Startup OLÉ: entrepreneurship that is not about colours or parties

Emilio Corchado, CEO of Startup OLÉ, is responsible for organising the first edition of Startup OLÉ Marbella '24, the new event for entrepreneurship and technological innovation, held at the Andalucía Lab headquarters.

Mr. Corchado, are you satisfied with the results of this new edition? A very remarkable challenge. 

The truth is, yes, we are delighted. It was a challenge whose objective was to connect the entire international ecosystem that resides here in Marbella with the national ecosystem, and we have succeeded. 

We achieved results of approximately one thousand people registered with two hundred and many speakers, speakers, more than one hundred startups at the fair, etc. This makes us very happy and, above all, which is what we do all this for, it has generated many synergies, many contacts, investment and business opportunities. 

Mr. Corchado, from Salamanca, this event has already been held there several times, several years, now in Marbella, why? 

We have held it ten times in Salamanca and we have seen the growth of Marbella and, as I said, all that economic power of investment in Marbella, large investment funds, a lot of international power that does not connect well with the Spanish ecosystem and we wanted to create that bridge that connects the international ecosystem with the national one.  

Anyone who comes to Marbella can see that there are things that don't happen everywhere in Spain, unfortunately. Here there is a lot of wealth and there are many people who want to invest, support the whole ecosystem, digitalisation, etc. and we wanted to contribute that grain of sand, that spark that makes this connection between both parties grow much more and with the aim of supporting a greater degree of wealth in Marbella, in Andalusia, in Spain, and that, of course, for us has to be synonymous with employment.

Mr Corchado, internationalisation, as you are saying, plays an important role. If I may highlight the participation of the president of the Saudi Business Council, Kira Negrón, explaining the numerous opportunities that Saudi Arabia is now offering with its Vision 2030 plan for entrepreneurs and young people? 

Of course. In Salamanca we have eight centuries, universities, talent, etc., but areas such as Marbella offer a great connection with certain Arab countries, with the Nordic countries, etc. We are delighted to have had Mrs. Kira Negrón here. We have seen and identified a great deal of interest in collaborating with Saudi Arabia, with the aim of generating great international possibilities that will have an impact on companies, on Spanish companies in order to, as I have said, generate business and employment.

The key to success is to bring together actors who know each other, who can, as you said, do business, investors, entrepreneurs, companies, but, above all, the way in which you organise it, that contact is normal, spontaneous, constant, the networking, the cocktails, everything contributes to this understanding, right?  

Well, we think so, we believe that we are leaders in what we do, we have been working with the ecosystem for 11 years, and, in particular, I have been organising congresses for 20 years.

We believe that generating a series of digital networking tools that can be used before the event and during the event brings the different points, the startups, the companies with investors, corporations, media, etc. closer together. 

During the event, we use all kinds of techniques so that everyone has a little time to chat quietly and in a very natural way, which is a bit of the secret of our success and the fact that the participants generate a lot of return, a lot of ROI, a lot of "return of investment", as they say in international terms. 

The conclusion we can draw, and we have been participating these days, and we have also been able to verify it, is that the health of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Spain is very good, I would say.

That's right, organising an event of this kind for the first time in Marbella and this response of almost 1,000 participants is a good example of this. The biggest names in the national ecosystem have come here, from exceptional institutions, such as the CEO of MISA, the CEO of FDT and representatives of ECOAXIS, the EOI, etcetera.

And at the Andalusian level the same, the mayoress, the Junta de Andalucía, and so on. At the private level, from the corporations, the big investors, people from Conexo, Paco Marín, Carlos Blanco, people from ONIC, many, Arcano, many big funds, CAFAN. And a large number of states, a lot of media, which shows that where there is talent and energy, investment, things happen. And that is what we want to promote.

And finally, you are able to bring together representatives of the PP, the PSOE and different political forces at the same event. Something that is very much appreciated at this time.

Entrepreneurship is not about colours. It is not about parties. We try to make everyone understand that. Those who support us must understand it. Because if they don't, we are playing a different game. We, of course, are a brand, Startup OLÉ, a neutral brand.

What matters to us is to generate economic ideas. We leave politics to others. And it is true that, of course, politics is important. We get politics or political representatives started. Everyone who comes here already knows that. And everybody is rowing in the same direction and there is no problem. So the important thing is that we have a big event. Let there be a lot of possibilities.