Sectoral Observatory

Study
Technological and Digital Sectors
Barcelona
2014
 Index
Foreword 3
Executive Summary 4
Facts & Figures - start-ups/companies 7
Facts & Figures - revenue 13
Facts & Figures - funding 16
Analysis of necessities 20
To Sum it up 22
Conclusions 24
Method 26
Acknowledgements 28

2
 Foreword
BARCELONA TECH CITY, previously Ecommerce&Tech Barcelona,
through its Sectoral Observatory, has conducted the first ever
study on internet and mobile companies in Barcelona.
This study aims to render an overview of the sector's current state,
corresponding to the end of the fiscal year 2014, through a series
of facts & figures about the sector. Those are frequently updated to
enable assessing the evolution and the impact of internet and
mobile companies in Barcelona.
The present study digests the main figures based on the
combination of criteria defined by the Observatory, to measure the
hiring of professionals, the revenue, the international presence, the
project phase and the financing phase of participating companies.
hub , especially in Southern Europe. The results of that study
showed the impact of the top 20 tech companies in Barcelona in
terms of recruitment (5,000 professionals), conjoint revenue figures
(over 2bn) and international presence (over 40 countries).
We would like to thank all companies who had the will and the
patience to participate in that study, which was the first step to
assess the sector's activity in Barcelona.
We hope that you will find this first study on Barcelona's
technological sector
interesting.

In addition, both start-up and established companies were asked

what their priorities and preferences were in terms of factors
deemed crucial for the success of internationally known
technological hubs such as Berlin, London or Tel Aviv.

The study is based on the first report on Barcelona's digital sector

by Manuel Mats (Necotium) published in 2012, in which he (1) "Barcelona E-Commerce: Un cluster lder en el Sur de Europa"
underlines Barcelona's potential as an international technological Profesor Manuel Mats, Mar 2012. http://goo.gl/xyZtRP

3
Executive Summary

4
 Executive Summary
2014 Revenue Recruitment
6bn 9,500
professionals

International presence Activity on international markets

Over 50 countries 60%
of surveyed companies

Average age of the sectors Start-ups

companies and start-ups created in 2014
4,8 19%
years of surveyed companies
5
Facts & Figures

6
Start-ups &
Companies

7
 Facts & Figures
Age start-ups
and companies

Average
4,8 49%

years
T h e ave r a g e a g e o f
participating start-ups and
companies is 4.8 years.
19%
49% of them were
created before 2010. 14%
33% of star t-ups and 9% 9%
companies included in the
sample were created
Before 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
between 2013 and 2014

8
 Facts & Figures
Business model:
Clients
B2B
B2B 41%

41% B2B/C
33%
There is a majority of B2B

B2C
business models in terms of
client relations - nearly 41% -
followed by a model

26%
combining business-to-
business and business-to-
consumer, which reaches 33%.

Finally, nearly 26% of survey

participants had a business-to-
consumer model

9
 Facts & Figures
Sectors
Media 29%

Media Software
Ecommerce 18%
24%

29%
Travel & leisure 9%
Social Networking 4%
Gaming 3%
Mhealth/Ehealth 3%
The media sector, which Edtech 2%
includes video, music, adtech,
and content creators among Fintech 2%
others, is the most present Hardware 1%
one, with 29% of the sample.
Telecom 1%
Software, e-Commerce and
travel & leisure also are the Others 5%
remaining predominant sectors
among surveyed companies.

10
 Facts & Figures
Participation in incubator
or accelerator
programmes
Here are entities, organisations and programmes

33%
indicated in which said start-ups participated in:

of surveyed start-ups have
taken part in one of them
AntaiVentureBuilders
Barcelona Activa (Growth Academy w/IESE; MIT)
Barclays Accelerator (Powered TechStars)
BStartUp10
Conector Startup Accelerator
EGI Group
Fundacin Inlea
Grupo Intercom
Imagine K12 (USA)
Incube
Incubio
Investment Readiness Program (UK)
Salle Technova BCN
Seedrocket
Startupbootcamp (ALE)
UAB - Parc de Recerca
Wayra

11
 Facts & Figures
International
presence

60%
UK 35%
France 34%
Italy 34%
Mexico 29%
USA 28%
Colombia 25%
60% of surveyed companies declare Brazil 25%
themselves active outside of Spain.
Germany 24%
Major European markets are: The Netherlands 22%
United Kingdom (35%), France Chile 22%
(34%), and Italy (34%), followed
from a distance by markets such as NC 20%
Germany (25%), the Netherlands Belgium 18%
(23%) and Nordic countries (22%). Argentina 17%
The activity of Barcelona's start-ups Ireland 14%
and companies in America are Singapore 14%
concentrated in the USA (29%),
Brazil (27%), Colombia (27%) and Russia 13%
Chile (23%) and, at a lesser degree, China 7%
Argentina Japan 7%
(18%).
Korea 6%

12
Revenue

13
 Facts & Figures
Business phase:
Seed to Revenue

83% In development / project ready

Under 100K
17%

21%
of surveyed start-ups
have a revenue 100K - 500K 14%

500K - 1M 5%
For the 2014 fiscal year, among
star t-ups and companies in
revenue phase, 21% of surveyed
companies had a revenue lower 1M - 3M 14%
than 100,000, while 30% of
them reached that amount.
3M - 10M 16%
Between 1M and 10M. 13% of
them had a revenue higher than
10M. 13%
Over 10M
Approximately 17% of surveyed
companies were in the seed
phase, in the preparation phase
or in the project launching phase.

14
 Facts & Figures
Relation between business
model and revenue
B2C 92%
B2C companies
and start-ups B2B 5%
turn over
B2B/C 3%

92%
of the total for all
surveyed companies
Companies and start-ups with a B2C
business model turn over
92% of all sampled companies'
conjoint revenue.

Companies with a B2B or B2B/B2C

model, despite being a majority, turn
over 8% of the total.

15
Funding

16
 Facts & Figures
Funding

52%
of surveyed companies
Friends, Fools & Family 20%
have received BA-VC
funding Business Angels 30%

In terms of funding mix received by Venture Capital 22%

companies and star t-ups, Business
Angels are a majority, followed by VC
and FFF with respectively 22% and 20%.
Public loans (ENISA, CDTI, ICF, ....) 39%
In terms of debt-based funding, public
loans (ENISA, CDTI, ICF) are the most
common debt organisation used by Banks 17%
companies, with a percentage as high as
39%, followed by bank funding with 17%

International investors Other 4%

Some of the most frequent countries of
origin are USA, France, UK, Italy,
Switzerland, Belgium and
Austria.

17
 Facts & Figures
Valued professional
profiles

60% Developers / Programmers 60%

programmers and
developers - most Marketing 48%
valued profile
Sales 5%

According to 60% of surveyed

companies' responses, the most Business Development 1%
valued profile is developers/
programmers. The second most
valued profile (48%) is marketing
professionals.

18
 Facts & Figures
Most valued
executive profiles
CEO 6%

21% CIO 4%

Chief Technological CTO 21%

Oficer
CMO 18%
In terms of executive profiles, the
most valued ones are Chief
Technical Officer (21%), Chief
Marketing Officer (18%) and at a COO 7%
lesser degree, Chief Operating
Officer (7%).

CDO 1%

19
Analysis of necessities

20
 Facts & Figures
Analysis of
necessities
Access to talent 4,39

Talent Press and Advertisement

Suitable legal and fiscal environment 3,25

3,56

Hiring international talents 3,13

Regulatory environment 3,13

Companies valued some of the
criteria deemed crucial in the Access to technological partners 3,08
establishment of internationally
known technological hubs (London,
Access to funding 2,99
Berlin...)

According to them, access to talent Access to infrastructures 2,85

is the most important necessity,
followed by access to press and Mentors and Smart Money 2,69
advertising, and a legal and fiscal
Marks form 0 to 5
environment adapted to start-ups Access to Administration 2,64
and tech companies

21
To Sum it up

22
 To Sum it up
1. The total revenue has risen to 6bn (Study1 by Prof. Mats published in 2012 -
2bn).
2. The number of professionals hired by tech companies based in Barcelona has
reached 9,500 (compared with 5,000 according to the 2012 study). This soar was
fuelled by the organic growth of established projects as well as the increasing
number of entrepreneurs building their personal projects and creating new start-
ups.
3. Overview of start-ups and tech companies in Barcelona
A young sector
Average age of start-ups and companies in the sector: 4.8 years
19% of companies were created in 2014
Business models mostly focussing on B2B or B2B/B2C
A substantial part of the sector's conjoint revenue comes from major B2C
players in the hub (92% of conjoint revenue)
Main activity sectors: Media - including Video, Music, Digital marketing
agencies, Advertising technologies, Content creation and more -, Software, e-
Commerce and iTravel&Leisure.
33% have participated in a public or private incubator/accelerator
programme
4. Barcelona's start-ups on global markets
60% of surveyed companies are present on international markets
Presence in over 50 countries
Major regions
Europe: UK, France Italy
America: Mexico, USA, Colombia and Brazil
Africa: South Africa
Asia: Singapore, Japan, China
Oceania: Australia
5. Funding
Capital investment
52% of the sample's companies and start-ups received funding from Business
Angels and Venture Capital companies
Debt-based funding
39% of surveyed companies received funding from public support programmes
(ENISA, CDTI, ICF,)
Growth and capitalisation: Companies from the sector have entered the MCE
Spanish stock exchange (Edreams-Odigeo), and others (Only-Apartments) chose
the MAB alternative stock exchange market, an alternative way of achieving
capitalisation
6. Talent
Most valued professional profiles are developers/programmers - which is the
most valued profile - and marketing professionals.
In terms of executive profiles: CTO and CMO are the most valued profiles
7. Analysis of necessities
Surveyed companies prioritize
Access to qualified talent
Access to press and advertising,
Legal and fiscal environments adapted to the sector's characteristics
Possibility to hire international talents easily.
(1) "Barcelona E-Commerce: Un cluster lder en el Sur de Europa"
Profesor Manuel Mats, Mar 2012. http://goo.gl/xyZtRP
23
Conclusions

24
 Conclusions
Since the first figures, which were the base for the
development of BARCELONA TECH CITY -
previously Ecommerce&Tech Barcelona - were
published in 2012, the sector has experienced
positive evolution, both in terms of conjoint revenue
- from 2bn to 6bn - and of recruitment of
professionals by companies and start-ups based in
the city from 5.000 to 9.500 - or international
development.
In the last few years, the city was able to highlight the
Mobile World Congress in exceptional dimensions,
to attract large-scale international projects such as
EBay Enterprises, Rakuten, king.com, Schibsted Media
Group and Airbnb, and to keep fuelling the growth
of a hub housing companies like Edreams-Odigeo,
Privalia, Atrapalo, Trovit, Grup Intercom and Scytl,
established start-ups such as SocialPoint, Akamon,
TradeInn, bodas.net, and other more recent ones
such as Kantox, Miscota, Holaluz, Tiendeo and
Marfeel.
Through the sector's evolution in the last few years,
it has been made clear that its growth is based on
two major pillars: talent and investment.
Start-ups and companies of the tech sector are
scalable, fast-growing organisations, which have a
considerable need for qualified human resources.
Data collected for the study confirms that the
number of professionals hired by companies in the
sector has risen in a spectacular way, and the access
to qualified talents is the most valued business
necessity among the sector's companies.
In terms of funding, the local hub already has However, we must keep in mind that there still is a
established VC firms such as Nauta Capital, Active long way to go. Access to talent, attracting investors,
Venture Par tners and Inveready Technology companies and international talents to the city,
Investment Group, venture capital funds such as improving administrative processes, adapting legal
CaixaCapitalRisk, Angel funds like Antai BA, Cabiedes and fiscal environments, funding, regulator y
& Partners, Necotium, Sputnik, 101 Start-Ups and environments, are challenges to face with
investor networks such as BANC, ESADE BAN, EIX determination in order to keep fuelling the city's
Technova, IESE, Keiretsu, Seed Rocket. Also, we tech sector.
shouldn't forget that companies such as Privalia, Scytl
and SocialPoint, with the support of said local Nonetheless, based on facts & figures stated in this
investor s, were able to attract prestigious report, we think that the sector is on the right path
international investors to Barcelona. Sales made by to make Barcelona the number one tech hub in
Barcelona's companies to international companies Southern Europe.
are just another sign of the sector's growth in the
last few years - Duscksboard/NewRelic; Data We just need to stay determined and bet even
Republic/KantarMedia; PasswordBank/Symantec; more of our efforts on this sector.
Icebergs/Pinterest; Wuaki.tv/Rakuten; Anuntis/
Schibsted; Polymita/RedHat and, more recently,
Trovit/Next, Zyncro/Rio Paran, SitMobile/Soprano
and rounds closed recently by SocialPoint (48m),
Scytl (104m 2014) and stock exchange market
entries - MCE -(Edreams Odigeo).
Themix offered by Barcelona for tech companies is
attractive. In addition to the city's world-famous
lifestyle, we have noticed positive evolution of
criteria deemed crucial to the expansion of
internationally known technological hubs such as
London, Berlin, or more recently, New York City:
support from the administration, leading initiatives
(Mobile World Capital for example), public and
private incubators and accelerators (SeedRocket,
Conector), first-class business schools and
universities, VC firms and business angels investing in
local projects, and business service firms (enablers)
specializing in entrepreneurship.
25
Method

26
 Method
The present study is based on digital and tech start-ups and companies It is possible that companies and start-ups likely to have participated in
active in Barcelona. the study turn out to not have taken part in it. For the next instances,
we invite and encourage them to be a part of the company sample
To develop this study, companies developing and providing products or building Barcelona's tech hub.
services through the Internet or using mobile technologies were
regarded as companies or start-ups from the digital and tech sector. The present study was coordinated by Professor Manuel Mats and the
This definition includes companies developing platforms and tools for CEO of BARCELONA TECH CITY, Miquel Mart. with the participation
web and mobile services. Therefore, companies that are part of the of the members of the Association's Sectoral Observatory.
sample belong to the following groups: media, software, e-Commerce,
travel&leisure, social networking, gaming, mhealth, edtech, fintech,
hardware, telecom and services.

The study is mostly based on data collected during the 2014 Sectoral
Survey2 designed by the BARCELONA TECH CITY Sectoral
Observatory. The survey, which aims to be a continuous, evolving study
of the hub's activity, thrives to find the main activity criteria for start-ups
and established companies based in Barcelona, which form the city's
hub. Data was collected thanks to public information sources and
interviews with companies. 150 companies participated in the study's
sample, and the collected data such as revenue and number of
employees corresponds to the fiscal year 2014. As collecting
information is a difficult process, some company data were estimated
based on public information sources and interviews. 2 BARCELONA TECH CITY: Enquesta Sectorial 2014: goo.gl/G2hYPC

27
 Acknowledgements
Barcelona Tech City
Global partners

Barcelona Tech City

Corporate partners

With the special

suport from

28
BARCELONA TECH CITY www.ecommercetechbcn.com
C/ Escoles Pies, 102 www.barcelonatechcity.com
08017 Barcelona
Tel: 636 293 782 @ecommtech_bcn
@bcntechcity

BCNTECHCITY