WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.859 Welcome to the Innovation Conversation, a podcast 00:00:02.859 --> 00:00:05.419 about innovators, both in business and real life. 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:08.380 Hosted by myself, Ricardo Rescual and Harry McCona. 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:11.699 This podcast is also sponsored by ODEV Tech. 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:14.640 ODEV Tech is your premier software development 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:18.019 partner. Make sure you check them out at odev 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:22.399 .tech. The podcast is also sponsored by Notion 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:25.359 .so. Notion is offering six months for free for 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:27.839 new users. Make sure you check out our website, 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:30.600 thestoreofevents .co .uk to read in the software. 00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:34.399 Hi, and welcome to another episode of the Innovation 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:37.420 Conversation. Today we are joined by Emilio Corchado. 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:40.259 Emilio, welcome. Thank you very much, Ricardo. 00:00:40.380 --> 00:00:43.119 A pleasure to be with all of you. Emilio, would 00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:45.020 you like to introduce yourself to the audience, 00:00:45.060 --> 00:00:49.740 please? I'm the CEO and founder of StartupOle. 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:54.719 This is an event that... that, you know, connects 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:57.859 the ecosystem. And of course, I'm also a full 00:00:57.859 --> 00:01:00.840 professor of artificial intelligence at the University 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:03.619 of Salamanca. Very nice. Now, Emilio, how do 00:01:03.619 --> 00:01:05.200 you get started with these events? Because it 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:08.040 is a bit crazy to run an event. So how did the 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:12.799 idea come up? Well, you know, the idea came many 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:15.900 years ago. We are already in our 11th edition. 00:01:16.579 --> 00:01:21.700 The idea was, you know, a big unexpected right 00:01:21.700 --> 00:01:24.480 we were working a lot with european commission 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:30.480 and somehow we were more involved in the in the 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:33.640 movement of the startups if you remember i mean 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:38.099 15 years ago. Talking about the startups. was 00:01:38.099 --> 00:01:42.459 not a hot topic and then we start to move and 00:01:42.459 --> 00:01:46.060 to talk with more people and from there we consider 00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:50.859 appropriate to start to do networking and meeting 00:01:50.859 --> 00:01:55.420 more people at European level and from there 00:01:55.420 --> 00:02:01.680 we start to connect the dots and the idea came 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:07.870 originally like promoting at University of Salamanca 00:02:07.870 --> 00:02:11.770 and connect the University of Salamanca, you 00:02:11.770 --> 00:02:14.629 know, students, professors, spin -off and so 00:02:14.629 --> 00:02:17.569 on, to connect them more with the ecosystem. 00:02:18.310 --> 00:02:23.389 But somehow the idea got crazy in the sense that 00:02:23.389 --> 00:02:27.330 we were growing non -stop and now we are, as 00:02:27.330 --> 00:02:31.330 you know, an international event. So this is 00:02:31.330 --> 00:02:34.090 actually quite interesting because you've started 00:02:34.090 --> 00:02:36.810 from, I guess, from nothing and now you've grown 00:02:36.810 --> 00:02:40.250 a lot internationally. What were the key lessons 00:02:40.250 --> 00:02:42.990 that you kind of took on board for the last 15 00:02:42.990 --> 00:02:45.289 years? I mean, what did you learn that you want 00:02:45.289 --> 00:02:48.229 to share with the audience? Well, you know, many 00:02:48.229 --> 00:02:56.280 things that, but as you are saying, it came along 00:02:56.280 --> 00:02:59.219 all these years, right? For instance, the first 00:02:59.219 --> 00:03:05.300 point that you need to have a clear roadmap that 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:08.139 you need to follow. You need to be original, 00:03:08.460 --> 00:03:12.360 you need to do interesting things, especially 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:15.460 in a city which is not really big, Salamanca 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:18.759 is not, Lisbon is not, Berlin, Madrid, right? 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:23.360 And when you try to attract and be international, 00:03:23.340 --> 00:03:29.139 you need to find where you are strong and have 00:03:29.139 --> 00:03:32.539 a proper communication, right? So communication 00:03:32.539 --> 00:03:36.139 is really important, also generate a great community 00:03:36.139 --> 00:03:38.460 and the added value that you are generating. 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:42.520 And for us it's really clear, we are not the 00:03:42.520 --> 00:03:46.810 largest tech event. But we are we are leader 00:03:46.810 --> 00:03:51.250 in generating networking, bringing corporates. 00:03:51.430 --> 00:03:56.129 Now we are also after our six years operating 00:03:56.129 --> 00:03:59.689 in Latin America and in Miami in the United States, 00:04:00.229 --> 00:04:05.930 we are leaders in in Ibero America. And this 00:04:05.930 --> 00:04:09.530 is the major lessons learned. I mean, you need 00:04:09.530 --> 00:04:13.430 a lot of passion. You need to to have a great 00:04:13.430 --> 00:04:17.449 team is really important. And, you know, working 00:04:17.449 --> 00:04:23.610 nonstop talent, of course, and be unique. This 00:04:23.610 --> 00:04:25.870 is this is fascinating because, you know, we 00:04:25.870 --> 00:04:27.709 kind of do both the same things, even though 00:04:27.709 --> 00:04:30.430 I'm just getting started compared to you. I guess 00:04:30.430 --> 00:04:34.060 the The most interesting thing for me is when 00:04:34.060 --> 00:04:35.980 you go over and talk to people and you tell them 00:04:35.980 --> 00:04:38.459 about your vision and your idea and you show 00:04:38.459 --> 00:04:41.240 how passionate you are about this, how do you 00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:42.939 manage to convince people? Because it's always 00:04:42.939 --> 00:04:44.839 hard, isn't it? Because you have an idea and 00:04:44.839 --> 00:04:46.720 then for them to actually see the same idea you 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:49.500 have on, it's a bit complicated. So how do you 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:54.339 make that happen? Well, I mentioned that a bit 00:04:54.339 --> 00:04:56.800 from the beginning, right? We are based in Salamanca, 00:04:56.860 --> 00:05:00.699 but we have been always thinking to operate in 00:05:00.699 --> 00:05:06.379 a global way. And we did it somehow from Brussels, 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:09.439 working at European level, being the coordinator, 00:05:09.779 --> 00:05:13.379 in my case, of a European project called Welcom. 00:05:13.420 --> 00:05:16.759 We were connecting Madrid and Salamanca with 00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:21.379 Berlin, Dublin and Milan. So you need somehow 00:05:21.379 --> 00:05:27.300 to operate at large scale and be able to convince 00:05:27.300 --> 00:05:31.319 a really key player and at that point we were 00:05:31.319 --> 00:05:35.939 really in a way lucky as we were operating and 00:05:35.939 --> 00:05:38.339 working with the European Commission, also with 00:05:38.339 --> 00:05:42.680 people like Ryan Air Accelerator, Mind the Bridge 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:49.600 and other relevant players in Germany, in Italy 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:55.339 and many others. This was a way to show that 00:05:55.339 --> 00:06:00.560 we were a great community, Betahouse is a great 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:04.959 leader in Europe, leading with a co -working 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:08.720 space and many other things. So having international, 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:12.879 operating at international level, having great 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:19.680 partners, and of course always generating a great 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:23.660 outcome out of projects is the way that you, 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:29.879 that we as slowly but smoothly were convincing 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:35.560 people to join. our community and and then those 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:39.720 members start to talk with others and you know 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:43.560 speak the word and help us to grow because you 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:46.699 know as as you were saying from we were growing 00:06:46.699 --> 00:06:51.259 from scratch right generating a community behind 00:06:51.259 --> 00:06:55.779 us there is nobody in the sense that we do not 00:06:55.779 --> 00:06:59.399 belong to a great company we do not have a great 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:04.899 budgets and every year, you know, our sponsors, 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:10.980 our supporters. So this is probably also our 00:07:10.980 --> 00:07:16.279 secret sauce, our secret recipe where we are 00:07:16.279 --> 00:07:21.800 supported for many, many partners all over at 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:24.980 the international level. And how, you know, when 00:07:24.980 --> 00:07:27.300 you transition to Latin America and also Miami, 00:07:27.709 --> 00:07:29.990 How was that? Cause that must've been a gigantic 00:07:29.990 --> 00:07:31.930 jump though. I mean, crossing the Atlantic and 00:07:31.930 --> 00:07:34.569 also running a conference. How did that happen? 00:07:35.350 --> 00:07:38.829 Well, you know, as I said, we have been working 00:07:38.829 --> 00:07:43.910 very close with Latino America and probably, 00:07:44.149 --> 00:07:48.610 you know, and if not has to be known. Miami is 00:07:48.610 --> 00:07:54.949 becoming the capital of, let's say the Ibero 00:07:54.949 --> 00:08:00.500 -American area. On the other side of the Atlantic 00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:04.339 ocean right so if you want to do something big 00:08:04.339 --> 00:08:09.199 in the other side of America you need to be in 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:13.079 Miami this is a fact and we were learning that 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:16.879 after operating all these years we have a lot 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:21.639 of partners in latino america. And now all those 00:08:21.639 --> 00:08:24.980 are also connected with Miami. So when we do 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:28.060 something, when we organize our events, our actions 00:08:28.060 --> 00:08:34.159 in Miami, we are strongly supported by the American 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:38.279 community because they are already operating 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:43.299 or they go for our events. So this is, you know, 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:48.500 entering. The US market is extremely complex, 00:08:49.139 --> 00:08:54.899 so you need your contacts and being reliable, 00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:59.019 right? So the first thing that I do when I go 00:08:59.019 --> 00:09:03.259 to Miami is to show a photo that they have with 00:09:03.259 --> 00:09:08.740 the Spanish king and the president of Portugal, 00:09:09.220 --> 00:09:11.639 Marcelo Roberto de Souza. Do they recognize them? 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:13.700 Do they know who they are? Of course, of course, 00:09:13.820 --> 00:09:18.419 of course. I mean, Iberamérica, I mean Miami, 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:21.519 if you speak Spanish or Portoñolo, you don't 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:24.820 need to speak any other language in Miami. And 00:09:24.820 --> 00:09:28.340 so everybody more or less recognize, of course, 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:33.879 his majesty, the king of Spain and many others, 00:09:34.019 --> 00:09:38.240 of course, your president, the Portuguese president. 00:09:38.659 --> 00:09:41.620 So, you know, this is really relevant also, of 00:09:41.620 --> 00:09:44.500 course, how we convince people because we have 00:09:44.500 --> 00:09:49.000 institutional support, strong institutional support. 00:09:49.980 --> 00:09:54.299 And also because They like, in general, people 00:09:54.299 --> 00:09:59.179 like our idea. I mean, the ticket to get in our 00:09:59.179 --> 00:10:02.399 event for general attendees is for free. We are 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:06.799 also trying to generate a platform who recognize 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:11.539 talent and support talent regardless from where 00:10:11.539 --> 00:10:15.379 such talent is coming. And, you know, we totally 00:10:15.379 --> 00:10:20.019 trust that such talent needs opportunities, especially 00:10:20.019 --> 00:10:23.440 at the beginning. When they grow, we are sure 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:27.480 that they will help us back. I was wondering, 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:29.919 you know, all the companies that you meet from 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:31.940 both Europe, Latin America, and obviously the 00:10:31.940 --> 00:10:34.600 US, what are the key differences? Do you notice 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:36.779 like really massive differences between each 00:10:36.779 --> 00:10:38.759 other or quite on the contrary, they kind of 00:10:38.759 --> 00:10:44.230 all operate the same level? Well, you know, Let's 00:10:44.230 --> 00:10:48.590 be clear or at least this is what I think. Today 00:10:48.590 --> 00:10:51.690 the world is global. Everybody is talking with 00:10:51.690 --> 00:10:56.029 everybody. The point is the standards that they 00:10:56.029 --> 00:10:59.309 are using and all these types of things, the 00:10:59.309 --> 00:11:04.210 rules, the legislation and all these types of 00:11:04.210 --> 00:11:09.580 things. I think they're... It could be some differences, 00:11:09.820 --> 00:11:12.740 but when they are going, and you know, more and 00:11:12.740 --> 00:11:16.820 more we are moving to an international commerce, 00:11:17.019 --> 00:11:19.779 people need to know the regulations. If you want 00:11:19.779 --> 00:11:22.820 to go to America or to Europe, even if you are 00:11:22.820 --> 00:11:25.460 from whatever country, Latin America, you need 00:11:25.460 --> 00:11:29.159 to know the legislation, the regulations. And 00:11:29.159 --> 00:11:31.639 imagine if we are talking about, you should be 00:11:31.639 --> 00:11:36.279 aware of, you know, all. the new law and all 00:11:36.279 --> 00:11:40.220 these things, data protection, all this stuff. 00:11:40.779 --> 00:11:44.460 And you know, people move really fast and people 00:11:44.460 --> 00:11:48.820 study in the best universities, even they are 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:53.799 from wherever. And I think, you know, we have 00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:58.059 unicorns. all over in Brazil, in Chile, in everywhere, 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:02.679 in Spain, in Europe, in Miami. And these people 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:08.700 are mega -ultra -connected. I think maybe the 00:12:08.700 --> 00:12:14.159 regulation and the way they do things, of course, 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:18.480 having a startup or a scale -up is also a cultural 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:23.070 aspect. It is easier to grow and to scale up 00:12:23.070 --> 00:12:26.970 in a place where there are bigger cultural aspects, 00:12:27.269 --> 00:12:29.669 there are more investors and so on. But people 00:12:29.669 --> 00:12:32.549 with talent move really fast and they are able 00:12:32.549 --> 00:12:36.870 to convince and to achieve their goals. So I 00:12:36.870 --> 00:12:41.350 see quite many great startups and scale -ups 00:12:41.350 --> 00:12:45.470 all over. Is there a country where it's easier 00:12:45.470 --> 00:12:48.240 to raise investment than another? For example, 00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:50.019 I know in Spain it's a bit complicated to launch 00:12:50.019 --> 00:12:52.980 a company because it costs like 6K just to get 00:12:52.980 --> 00:12:55.000 started and funding the company and then you 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:57.059 start paying taxes straight from the beginning. 00:12:57.559 --> 00:12:59.620 So is there a specific geography they recommend? 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:04.519 Well, to be honest, as I said, I mean, if there 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:07.919 are more investors in investors, corporates, 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:13.370 and so on, mentors, there is a bigger ecosystem, 00:13:13.370 --> 00:13:16.909 this is really important. But I have to say that 00:13:16.909 --> 00:13:23.289 from StartupLE, we have kind of also leimotif 00:13:23.289 --> 00:13:28.509 that we like to support also those who are operating 00:13:28.509 --> 00:13:31.690 far away from the big hubs and big ecosystems, 00:13:32.110 --> 00:13:35.809 right? So we in Spanish, we say España Esperanzada. 00:13:36.110 --> 00:13:41.289 Hopeless, hopeful Spain in the sense that we 00:13:41.289 --> 00:13:47.350 want to have things in hubs far away from Madrid, 00:13:47.490 --> 00:13:50.470 Barcelona, Malaga, Valencia, and the same in 00:13:50.470 --> 00:13:53.870 Europe. You know, everybody should have the very 00:13:53.870 --> 00:13:57.049 first opportunities, let's say at home, of course, 00:13:57.169 --> 00:14:02.210 sorry, later on to grow. We always said that 00:14:02.210 --> 00:14:07.440 go to the main hubs, main cities. And this is 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:11.500 what we are promoting. But as I said, you don't 00:14:11.500 --> 00:14:17.379 need to move your teams anywhere. In case if 00:14:17.379 --> 00:14:21.700 you want to operate in the United States, I guess 00:14:21.700 --> 00:14:25.019 we all know what to do and where to go, no? We, 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:28.039 of course, are promoting Miami. We think especially 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:30.740 if you are from Iberamerica, it's the place to 00:14:30.740 --> 00:14:37.100 go. We also know that if you want to have a place 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:41.279 in the United States, you need to have your postcode 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:46.059 in Delaware. But this is the way to go. I don't 00:14:46.059 --> 00:14:49.240 know. I mean, maybe you have to have your company, 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:53.500 yes, but to build your ecosystem, I need to be 00:14:53.500 --> 00:14:56.440 honest that you need to grow it from the best 00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:59.179 networks. And this is, for example, what we are 00:14:59.179 --> 00:15:05.539 trying to do in start up a startup get connected 00:15:05.539 --> 00:15:11.379 with us we try to connect them with great pool 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:15.539 of investors corporate media universities government 00:15:15.539 --> 00:15:20.659 so from there you can go of course also we are 00:15:20.659 --> 00:15:25.620 always saying hey grow your team developing team 00:15:25.620 --> 00:15:29.759 at your city at your town because you are helping 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:33.919 to generate jobs there. But if you want to work 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:38.620 internationally, you need to go to the best connected 00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:43.940 apps. Maybe we are talking about London, Miami, 00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:48.360 New York, Madrid, you know. But one thing is 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:52.940 the team developing and the other is the business, 00:15:53.259 --> 00:15:58.620 the sales part. But also, again, Ricardo, we 00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:02.779 are having a video call. But again, it's also 00:16:02.779 --> 00:16:06.019 very important to have personal connections. 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:10.080 And you can generate it in Salamanca, in a startup, 00:16:10.340 --> 00:16:13.519 but of course, when you go to places like Brazil, 00:16:14.659 --> 00:16:19.059 or to Madrid, or to Miami, or to Lisbon, when 00:16:19.059 --> 00:16:24.860 you go to Web Summit, then this is also a next 00:16:24.860 --> 00:16:28.100 level where you can almost all the time meet 00:16:28.100 --> 00:16:33.159 people. And this is something really very important 00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:36.460 to meet as many people as possible to do business. 00:16:37.059 --> 00:16:40.419 So go wherever there is a lot of people. I'm 00:16:40.419 --> 00:16:42.220 curious on one thing. So you were just telling 00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:45.320 me you met the King of Spain and also the president 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:47.419 of Portugal. How were they? Were they nice and 00:16:47.419 --> 00:16:49.659 friendly? Or I know Marcelo is known for his 00:16:49.659 --> 00:16:53.379 crazy handshake and a lot of selfies. Well, he's 00:16:53.379 --> 00:16:57.179 the man. He's the man. I mean, and of course, 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:02.919 also for a startup. was an incredible edition. 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:08.240 Also our visibility was great and these two guys 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:11.779 are incredible. I mean as you know Marcelo Revero 00:17:11.779 --> 00:17:15.740 de Sousa is incredible. Just only with the strength 00:17:15.740 --> 00:17:19.980 that he shakes hands, the passion that he has 00:17:19.980 --> 00:17:24.359 is incredible. And of course, our King, we mentioned 00:17:24.359 --> 00:17:28.200 to him that we love to say that he's the El Rey 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:30.720 Startupero, the Startup King. He's supporting 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:33.740 us a lot. From that, from several editions, he's 00:17:33.740 --> 00:17:39.650 always... the president of our executive committee. 00:17:40.049 --> 00:17:44.069 So he's supporting us. He has a deep knowledge 00:17:44.069 --> 00:17:49.190 about technology and startups and so on. So we 00:17:49.190 --> 00:17:55.049 are really proud to have a king such as the Philip 00:17:55.049 --> 00:18:01.630 VI who is supporting the startup ecosystem in 00:18:01.630 --> 00:18:04.900 Spain non -stop. It must be exciting because 00:18:04.900 --> 00:18:07.460 when you meet people from startups, they always 00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:10.460 come up with crazy ideas. But these are the crazy 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:12.200 ideas that are going to make the world advance, 00:18:12.279 --> 00:18:14.619 isn't it? So the more startups you meet, the 00:18:14.619 --> 00:18:16.240 more exciting it is because you know something 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:19.359 good is going to come off of it, which is always 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:23.049 cool, I guess. Exactly, this is the case. We 00:18:23.049 --> 00:18:28.269 love disruptive ideas, disruptive projects from 00:18:28.269 --> 00:18:31.549 incredible startups and scale -ups. So as you 00:18:31.549 --> 00:18:36.869 are saying, we love to see technology from electric 00:18:36.869 --> 00:18:44.799 vehicles, drones, incredible biotech. companies, 00:18:45.700 --> 00:18:48.519 so education also, tech is really important, 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:53.759 sustainability, energy, so all these verticals 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:56.500 supported by these rafting technologies like 00:18:56.500 --> 00:18:59.859 artificial intelligence, cyber security, Internet 00:18:59.859 --> 00:19:03.019 of Things, and so on. This is the way to go. 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:08.740 And this is what we every year gather here in 00:19:08.740 --> 00:19:12.980 Salamanca at StartupOle because it's our largest 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:15.640 take events, but more and more in other places 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:19.099 like Marbella, Miami or Santiago de Chile this 00:19:19.099 --> 00:19:21.720 year. I was wondering one thing because your 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:24.940 background is in AI. Do you think that nowadays 00:19:24.940 --> 00:19:27.839 every company needs to have an AI element? Because 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:29.819 for example, like all the companies I meet in 00:19:29.819 --> 00:19:31.579 London, they want to get investment, they say, 00:19:31.740 --> 00:19:33.940 oh, we're doing something AI. You start thinking, 00:19:34.099 --> 00:19:37.039 is it actually AI? I mean, using CHPT is not 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:39.339 really just, you can't really say you're AI. 00:19:39.819 --> 00:19:42.450 So what do you think about that? Well, exactly, 00:19:42.670 --> 00:19:44.910 you know, it's fashion and when fashions comes 00:19:44.910 --> 00:19:50.670 also startups knows that Investor pay a they 00:19:50.670 --> 00:19:53.549 open the AI and the years when when they when 00:19:53.549 --> 00:20:00.750 they hear AI and Well, you know having a chatbot 00:20:00.750 --> 00:20:04.750 is not really but of course a chatbot in a proper 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.799 A startup may help a lot in the sense that automatization 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:13.960 is really important. Even us, in our website, 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:18.660 we have a chatbot. It's called Emiliole. It has 00:20:18.660 --> 00:20:23.759 to be like that. So, you know, but of course, 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:28.660 you were saying investors. they want to know 00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:32.440 about how startups are implementing and using 00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:36.480 AI. If it's just a light layer, it is not relevant 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:39.539 for them. So investors, of course, investors' 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:43.140 corporates are more and more taking care of those 00:20:43.140 --> 00:20:50.180 because let's be clear, AI is incredible. It's 00:20:50.180 --> 00:20:56.019 generating knowledge in a very accurate way. 00:20:56.200 --> 00:20:58.519 Of course, we always, because there is a lot 00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:02.579 of controversy about AI, right? And about blocking 00:21:02.579 --> 00:21:07.619 job generation and so on. So this is the evolution. 00:21:08.059 --> 00:21:13.420 People have to understand that AI is there as 00:21:13.420 --> 00:21:17.559 a technology to support and to generate benefits 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:24.400 for the society and startups. willing to move 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:27.900 farther to grow is the way to go. Do you think, 00:21:27.900 --> 00:21:29.400 I'm thinking about something else, you know, 00:21:29.480 --> 00:21:31.759 when all your travels and all these ecosystems, 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:34.559 do you think there's a big difference in the 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:37.359 risk profile of investors? Let's say the risk 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:39.400 profile of an investor in Spain compared with 00:21:39.400 --> 00:21:42.119 someone from Chile, for example, or from Miami, 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:44.839 are they more risk averse, less risk averse, 00:21:44.980 --> 00:21:47.680 or they actually all operate in the same, I guess 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:52.619 mindset? I mean, Everything is also related to 00:21:52.619 --> 00:21:56.740 the maturity of the ecosystem, right? If you 00:21:56.740 --> 00:22:02.779 have a mature ecosystem that went through many 00:22:02.779 --> 00:22:07.619 phases, then you find all types of investors, 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:13.160 right? So what I try to say is that in a more 00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:17.000 mature ecosystem or hub, you have all types. 00:22:17.099 --> 00:22:21.039 of investors. It is also not just the ecosystem, 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:25.079 it's also related to the actual circumstances, 00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:30.559 to the situation, right? Also, I mean, you know, 00:22:30.680 --> 00:22:36.420 there is quite, actually there is some complex 00:22:36.420 --> 00:22:40.940 periods with, you know, some international wars 00:22:40.940 --> 00:22:45.640 and all these things is making that Yeah, sure, 00:22:45.799 --> 00:22:50.440 there is a lot of money, but investors take longer 00:22:50.440 --> 00:22:54.640 to decide where the money goes. This is also 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:57.440 important and we are in that period, but there 00:22:57.440 --> 00:23:01.160 is a lot of money, but investors take longer 00:23:01.160 --> 00:23:06.000 to invest. And as I said, probably in less mature 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:10.660 ecosystems, in general, the investors are less 00:23:10.660 --> 00:23:14.099 developed. But you know, these days, as again, 00:23:14.460 --> 00:23:17.140 These investors, for instance, I go to Miami 00:23:17.140 --> 00:23:20.640 and in Miami, you have investors from Spain, 00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:26.099 Colombia, from Chile, and they are getting more 00:23:26.099 --> 00:23:29.380 and more international. And again, in Spain, 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:32.900 you have people from Israel, from the United 00:23:32.900 --> 00:23:40.579 States. And this is a matter of generating more 00:23:40.579 --> 00:23:45.599 and more. agreement, more connections and growing. 00:23:46.099 --> 00:23:49.940 This is a matter of evolution, I guess. I was 00:23:49.940 --> 00:23:52.420 curious about one thing. What were the biggest 00:23:52.420 --> 00:23:55.259 challenges you had to overcome when you're building 00:23:55.259 --> 00:23:57.619 this whole startup? I mean, I'm sure there must 00:23:57.619 --> 00:23:59.880 have been some very dark moments. How did you 00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:04.799 pass them? Indeed. Well, to organize 11 years 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:09.430 ago, an event in a city which is very, very well 00:24:09.430 --> 00:24:14.369 connected and is well known at university level. 00:24:14.710 --> 00:24:17.609 You know, Salamanca also has been a European 00:24:17.609 --> 00:24:22.470 cultural city where restaurants and the city 00:24:22.470 --> 00:24:25.970 is incredible to visit and so on, but not about 00:24:25.970 --> 00:24:29.470 the startups. Bringing international people to 00:24:29.470 --> 00:24:32.829 Salamanca is not an easy, it was not easy, right? 00:24:32.910 --> 00:24:36.119 I remember once I was in Lisbon attending web 00:24:36.119 --> 00:24:39.279 summit and somebody approached me. He recognized 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:43.519 me. He told me, hey, you are the guy from Salamanca, 00:24:43.740 --> 00:24:47.059 from Startup Ole. Listen, I'm from Berlin. It's 00:24:47.059 --> 00:24:49.500 taking more time for me to go to Japan than to 00:24:49.500 --> 00:24:55.460 Salamanca. So, well, you know, but once we were 00:24:55.460 --> 00:25:01.299 able to make it happen, now people love the city 00:25:01.299 --> 00:25:06.349 and the way we do things. And Salamanca is the 00:25:06.349 --> 00:25:09.750 place to organize any type of conference. And 00:25:09.750 --> 00:25:15.109 now also the place to come for a startup event. 00:25:15.549 --> 00:25:20.569 So this was a major problem also to generate 00:25:20.569 --> 00:25:23.789 proper communication at local level, because 00:25:23.789 --> 00:25:26.349 people was like, hey. What are these guys doing 00:25:26.349 --> 00:25:29.910 here next door? And of course, the mayor one 00:25:29.910 --> 00:25:34.890 was COVID, the COVID period where we have to 00:25:34.890 --> 00:25:37.650 postpone. I mean, we were meant to organize the 00:25:37.650 --> 00:25:41.589 event in March and in March, April came COVID 00:25:41.589 --> 00:25:45.230 that year. We postponed it to September because 00:25:45.230 --> 00:25:47.650 with summer and everything, you know, we were 00:25:47.650 --> 00:25:50.930 all in the beach and so on. And suddenly in September, 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:54.380 Again, everything was blocked. And suddenly we 00:25:54.380 --> 00:25:58.440 were the very first event ever and anywhere that 00:25:58.440 --> 00:26:02.839 we have to jump into digital. So we move everything 00:26:02.839 --> 00:26:05.799 into digital in two weeks. Well, in the middle, 00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:08.259 I'm not going to explain, I'm not going to give 00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:12.640 you details, but we were totally dead bodies. 00:26:14.099 --> 00:26:18.019 It was almost, we have to learn a lot how to 00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:22.069 get digital. Now everything goes digital we can 00:26:22.069 --> 00:26:24.670 have a meeting here or in person everybody knows 00:26:24.670 --> 00:26:28.049 how to do it but at that moment we were we were 00:26:28.049 --> 00:26:32.950 investigating how to do it getting into OBS systems 00:26:32.950 --> 00:26:37.609 digital systems get capturing getting the signal 00:26:37.609 --> 00:26:41.750 and the sound from a video call being able to 00:26:41.750 --> 00:26:45.289 spread it while it was a major technical problem 00:26:45.289 --> 00:26:48.670 and also keep the confidence of all of our partners, 00:26:49.289 --> 00:26:52.150 investors and so on. But, you know, I have to 00:26:52.150 --> 00:26:57.490 say that after all this, we were able to grow. 00:26:57.930 --> 00:27:02.589 We got more and more partners and the confidence 00:27:02.589 --> 00:27:06.789 on us was growing also nonstop. And this is also 00:27:06.789 --> 00:27:09.799 a matter of confidence. I'm curious on one thing, 00:27:09.940 --> 00:27:12.160 because you mentioned how hard it is to get Salamanca 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:15.259 or how hard it was to get the Salamanca. How 00:27:15.259 --> 00:27:18.180 do you manage to get people to overcome that 00:27:18.180 --> 00:27:21.140 barrier? Because we know there's direct flights 00:27:21.140 --> 00:27:24.400 to Madrid from most cities, but Salamanca is 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:26.259 a little bit harder to get to. So how do you 00:27:26.259 --> 00:27:28.880 get people to overcome that hardship in their 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:35.190 mind? Because I think what was going on is that, 00:27:35.190 --> 00:27:38.089 let's be clear, we have a winner product. When 00:27:38.089 --> 00:27:43.410 people come to Salamanca, they get a lot of outcomes. 00:27:43.490 --> 00:27:46.430 We have mentioned that we are a networking event, 00:27:46.809 --> 00:27:50.569 and this is our main focus that everybody gets 00:27:50.569 --> 00:27:56.769 in a natural way, a lot of connections, and these 00:27:56.769 --> 00:28:01.720 become leads, and these become... projects, investment, 00:28:02.460 --> 00:28:05.900 joint ventures, or whatsoever. So this is it. 00:28:06.140 --> 00:28:11.380 I mean, plus, of course, we generate a joint 00:28:11.380 --> 00:28:17.960 offer where doing business stream, but also enjoying 00:28:17.960 --> 00:28:23.440 meeting people in a friendly environment is, 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:28.069 I think, the winner mix. that we offer because 00:28:28.069 --> 00:28:31.529 you know Salamanca is really great but also the 00:28:31.529 --> 00:28:34.130 way we do things we are really focused on networking 00:28:34.130 --> 00:28:41.829 we have several digital tools where somehow regardless 00:28:41.829 --> 00:28:45.990 yes or yes you get many connections and also 00:28:45.990 --> 00:28:51.650 we attract let's be clear to a small city a great 00:28:51.650 --> 00:28:54.769 amount of high quality representative of the 00:28:54.769 --> 00:29:00.089 ecosystem. So you will have for sure many opportunities 00:29:00.089 --> 00:29:03.750 to connect with top investors, corporate media, 00:29:04.630 --> 00:29:08.289 government, because these guys, I mean, I have 00:29:08.289 --> 00:29:11.769 to say something that in big events, you know, 00:29:11.930 --> 00:29:18.289 sometimes people, the high profiles go to the 00:29:18.289 --> 00:29:21.930 event for a while. But then in the morning, they 00:29:21.930 --> 00:29:24.450 have to get back to the office in the afternoon. 00:29:25.390 --> 00:29:28.890 OK, we were there one morning. We were doing 00:29:28.890 --> 00:29:31.910 it. But in here in Salamanca, people come to 00:29:31.910 --> 00:29:35.509 stay one or two days. And days means also part 00:29:35.509 --> 00:29:38.450 of the night, because, you know, people go for 00:29:38.450 --> 00:29:44.640 a drink or for some tapas. And it's all in a 00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:49.819 really, it happens in the downtown. So everybody 00:29:49.819 --> 00:29:54.059 is meeting to each other several times, either 00:29:54.059 --> 00:29:57.000 in the round tables, in the matchmaking events, 00:29:57.940 --> 00:30:02.099 and if not, in the cocktails. We are also putting 00:30:02.099 --> 00:30:06.160 a lot of budgets in the cocktails. We generate 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:09.559 cocktails, five, six cocktails with concerts, 00:30:09.940 --> 00:30:13.279 with parties where a startup investor, everybody 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:17.039 is invited, not general attendees, but the rest. 00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:20.359 So, you know, we are also putting a lot of focus 00:30:20.359 --> 00:30:22.720 on networking and generating many opportunities 00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:26.500 to connect and let's be clear, startups. go to 00:30:26.500 --> 00:30:30.339 Salamanca to talk with all these guys. And also 00:30:30.339 --> 00:30:34.180 among Investor and Corporates, there is a lot 00:30:34.180 --> 00:30:37.880 of connection. And this is also what they mentioned 00:30:37.880 --> 00:30:43.559 to us, that they are coming because of it. Emilio, 00:30:43.720 --> 00:30:47.339 so we have Salamanca OLE coming up. They'll be 00:30:47.339 --> 00:30:49.460 in October. After that, what do we have next? 00:30:49.619 --> 00:30:53.740 Is it Miami or is it Santiago? Well, we are working 00:30:53.740 --> 00:30:59.099 hard. Actually, in one week, this Saturday, I'm 00:30:59.099 --> 00:31:03.039 flying back to Miami. So the next event, big 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:08.880 event, will be in Miami in March. at the beginning 00:31:08.880 --> 00:31:13.579 of the Miami Tech Week. So we are now conducting 00:31:13.579 --> 00:31:18.619 many meetings with partners. Also, we have been 00:31:18.619 --> 00:31:23.259 visiting many great venues. So we will be also 00:31:23.259 --> 00:31:26.200 making public the venue and so on because now 00:31:26.200 --> 00:31:30.640 in Miami we go also for a fair with booth and 00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:36.779 incredible periods. Also, We are carrying on 00:31:36.779 --> 00:31:41.920 with our idea to celebrate StartupOle Beach Edition. 00:31:43.160 --> 00:31:47.960 Nice. So as we did in June, at the end of June 00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:52.319 in Marbella, we hope to do it in Marbella again 00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:57.220 next year. And also now we are working with our 00:31:57.220 --> 00:32:01.180 friends and talking with several partners for 00:32:01.180 --> 00:32:05.880 working in Latin America, the other side of the 00:32:05.880 --> 00:32:09.880 Atlantic. So maybe probably we will be organizing 00:32:09.880 --> 00:32:14.450 two or three more events there in Latin America. 00:32:14.750 --> 00:32:17.990 But we still have to decide when and where. It 00:32:17.990 --> 00:32:19.970 feels like you have a lot of really good things 00:32:19.970 --> 00:32:21.670 happening for you, which is just always good 00:32:21.670 --> 00:32:23.869 to know. Emilio, if people want to reach out 00:32:23.869 --> 00:32:27.190 to you, how can you do so? Well, it is easy. 00:32:28.069 --> 00:32:32.200 If you get... First of all, if you want to talk 00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:36.200 with the Startupole team, you get into a Startupole 00:32:36.200 --> 00:32:40.759 website, which is startupole .eu. We feel also 00:32:40.759 --> 00:32:45.480 very European. That's why EU, and let's be clear, 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:48.920 we were born based on European projects, right? 00:32:49.819 --> 00:32:53.059 So get in there, you have the contact. So hello, 00:32:53.319 --> 00:32:57.960 startupole .eu is the way to contact us, the 00:32:57.960 --> 00:33:00.789 team. And of course, if you want to contact me, 00:33:01.049 --> 00:33:04.829 I think that you can find me in LinkedIn through 00:33:04.829 --> 00:33:08.730 Emilio Corchado, a startup, I'm sure you will 00:33:08.730 --> 00:33:12.289 be able to find me there and send me a message. 00:33:12.609 --> 00:33:15.269 This is the best way. And probably you can find 00:33:15.269 --> 00:33:19.049 also my mobile phone number there and send me 00:33:19.049 --> 00:33:22.369 a WhatsApp and probably sooner or after I will 00:33:22.369 --> 00:33:27.269 reply to you more or less fast, more or less... 00:33:27.630 --> 00:33:33.009 the number of words will be less or long based 00:33:33.009 --> 00:33:37.690 on how close I am with the events. Sounds good. 00:33:37.910 --> 00:33:39.390 Emilio, thank you so much for your time. It's 00:33:39.390 --> 00:33:41.839 been an absolute pleasure. Ricardo, thank you 00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:45.920 very much. It is a pleasure for us. Thank you 00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:49.720 for speaking the world about StartupOle and of 00:33:49.720 --> 00:33:53.619 course, you are really welcome to StartupOle 00:33:53.619 --> 00:33:56.500 in Salamanca from the 8th to the 10th of October. 00:33:57.200 --> 00:33:59.519 Tickets could also get free. You have different 00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:02.339 possibilities. So looking forward to meet you, 00:34:02.440 --> 00:34:05.720 Ricardo, and all your audience. Thank you so 00:34:05.720 --> 00:34:08.539 much, Emilio. Thank you very much, Ricardo. Thank 00:34:08.539 --> 00:34:11.340 you to your audience. You are a really great 00:34:11.340 --> 00:34:13.880 ecosystem player, so it was a real pleasure. 00:34:14.420 --> 00:34:37.400 Thank you. from grants to investors to tips and 00:34:37.400 --> 00:34:39.260 tricks on how to be successful in your startup. 00:34:39.639 --> 00:34:42.719 This podcast is also sponsored by ODEV Tech. 00:34:43.460 --> 00:34:45.659 ODEV Tech is your premier software development 00:34:45.659 --> 00:34:49.219 partner. Make sure you check them out at odev 00:34:49.219 --> 00:34:49.840 .tech.