On Thursday I have been asked to join a panel of speakers to talk about the new startup law in Spain.
However, before we tackle this law and changes maybe we should ask what is so special about startups.
Back in 2008 when I started with urbytus, my startup for homeowners association and property managers, I struggled to find business angels who understood the concept of startups or even venture capitals that invested in early-stage startups like mine. In those days most startup information and websites were US or UK-based and early-stage investors could be counted on one hand.
Yet over the past 14 years in Spain, I have witnessed an explosive rise in the number of venture capital companies supporting startups in all stages from pre-seed, and early stage all the way to the top.
To what do we owe this growth? What is it that is attracting small and big money to this sector? and yet what is that is still keeping so many people away and weary?
Venture Capital in Spanish is called “Capital Riesgo”. It translates literally into “risk capital”. As opposed to the English term, the Spanish have concentrated on pointing out the obvious. Startups are risky business. They could fail and for that fact most of them do. This is what makes startup investment risky and unattractive to many.
Yet despite the Dot Com Bubble and all the ups and downs of the tech giants, money has been pouring into the sector like never before and it continues to grow.
While startup investment is high risk, there is also an upside to it. Yes, the high return. Most penniless entrepreneurs turned into millionaires or billionaires simply because of their startup and their investor. It takes two to tango.
Startups are attractive to both investors and entrepreneurs because the rewards are much higher than you can expect in most other sectors and investment funds.
The Spanish government, while I must admit slow, has done its part to help this sector and over the years has improved the law for startups and their investors. If you are sitting on cash with low-interest returns. If you are interested in learning how you can take advantage of these new laws to reduce your risks and improve your returns, then join us at the Marbella Tech Meetup presentation with Douglas Goulet and Jesus Nuñez where we will cover the newly approved Start-Up Law and why startups can be just the right investment for you.