Investing in Spain

Rory Eakin
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Investing in Spain is an exploration of the Spanish venture community, providing global investors, founders and partners an introduction to the people, ideas and strategies of this growing ecosystem. Spain is the fastest growing economy in Europe, and an emerging European technology powerhouse. Through conversations with local investors, founders, and asset allocators, we help all those interested in European venture investing better allocate their time and money.

  1. 06/19/2025

    Joe Haslam, ScaleUps & IE

    My guest today is Joe Haslam, Executive Director of the Owners Scaleup Program at IE Business School & Professor at IE University Joe HaslamOwner's ScaleUp Program, IE UniversityIn this conversation, Joe provides counsel and advice to those interested in jumping into the Spanish tech ecosystem, both expats considering a move to Spain and young founders contemplating a new venture.  He's also a fantastic story teller, with a wide ranging perspective on the past twenty years of tech growth in Spain. Enjoy this conversation with Joe Haslam.

    40 min

  2. 06/19/2025

    Dr. Chema Molina, Frenetic

    Chema Molina started Frenetic in 2014 while in graduate school in Power Electronics.  The company offers an online platform for magnetics design, sampling, and production, dramatically reducing the time for designers to interate when developing critical components for electrical processes.    Dr. Chema MolinaFreneticFrenetic is an example of Spanish Deep Tech, one of the most rapidly growing areas of the Spanish tech market today. With a number of leading research centers producing PhDs each year, Spain is well positioned to develop a robust pipeline of startups in materials science, climate science, AI and beyond.  In this conversation, Chema and I talk about developing a company from an academic background, and the evolving support network around Madrid and Barcelona to support such companies.  Chema also recently moved to the US to be closer to customers, while the company is still headquartered in Madrid. We talk about that transition, and considerations for Spanish founders thinking about a move to the US market.  Chema is insightful and funny throughout.  This was one of my favorite conversations so far - enjoy. Rory

    46 min

  3. 06/19/2025

    Guli Moreno, Capchase & The Exponential Fellowship

    My guest today is Guli Moreno, co-founder of Capchase and founder of The Exponential Fellowship: Guli MorenoCapchaseThe Exponential FellowshipCapchase is one of the most important scale ups building in Spain today.  In May 2024, the company announced another Euro 105M in fresch capital to lend to customers.  The company also just celebrated four years since it was founded by Miguel Fernandez, Przemek Gotfryd, Guli Moreno, and Luis Basagoiti. In this conversation, Guli shares the story of how Capchase got started, and the emphasis the team put on culture and talent from the very start.  Guli's story is inspiring - with practical advice for founders and investors throughout. The second half of our conversation introduces The Exponential Fellowship (https://goexponential.org/) a new initiative Guli is spearheading to help the Spanish tech ecosystem.  The model is simple, and powerful - providing the most promising potential founders of Spanish tech companies a career changing professional growth opportunity.  I encourage everyone invested in the future of Spanish tech to check out this important new program and get involved directly at goexponential.org Enjoy -

    46 min

  4. 06/19/2025

    Jose Miguel Herrero, Big Sur Ventures

    My guest today is Jose Miguel Herrero, Founder and Managing Partner of Big Sur Ventures: Jose Miguel HerreroBig Sur VenturesJose Miguel is a pioneer of the Spanish tech ecosystem. He has been building and investing in tech companies since the late '90s.  He take a long view on innovation in Spain, and in our conversation shares his reason for optimism today.   Big Sur is investing out of Fund III, focusing on deep tech and consumer internet.  Giving examples from his portfolio, Jose Miguel shares how Spain is producing a new generation of tech talent. This episode is also full of great anecdotes from the early days of the internet in Spain, and the roller coaster ride that is early tech markets around the world.  Helpful listening for anyone looking to know more about the history of VC and tech in Spain, and those interested in where it is going. Rory

    44 min

  5. 06/19/2025

    Ale Piedrahita & Giulia Cerbelli, Calafia Syndicate

    My guests today are Ale Piedrahita and Giulia Cerbelli from the Calafia Syndicate: Alexandra PiedrahitaGioia CerbelliCalafia SyndicateThe Calafia Syndicate is a new angel investing group of 20 leading women in Spanish tech.  Calafia's mission is to increase the participation of women in the early-stage capital market in Spain, support Spanish founders to grow globally, and to promote diversity in the ecosytem as a whole.  The group has a decidated fund to invest in Spanish startups, and is already closing on a first deal. In this conversation Ale and Giulia share the thinking behind Calafia - how they were able to bring together such a talented group of operators, investors, founders, lawyers and bankers around this mission.  We learn how Calafia operates, what they are looking for in new investments, and why founders should consider adding Calafia to their cap table. Calafia is a great new addition to the Spanish tech market. I hope founders and other VCs enjoy learning more about this talented group and find ways to collaborate.

    36 min

  6. 06/19/2025

    Sandra Nolasco, Twinco Capital

    My guest today is Sandra Nolasco, Founder and CEO of Twinco Capital: Sandra NolascoTwinco CapitalTwinco is an ambitous, mission driven fintech company based in Madrid providing financing to small and medium sized companies around the world.  Through better technology and risk analytics they can extend more credit at lower cost to the manufacturing suppliers for European retailers.  It is a unique model that significantly reduces financing costs and improves supply reliability, with benefits for both suppliers and buyers. Sandra founded the company after a succesful career in trade finance, as a Managing Director at BBVA and before that as Head of Commodities for Brazil at Fortis Bank. In this conversation we talk about that career path, and the insights that led to starting Twinco. Sandra shares: Designing the initial product and developing the why now? case for the businessSetting a company up for purpose, and defining a mission with clarityManaging a new startup through the pandemicDeveloping a co-founder relationshipThis is a great conversation for entrepreneurs and investors interesting in innovation in finance for societal benefit.  Sandra brings infectious optimism and deep expertise to challenging global issues.  I hope listening to her share the strory of Twinco inspires you as much as it did for me.

    45 min

  7. 06/19/2025

    Aris Xenofontos & Mary Egan, Seaya Ventures

    My guests today are Aris Xenofontos and Mary Egan from Seaya Ventures: Aris XenofontosMary EganSeaya VenturesSeaya is a top VC fund in Spain, with over 650M Euros in assets under management. The fund has supported Spanish tech breakouts like Glovo, Wallbox and Clarity.  Yet, Seaya is not resting on past success.  Our conversation highlights how Aris, Mary and the team are building an investment firm for differentiated future returns.  They share about the ongoing data investment at Seaya, and how they are using technology to find companies before competitors.  We discuss how the investment process works internally, including how the team works across three distinct investment strategies.  Founders and investors interested in learning more about how Seaya works and what they are looking for will love this conversation.  Seaya doesn't do a lot of interviews, so I am excited to share this conversation.

    39 min

  8. 06/19/2025

    Fernando Pedraz, Reveni

    My guest today is Fer Pedraz, founder and CEO of Reveni: Fer PedrazReveni  "Your pessimism is my opportunity."  With a nod to Jeff Bezos, that's my summary of Reveni's approach.  Fer and team are on a mission to help retailers improve their profitability, initially by supporting an instant returns and exchange process, but with plans for deeper integrations to support wholistic planning and customer support across the retail business.  Reveni makes money today by betting that customers will do the right thing when returning or exchanging a product. They advance the refund immediately, and take on the risk if the product does not return, or comes back damaged.  They do this through better data - building a customer risk profile to help them anticipate what will happen. It is inherently an optimistic business model, and a global vision.  We talk about that, and much more.  Fer shares his lessons for coming up with the initial idea, and getting early momentum for the business.    Enjoy my conversation with Fer Pedraz

    49 min
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About

Investing in Spain is an exploration of the Spanish venture community, providing global investors, founders and partners an introduction to the people, ideas and strategies of this growing ecosystem. Spain is the fastest growing economy in Europe, and an emerging European technology powerhouse. Through conversations with local investors, founders, and asset allocators, we help all those interested in European venture investing better allocate their time and money.

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  • Creator
    Rory Eakin
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Rory Eakin