The Venture Leaders Mobile 2021 connect at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona 

13.07.2021 09:05, Isabelle Mitchell

The first Venture Leaders roadshow 2021 was a success! The 10 Venture Leaders Mobile traveled to Barcelona to present their solutions at the Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry. For four days, the 10 startups set up shop at the 4YFN exhibition, the startup event of the Mobile World Congress, met with international investors and experts, and pitched their startups in front of audience members from around the world. This year’s Venture Leaders Mobile program is supported by Huawei, Swisscom, and VISCHER.

The Venture Leader Mobile 2021 booths at the 4YFN exhibition at the Mobile World Congress

The Venture Leaders Mobile roadshow took the entrepreneurs to Barcelona, where some of the most influential decision-makers in the connectivity industry were gathering at the Mobile World Congress, the place to be for anyone wanting to help shape the mobile and tech industry. “The Venture Leaders Mobile 2021 roadshow is the first event that kicks off what is hopefully the new normal. We are thrilled to offer the 10 startups different opportunities to connect with relevant stakeholders to grow their ventures, said Jordi Montserrat, managing partner at Venturelab. “Safely attending face-to-face events and interacting directly with potential customers and investors lifts networking to a different level,” he continued. 

Throughout the week, the 10 Venture Leaders Mobile were busy with investor pitches, talking to potential customers and experts, and laying a foundation for international expansion.

Sunday: The Venturelab Trophy 2021
The second Venturelab Trophy took place on the weekend before the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The entrepreneurs and investors embarked on a friendly regatta followed by a pitch event at the Royal Barcelona Maritime Club, where the Swiss National Startup Team connected with investors. “When sailing, you can find parallels to the startup world: You cannot influence everything, and certain events you have to take for granted. But there are many factors that you can prepare: The boat, the materials, and the crew, for example. And then you make the best out of the wind and try to take every wave perfectly. On a boat and in a startup, you accept the circumstances and optimize,” said Rolf Auf der Maur, host of the Venturelab Trophy at the Royal Barcelona Maritime Club and a partner at VISCHER law firm, one of the sponsors of the Venture Leaders Mobile program.



Monday: Setting up shop at 4YFN
Bright and early on Monday morning, with a negative COVID test result in the disinfected hands, the Venture Leaders Mobile moved into their temporary Barcelona offices: their booths at the 4YFN exhibition. Here, they connected with experts, investors, and anyone interested in how Swiss innovation shapes technology. “The roadshow to the MWC in Barcelona was power-packed, offering new possibilities, exposure, networking, and learning opportunities. Our young cleantech startup got a lot of exposure, and we were able to interact with and showcase our products to numerous potential customers and investors. Perovskia got leads from Switzerland, Belgium, Africa, and South Korea, to name a few. It was equally great to interact with the brightest Swiss startups and founders,” said Anand Verma, co-founder and CEO of Perovskia. 


Remonics CEO Peter Tinschert pitching on the 4YFN Discovery Stage

Tuesday: A visit from the Swiss ambassador to Spain and Andorra
Hanspeter Mock, the Swiss Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, visited the Mobile World Congress on Tuesday and stopped by the booths of the Venture Leaders Mobile.
 

One day after the historic victory of the @nati_sfv_asf at the #EURO2020, our “other” National Team, the Swiss Startup National Team, is proudly present at the #WMC #Barcelona @4YFN_MWC. They are showing the ?? why ????is a world leader in #innovation! #Swisstech @SGE

— Embajador Hanspeter Mock (@embsuizaespana) June 29, 2021

The visit from Ambassador Mock also impressed the Venture Leaders Mobile. David Geisser, the founder and CEO of collectID, summarized, “The Venture Leaders program was an amazing opportunity for us. We met so many potential customers and investors at the MWC and the side events organized by Venture Leaders.” He continued: “One of the highlights was the visit from Hanspeter Mock, Swiss Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, at the collectID booth at the 4YFN conference. He came by to learn more about our innovative solution to prevent counterfeiting.”

In the evening, Ambassador Mock hosted the traditional Swiss Night at the Royal Barcelona Maritime Club in Barcelona, where Swiss and Spanish entrepreneurs, investors, and experts had the opportunity to meet over tapas and discuss industry developments and strengthen business relationships.  

Wednesday and Thursday: The International Mobile Startup Pitchfest 2021 

Before Spain and Switzerland met at Euro 2020, the two countries got ready for some friendly competition of the entrepreneurial kind: At the International Mobile Startup Pitchfest, made possible by Innovaud, 10 startups from Spain and the 10 members of the Swiss National Startup team presented their solutions in front of an international audience. The hybrid event attracted about 60 audience members at the Royal Barcelona Maritime Club, and well over 100 investors, experts, and entrepreneurs joined online. Typewise (David Eberle, second from the left), PXL Vision (Michael Born, far right), and HumanITcare (Nuria Pastor, second from the right) were chosen by the jury, and Eternity Online (Juan Angel Ruiz, far left) won the public voting. The four startups had the opportunity to meet with investors on a sailing trip on Thursday. “The roadshow was a great experience that will contribute to our international expansion. The Pitchfest was a fantastic opportunity to connect to founders from Barcelona and to raise interest from potential investors. Being able to showcase our product and interact with people directly made a big difference,” said Michael Born, founder and CEO of PXL Vision. 

Pitching on the boat was an unusual experience for the participants of the sailing trip, but the unbeatable view made for a perfect backdrop that will be hard to beat: “What a location for a pitch! Presenting HumanITcare on a sailboat in the Mediterranean Sea will definitely be one of the most unusual pitching locations. Back to shore, we hope that our startup will continue its smooth sailing,” said Júlia Altarriba, COO at HumanITcare.

A memorable week connecting in Barcelona 
Besides pitching to investors, networking with experts and customers, and connecting with peers on LinkedIn, the Venture Leaders roadshow is about strengthening the foundation for entrepreneurial growth: “Participating in the Venture Leaders Program has been very rewarding: We were able to generate valuable leads for a market entry in Spain, met investors from our industry, and had an amazing time in Barcelona. What stood out to me was the exchange with the other Venture Leaders team members: Spending an entire week together was an amazing opportunity to learn from experienced entrepreneurs whose companies are at a later stage than Resmonics,” summarized Peter Tinschert, co-founder and CEO of Resmonics.
 

Discover the best impressions of the Swiss National Startup Team and the #VleadersMobile roadshow to Barcelona: https://t.co/jzvcc997bQ A big thank you to our partners and sponsors @Huawei @Swisscom @VISCHER_Law, and @Innovaud. See you next year again at @4YFN_MWC #MWC21

— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) July 2, 2021

This year’s Venture Leaders Mobile program is supported by Huawei, Swisscom, and VISCHER.


The Venture Leader Mobile 2021 booths at the 4YFN exhibition at the Mobile World Congress

Discover the highlights in the video from our sponsor Huawei:

The next Venture Leaders Mobile roadshow will take place in February 2022 and provide even more visibility and networking opportunities for partners, startups, and investors. For more information and updates on the Venture Leaders Mobile, follow the Venture Leaders Mobile team with #VleadersMobile and subscribe to our newsletter. 



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