Want to make startup history? Barcelona is the place to be

With reasonable operating costs and increasing availabilityof capital, Barcelona continues to gain momentum as an international startuphub. The city is frequently ranked one of Europe’s best for new businesses,thanks to its established infrastructure, large talent pool and low cost ofliving. The vibrant cultural scene, excellent food and a coastal Mediterraneanlocation are merely the icing on the cake.

There are currently more than 1,200 startups in Barcelona,narrowly nudging ahead of the capital, Madrid, making it Spain’s largest startuphub. Popular sectors include life sciences and health, as well as gaming. Infact, there are over 130 gaming companies alone, which may have something to dowith the competitive senior software engineering salaries.

Barcelona is home to top educational facilities, includingthe IESE and ESADE business schools. Plus, in the Times Higher Education'sWorld University Rankings 2019, Barcelona took the top three spots amongst theBest Universities in Spain.

Of course not everything is about work here, there areplenty of places to play too. Simply strolling around the city is a feast forthe eyes, with eccentric pieces of Gaudí architecture jutting up all over theplace. His colourful Park Güell up on Carmel Hill is a particularly beautifulspot to take in spectacular views of the city. That is if you can bag a spotamongst the throng of visitors, but much of Barcelona is full of people all wantinga piece of the action.

A taste of some traditional Catalan dishes wouldn’t go amiss(apparently Mark Zuckerberg is a fan, having been spotted at Ca l’Estevetrestaurant) and spend some downtime mooching around the many museums, fromurban art at Bostik Murals to the history of the city’s medieval Jewish Quarterat MUHBA El Call. Be sure to catch a Barça match, after all they are theworld’s second most valuable football team according to Forbes’ 2019 data,coming in second only to Real Madrid. Or get into one of the continent’sbiggest music festivals, including Sónar and Primavera.

Given its credentials, it’s easy to see why Barcelona drawsan extensive international crowd. Because of this, English is widely spokenthroughout and, in 2018, it came second in a roundup of the top 30 Europeancities with the most professional developers, with almost 73,000 at itsdisposal. The same year, the city also came in fifth – behind London, Berlin,Paris and Stockholm – for the sheer volume that was invested (over €871m).Thanks to these figures, Barcelona’s ecosystem is, according to Startup Genome,valued at $4.1bn.

Startup Genome also reported that Barcelona had entered the“globalisation phase” of their Ecosystem Lifecycle Model. This means that localresources, infrastructure and community have all been well established and thenext level of connectivity and scalability is supported, mostly through thehosting of a raft of global events.

World Mobile Congress and 4YFN, which takes place aroundFebruary, attracts over 100,000 people each year, including internationalinvestors, corporates, governments, members of the press, entrepreneurs andstartups. While huge gaming expo Nice One Barcelona (formerly Barcelona GamesWorld) sets up later in the year for over 150,000 attendees.

As well as the annual big-hitters, Barcelona hosts regularmeet-ups too, such as Startup Grind, a networking event supported by Googlethat has a monthly guest speaker and open mic, and FuckUp Nights, a fun andsupportive event where aspiring entrepreneurs share their mistakes over a beeror two. Plus Barcelona Activa, which is a local government initiative that wasset up in 1986 to promote economic growth in the city, offer free courses forentrepreneurs, and provide advice on the tricky bits like taxes and legalprocedures.

Whether you’re a complete startup newbie or you’ve alreadydipped your toe in this fast-paced world, there are few places better qualifiedthan Barcelona to provide a base for you next venture.