A round table with the participation of three entrepreneurs of the world of sports, Federico Diato (Macsha), Albert Moreno (Runopinion) and Ivan Llonch (Patadon), served to present the past May 31 in the BizBarcelona the second edition of INDESUP!, the sports entrepreneurship program organized by INDESCAT and the ICEB with the support of ACCIÓ. All three highlighted the importance of programs like INDESUP! that help new start-ups to gain a foothold in the sports ecosystem and accompany them in key aspects such as the definition of the business model or the search for financing.
"In Barcelona there is a special sensitivity towards the start-ups sector, we have institutions that are doing a great job to help entrepreneurs," explained Ivan Llonch, founder of Patadon, one of the six start-ups that INDESUP! will mentor during this year. Llonch also spoke about how the agility of start-ups can help activate the business and sports ecosystem: "We are in a moment of changes in terms of business models and we would like to be able to accompany this change that is sure to open up great opportunities "
Federico Diato, promoter of Macsha, highlighted the attractiveness of the Barcelona brand: "Many times we sell our product because it is good, obviously, also because of being in Barcelona". And he encouraged entrepreneurs to persevere, especially in the most difficult moments: "Entrepreneurs end up winning by insistence, they fall and get up again". An idea that subscribed Albert Moreno, founder of Runopinion, a start-up linked to running that was mentored by INDESUP! in 2017 and that ended up winning the entrepreneurial category of the Empresa i Esport awards granted by INDESCAT. "It is essential to have a good business model and also know how to explain your project, a good presentation is more important than it seems."
After the round table, moderated by Josep Maria Valero (Barcelona Loves Entrepreneurs), a networking activity was held in which around twenty start-ups related to the world of sport participated. Through three thematic tables, the entrepreneurs were able to exchange experiences and opinions on the sector, and propose synergies in the face of possible collaborations.
Regarding the activities of INDESUP! 2018, Alex Rivera, cluster manager of INDESCAT, said that the goal is to continue growing to have an international reach for 2019. One of the main novelties of this second edition is that the duration of the mentoring process has been extended (of 5 7 months) and also the mentoring team that will advise the six selected start-ups: Athlepic, Aureel, CoachStudio, NxSwim, Patadon and SpinnTech. In addition, the Netmentora Catalunya program has been incorporated into the business association dedicated to supporting the most important entrepreneurs in Europe, which will offer the best projects an accompaniment for a period of 2-3 years.
INDESUP! The 2018 organization of the Sports Entrepreneur's Day and the Investment Forum will be repeated at the end of the year, and it will also bring the world of entrepreneurship to the academic world with two new activities. On the one hand, the Sportspitch, a contest of sports projects by students of sports management masters who will deliver their awards on June 26; and for another INDESUP Tech, a training and support process aimed at students and / or graduates in Sports Sciences or Masters in Sports Management who want to start technology-based projects. In addition, the synergies between the start-ups and the sports industry will be strengthened through a Matchmaking that will take place in July. "Last year we realized that both start-ups and companies were very interested in choosing who to interview to look for common points and future collaborations," explained Àlex Rivera.