FINTECH SERIES BY innovation edge

‘STARTUP’UNIVERSE

THE TAKEOFF OF EMERGING

COMPANIES IN A COMPETITIVE WORLD

Universities fight to attract future startup01 ‘Startups’: Europe

request entry 02 Women in ‘Startups’? 03

04 05 INFOGRAPHIC

Twenty startups to watch in 2016

Twenty startups to watch in 2016

‘Startups’: Europe requests entry

01

Thirty European technological companies

are worth 30 billion euros. The Old

Continent is breaking barriers in digital

transformation.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Silicon Valley seems to be on

another planet when we talk

about startups, although the

differences between Europe

and America are becoming

less, according to a study by

the consultancy company

Roland Berger. For the last few

years, the European ecosystem

has favored the growth of

startups and people no longer

have to dream of having an

office in California to become a

technological giant.

According to the study Can

European start-ups crack the

code? , in the last eight years,

the number of technological

companies in the Old

Continent has grown by 400%.

In Q1 2015, startups brought

in 6.9 billion dollars, 86% more

than the previous year. They

are expected to keep growing

in 2016, and definitively break

the four myths of the European

startup scenario.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Myth 1: Europe isn't

attractive for entrepreneurs.

The study emphasizes that this

isn't true and highlights that in

Europe there are a large

number of "ecosystems", each

with special features and

growth mechanisms. It points

out that London is the place

that attracts the most startups,

which tend to develop in urban

and dynamic surroundings.

Also Berlin, "poor and sexy",

which offers a hugely creative

environment;: its streets bring

together different languages

and attract different

entrepreneurs from around the

world. Paris is at the other end

of the scale, at least 12,000

startups are based in the

French capital, feeding off a

special talent, especially in

engineering. We mustn't forget

other attractive cities such as

Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin,

Copenhagen and Helsinki.

Myth 2: Europe doesn't have

a capital.

A point that is true to a certain

extent, but which is changing,

according to the report. Access

to funding, or the lack of it, has

always been one of the big

competitive complexes for

European startups . 2 years

ago, European startups

managed to raise 8 million

dollars in funding from US

sponsors and just 3 million

from European investment.

A trend that's gradually

changing. The number of

European companies that have

managed to get "seed capital"

has grown by 600% since

2009. Looking beyond the

numbers, there is also a series

of structural changes in the

European financial

environment. In first place, it's

becoming increasingly less

expensive to set up a company

since many of the technical

and infrastructure costs have

reduced thanks to the cloud,

which offers open and free

software. Secondly, the report

highlights that European

startups are on the way to

offshore funding, in both the

United States and in China.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Myth 3: Talent shuns

Europe.

According to the study the

opposite occurs, and although

it states that the European

scenario has been more

difficult to access and has put

up barriers for India or Eastern

Europe (due to the language,

English language and some

restrictive labor laws), the crisis

that has devastated the old

continent has achieved

something that politics didn't. It

created the urgent need for

change in the economic model

and it showed people that

working for a large firm isn't

synonymous with security. The

crisis made the ecosystem

mature rapidly, offering new

opportunities for young talent.

To attract the most talented,

able and committed people

there must be a creative

ecosystem that leads the local

scenario. And Europe is trying

to facilitate the mobility of its

workers to drive digital

disciplines.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Myth 4: The European

business environment is not

approachable for startups.

This has changed a lot in

recent years. The study

emphasizes that there is not a

unique European digital

market, but there is a decent

digital infrastructure in each of

the independent digital

markets. The penetration of

hubs is good and the

conditions in the offline world

has enabled Europe to have a

series of advantages -a large

number of market leaders in

variable, complex and technical

fields, in addition to a strength

in automobiles and

engineering.

European startups can make

traditional companies earn

money in the digital world.

One of the main reasons the

Europeans would do well

adopting the strategies of a

new market -a blue ocean-:

create its own opportunities

beyond the American model.

Europe must take advantage

of the low costs compared to

the United States, to create a

startup. For example, the

average annual salary for

digital workers in Silicon Valley

is around 195,000 dollars,

reaching 291,000. In Europe,

the highest levels reach

127,000 dollars.

Having broken the four myths

that followed European

startups, the Old Continent

must take advantage of its

political leadership, values and

traditional experience to keep

driving the digital

transformation in 2016.

Several groups aim to change in 2016

the current landscape of technology

companies dominated mostly by men.

Women in startups?

02

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

“Welcome to the misogynist

world of startups”; Why are

there so few women leading

startups?; What Silicon Valley

thinks about women; Women

and startups: an impossible

combination? These are some

of the headlines in the media

highlighting the little presence

of women in technology

companies. A landscape that

groups like Women Hackers

Action Tank (WHAT) aim to

change with initiatives fighting

for women's role in technology.

The figures show their very

limited presence. To give an

example, in the United States in

the '80s almost 40% of

computer engineering

graduates from universities

were women. Today they only

represent 14%. Society now

sees women as "not belonging

to the technology

environment". In Europe,

specifically in Paris, the

revolutionary programming

school École 42- with around

1,700 students- only has 10%

of women.

Annie Kahn, the Le Monde

journalist and member of

Women Hackers Action Tank

(What), stressed in an article

published in the French

newspaper the need to “reverse

this trend to break this glass

ceiling that, paradoxically,

technology has been unable to

break”.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Digital is associated with men,

although last year the

presence of women grew

according to the Global Startup

Ecosystem Ranking 2015.

Although it points out that the

lack of gender equality is

widespread in the world of

startups, the trend for

entrepreneur women is

changing, since the number of

women setting up startups has

grown by 80% in recent years.

In 2012, 10% of startups had

been set up by women,

compared with the global

average of 18% among the

Top 20 in 2015. In the United

States, Chicago, with 30% of

founding women, has the

largest percentage.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

The figures change and it its

clear that Silicon Valley does

not want a repeat of the trial for

machismo held last February

when Ellen Pao filed a lawsuit

against the venture capital firm

Kleiner Perkins Caufield &

Byers, charging them with

gender discrimination.

A trial that even though it

ended up becoming a soap

opera -and ruled against the

worker- seemed to make clear

that discrimination on grounds

of sex in Silicon Valley is a real

problem in the country of

opportunities.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

03

US academic institutions are changing their

curriculum and are launching themselves

into an innovation race to meet students'

entrepreneurial ambitions.

Universities fight to attract future startup

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

The original charter of

Houston's Rice University,

which is among the 30 top

universities in the United

States, written in 1891, states

that the institute's principles are

based on promoting literature,

science and the arts. According

to the New York Times, Rice

now seems to be interested in

engaging the next generations

of the Facebook Founder.

It is not the only university that

has launched itself into the

innovation race. And they have

not got it easy. Around 10

years ago it was enough to

offer a few business courses,

workshops and classes. But

students, inspired by the

success of billionaires in Silicon

Valley, expect universities to

teach them how to turn their

ideas into entrepreneurial

projects. In 1985, US

university campuses only

offered around 250 business

courses, according to a report

by the Ewing Marion Kauffman

Foundation (which funds

education and business

training). By 2013, more than

400,000 students received

this type of course.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Rice, in particular, offers

academic courses in business

strategy and funding,

extracurricular workshops on

startups and a summer

program for studies who wish

to set up a business. In August,

the Texan university

announced a multi-million

"business initiative" to develop

more courses and programs in

this field. The university

managers also say that they

hope to set up a business

center that provides support to

the students' projects Elite

institutions have embarked

on a race toward innovation.

Harvard opened an Innovation

Lab in 2011 that has helped

more than 75 new companies.

Last year, New York University

set up a campus-laboratory for

entrepreneurs, and this year

the Northwestern University

opened the Garage, a center

for startups for students.

“Students of today have a thirst

to make an impact and we

need to respond to that”,

Gordon Jones, Dean of the

new Innovation and Design

College at Boise State

University, Idaho, and former

manager of the Harvard

Innovation Lab, explained to

the NYT.

Skills

However, some academics are

skeptical about this

entrepreneurial spirit frenzy

and claim that startup

programs can lack rigor and

values. Some professors even

believe that some universities

are simply repeating the

“innovation and split” models of

Silicon Valley, seeking out

potential clients and possible

investors, instead of

encouraging students to

tackle more complex

problems. Because it is a

question of developing rich

business ecosystems, many

institutions are following the

script written years ago by

Stanford and the MIT, which

consists of academic courses,

practical experience and a

large network of former

students. Princeton also offers

a variety of business courses.

The possibility of creating the

new Instagram or Snapchat is

appealing to students.

However, in a complicated

labor market, in which young

people think that they are

going to switch jobs in a few

years, some students sign up

for startup training in the hope

that they will acquire self-

employment skills.

Some of this spirit was evident

at Rice in October. In a design

laboratory in the engineering

department, the students

involved in the health

technologies program were

working on developing

products for real clients -Malawi

hospitals- like low-cost medical

devices. On the other side of

campus a tour by startups was

being held, bringing executives

from young companies

together with students.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

To back their programs,

universities are collecting money

and looking for mentors among

their former studies who have

been successful and among

local business leaders. The New

York University Laboratory was

funded by Mark Lesbie, founder

and executive director of Veritas

Software, along with his wife

Debra.

However, the workshops at

some university campuses can

clash with the traditional

premise of schools who aim to

educate critical thinkers. “True

innovation is based on

knowledge and long-lasting

concern and interest, not only

on “I thought of something that

had not occurred to anyone

before”, says Jonathan Jacobs,

Chairman of the Philosophy

Department at the John Jay

College of Criminal Justice at

New York University. “Quite

frankly, that is not educating

the people”. And at least a

couple of business professors

say that some universities are

not ensuring that students learn

the basics of starting, running

and maintaining a business.

We will have to wait a few years

to see whether the upcoming

generations continue to dream

about creating startups and

whether the changes to

educational models help them to

do so.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

04Twenty startups to watch in 2016Forbes selects the companies most

likely to make a mark this year.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Inverse

Founded in 2015 and based in

the Bay Area, Inverse is a

digital media source that covers

latest news, TV, movies, music,

digital culture, science and

innovation, all aimed at a male

audience. With around 20

employees its investors include

Greycroft Partners, Crosslink

Capital and Rothenberg

Ventures.

Mobcrush

Founded in 2014, Mobcrush is

a community and platform for

mobile video games. It aims to

boost the global user

community by providing a

simple solution that can be

accessed via mobile devices.

The company has raised 15

million dollars from venture

capitalists Kleiner Perkins,

CrunchFund and Lowercase

Capital.

Product Hunt

Product Hunt curates the best

new products each and every

day. It is one of the most

influential platforms around.

Figures from the tech sector

and venture capitalists use the

platform to seek new startups.

It is the go-to site for product

launch announcements.

Investors include SV Angel,

Naval Ravikant and Greylock

Partners.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Patreon

Founded in 2013 thanks to

the investment of around 17

million dollars by Alexis

Ohanian and Sam Altman,

Patreon is a platform that

allows content creators such

as artists, YouTubers,

photographers, musicians,

authors, writers and others to

create websites for their work

and get support from their

fans. The community currently

has around 2,000 creators.

Based in the Bay Area, the

company employs more than

40 people.

Carousell

Carousell makes it easy to sell

those items that you no longer

use or need. Selling is easy via

the "Snap" list, while buyers can

get what they like by chatting

with sellers via the application.

There are currently some 26

million products on sale. The

Singapore-based company's

appeal is on the rise. Investors

include 500 Startups, Golden

Gate Ventures and Sequoia

Capital.

Doormint

Doormint is a mobile platform

for on-demand basic consumer

services in the home. Investors

in the startup include Helion

Venture Partners, Kalaari

Capital and Powai Lake

Ventures.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Founded in Mumbai, it has

raised some 7 million dollars.

Belong

Belong scans social networks,

the internet and public data

sources to find potential

candidates for job vacancies.

Based in Bangalore, the

company has raised money

from investors such as Matrix

Partners and Blume Ventures.

Founded in 2014 by Saiteja

Veera, Rishabh Kaul, Vijay

Sharma and Sudheendra

Chilappagari, the company

employs 60 people and is still

growing.

SendinBlue

SendinBlue allows users to

manage contacts, create

newsletters and track results.

The Paris-based company has

raised 2 million dollars from

investors such as Caloga. With

close to 40 employees, it was

set up in 2014 by Armand

Thiberge and Kapil Sharma.

Giphy

Jace Cooke and Alex Chung

founded Giphy in 2013. With

its headquarters in New York,

Giphy is a GIF search engine.

Animated GIFs have been

around for decades, but until

now there was no good way to

browse and discover the best

that the internet has to offer.

Giphy's vision is not just to help

you find GIFs. At present it is

only a search engine but soon

it will grow into a community;

a platform loaded with

materials for GIF artists,

enthusiasts, bloggers and

anyone

interested in finding or creating

the next big meme. Having

raised nearly 23 million dollars,

the company's investors

include RRE Ventures,

Lightspeed Venture Partners,

Lere Hippeau Ventures and

General Catalyst Partners.

Maple

Maple hopes to revolutionize

the home delivery food market

in the city of New York. With

around 50 employees, the

company was set up by Caleb

Merkl and

Akshay Navle in 2014. Since

then it has raised 25 million

dollars from Primary Venture

Partners, Thrive Capital, Andy

Dunn and others.

BitGold

BitGold aims to make gold

accessible and secure for

digital payments. As one

of the star newcomers in

Toronto, the firm has raised 30

million dollars from investors

such as PowerOne Capital and

Soros Brothers Investments. It

was founded in 2014 by Josh

Crumb and Roy Sebag.

Play Buzz

Play Buzz was founded in Tel

Aviv in 2012. It allows users to

play with and create web

content via custom surveys,

lists and questionnaires, and to

include them in a website or

simply share them with friends.

With some 18 employees the

firm has raised 19 million

dollars in investment from

Carmel Ventures, Saban Capital

Group, FirstTime Ventures,

83North and others.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Leesa Sleep

Leesa Sleep is ready to do

battle with established firms

operating in its space. Leesa is

an online luxury mattress

business that breaks the

traditional model by providing

direct deliveries of very

comfortable mattresses, while

also running an industry-

leading social impact program.

It has raised 9 million dollars

from investors such as

TitleCard Capital. The company

was founded in 2014 by David

Wolfe and Jamie Diamonstein.

Voonik

Voonik is a personal style

platform that supports

shopping for clothes and

accessories by combining

multiple stores on a single

platform and allowing users to

view all products at a glance.

The company has raised

investment of 5 million dollars

from Sequoia Capital. Based in

Bangalore, the company

currently employs more than

80 people.

Zoomo

Zoomo is a peer-to-peer mobile

market for used car sales.

From its headquarters in

Bangalore, founders Arnav

Kumar and Himangshu

Hazarika decided to launch the

business in 2014 with the

support of SAIF Partners. Since

then it has raised 6 million

dollars and has a workforce of

more than 100.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Opinio

Opinio is another Bangalore

startup on the list. It provides

delivery services for food and

other products, thus

connecting users with

restaurants, stores, laundries

and pharmacies. With more

than 80 employees and 8

million dollars of investment, its

backers include Accel Partners,

Sands Capital Ventures and

Delhivery.

Alodokter

The Alodokter platform

contains comprehensible

information on medicine,

illnesses, health and exercise.

Registered users may also

request medical opinions via

the website. Founded in 2014

by Nathanael Faibis, it has

raised early financing from 500

Startups, Jungle Ventures,

Fenox Venture Capital, Golden

Gate Ventures and Lim Der

Shing.

Save

Save is a promising startup

with its headquarters in Paris. It

offers smartphone repair

services with transparent

prices, either dropping your

phone at one of its shops or

sending it by courier. Founded

by Damien Morin, the

company has raised 17 million

dollars from IDInvest Partners

and 360 Capital Partners.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Droom

Droom is the first mobile

market in India for new and

used cars. With 16 million

dollars invested by Beenos and

Lightbox Ventures, the

company employs more than

50 people after less than two

years in business. Scandeep

Aggarwal had the original idea

in 2014 and has guided the

startup's success since then.

Parcelled

Parcelled is an on-demand

online courier that has

revolutionized the world of

logistics, radically changing the

way we send items. Established

in Bangalore, the company has

raised 5 million dollars from

Delhivery and Tracxn Labs. At

present it employs a staff of 80,

overseen by founder Xitij Kothi.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

05/INFOGRAPHIC

Thirty European technology companies are worth 30 billion

euros. The Old Continent is breaking barriers in digital

transformation.

‘Startups’ europeanin 2015

Share on Pinterest

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

TOP 20 GLOBALLY

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

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Los

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London

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Seat

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Berlin

Sin

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Par

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Mosc

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Aust

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Ban

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FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

OUTPUT VOLUME OF THE TOP 20

Silicon Valley

London

Los Angeles

Tel Aviv

BerlInBoston

Chicago

New York City

Amsterdam

Seattle

Paris

Austin

Singapore

Vancouver

Montreal

São Paulo

Toronto

Bangalore

Moscow

Sidney

47,3%

10,2%

6,6%

6,5%

6,1%

5,7%

4,5%3,6%

2,5%

2,1%

1,2%

1,2%

0,8%

0,5%

0,3%

0,3%

0,2%

0,2%

0,1%

0,1%

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

‘STARTUPS’ EUROPEAN FIGURES

110 dollars

MILLIONSof accumulated value

of unicorns in

Europe.

6,9 dollars

MILLIONSof increase in the

second half of 2015.

400%faster European

incubation in the

startup ecosystem in

2015 than in 2007.

86%more than in

2014.

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

While French startups attract significantly more venture capital, in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

businesses achieve a higher increase in volume.

A MATTER OF MONEY

France

UK

Germany *

Scandinavia

159

154

81

47

Number of startups

UK

2.5 millions

Germany*

1.8 millions

France

1 million

Scandinavia

1 million

* Germany, Austriaand Switzerland

Startup value(in millions of dollars)

FINTECH SERIES · DECEMBER 2015 · www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en

Easy, quickly and very efficiently

are the keys of personal

management tools (PFM)

‘Robo Advisors’ enter the scene

A new concept in the world of

‘Startups’

A new model of payment: The

revolution of virtual wallets

BBVA Innovation Center

creates the Fintech Serie By

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innovation trends with its

milestones, analysis, cases

studie, interviews with experts

and infographics to display the

data that describe each of

these trends.

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