

Big company news 🏦

• A group of corporates (L’Oreal, BMW Group, Pascual, Merlin Properties, Iberia, Inditex and Mahou San Miguel) to collaborate to create the largest technological incubator in Southern Europe, located in Madrid. This initiative, named Madrid Patio, aims to foster business innovation and sustainability.
• El Pais talked to Twitch's head of monetization, Mike Minton, about the evolution of the Amazon-owned company and its relevance in Spain and within Spanish speaking audiences. Twitch recognizes the need to better support and cater to the unique needs of streamers and viewers in this region, as part of its broader efforts to regain trust and improve relations with its global community of creators
• Telefónica España has proposed to the unions a plan for up to 5.1k employee departures under a new Workforce Adjustment Plan (ERE). This plan marks Telefónica's first major workforce adjustment since 2011 and is part of its cost-cutting strategy
• A group representing 83 Spanish media outlets has filed a €550m lawsuit against Facebook owner Meta Platforms, citing unfair competition in the advertising market in a case that could be replicated across the EU. Prisa and Vocento are part of the lawsuit
• Zara to launch its second-hand marketplace 'Pre-Owned' in Spain on December 12th

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Interesting reads 🤓

• EU policymakers last week agreed a provisional deal on landmark rules governing the use of AI. Analysis of the proposal here. The new regulation aims to balance innovation with rights protection, categorizing AI systems based on risk levels. The Act imposes strict prohibitions on certain AI applications deemed a threat to citizen rights and democracy. Critics view the Act as either too restrictive or too lenient, which could cause (even) less innovation in the field of AI in Europe and could damage startups and small tech companies. Andres Torrubia, who knows quite a bit about the space, had this to say on Twitter: "No hay nada en la IA Act que otorgue a las startups europeas ALGUNA VENTAJA para competir contra el resto del mundo."
• Law firm Metricson published a post explaining the differences between stock option plans and phantom shares
• Gorka Aguirre, co-founder of fintech company Snab Payments, published an article on embedded finance, "el nuevo paradigma en las finanzas"
• Simon Muñoz, platform PM at Voicemod, published "Encuentra al Product Manager: Trabajar sin Product Manager puede ser la ruina profesional. Aprende a identificarlo y no malgastes tu tiempo en productos sin futuro."

Podcasts 🎧

• Julio Martinez, co-founder of our portfolio company Abacum, did a talk at Slush about "making early hires"
• CodelyTV interviewed Kikobeats, who now works at Vercel and also manages Microlink and TeslaHunt
• Investing in Spain interviewed Juan Montero, CEO of Fence
• SeedRocket interviewed Alberto Jiménez, founder of Smileat
• Itnig interviewed Ricard Guillem, co-founder of Cafler
• Product Hackers interviewed Juan Pablo Seijo, Head of Growth at Clientify