The second edition of the LA RAZÓN Startup Awards has been held in Madrid. The newspaper’s assembly hall received the ten companies that were awarded in this second edition and their companions, who were able to enjoy an evening chaired by the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, the CEO of La Razón, Andrés Navarro , and the director of the newspaper, Francisco Marhuenda.
After the arrival of the winners and their guests at the facilities, Marina Castaño, presenter of the event, gave a few words of welcome, highlighting that “today’s startups are tomorrow’s IBEX35 companies”. After the presentation of the event, Francisco Marhuenda took the floor, highlighting in his words the important and attractive business model that startups represent. “We still have a ways to go to achieve the penetration and investment figures that exist in the United States, but we are on the right track,” he declared. Before thanking all the winners for their work, the director of La Razón called on the administration to favor “the creation and development of a more favorable legal and legal framework for entrepreneurs”, as well as called on investors to “diversify your capital” to this type of companies.
After these words, Marina Castaño gave way to the awards ceremony. The first award of the night went to Sunmedia, a leading company in advertising solutions on digital platforms for brands and advertisers. she picked up the Internationalization Award Jorge Martínez Beneyto, director of Strategic Alliances and Institutional Relations at Sunmedia, who dedicated the award to the teams that work at the company’s headquarters in the 12 Latin American and European countries where they are present.
The next award went to AquituReforma, a leading company in sustainability and energy transformation under the 360º model under the franchise model. picked up the Award for the Best Sustainable Rehabilitation Project Enric Aparici, CEO of the company, who thanked the demanding work that his teams strive to do every day to become the number one company in sustainability and energy efficiency.
The awards gala moved on and it was the turn of LIVE4LIFE, one of the largest university communities in Spain, focused on connecting property owners with university students and young professionals for study or work stays. This company operates in all the university cities of Spain and has multiplied its initial capital by a thousand in just six years. Its CEO and founder, Alberto Añaños, collected the Best Proptech Startup Award, for the rental business aimed at students and young workers and highlighted in his speech that the success of his company has only been possible thanks to the effort and work that his parents instilled in him, to whom he dedicated the award.
Aloja Experience was the next award-winning startup, a company dedicated to experiential marketing in the tourist and vacation home sector. He received at the gala the Award for the Best Experiential Marketing Startup Cristian Rivas, co-founder of the company, who stressed that everyone can undertake, and that the basis of success is effort and perseverance. “We,” Rivas highlighted, “we are a vacation accommodation company and we were born in 2020, when we were all locked up.”
Arrived halfway through the gala, Quixotic360 received the Energy Innovation Award 2023, for his important work to connect homes to photovoltaic community installations. The prize was collected by Omar Sequera and Ernesto Puente, co CEOs of Quixotic360.
The next winner of this second edition of the LA RAZÓN Startup Awards went to Lodgerin, a platform dedicated to the digital marketing and management of medium and long-term real estate assets. Its founder and CEO, Óscar Rubio, received the Award for Best Proptech company for the management and marketing of housing rentals In his speech, he highlighted the importance of the trust of its partners and investors, something that has led them to be present today in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia within Spain, but also in other European capitals such as London, Paris, Milan or Rome. “Being an entrepreneur is like being a father,” declared Óscar Rubio, “you stop sleeping and have many worries, but watching it grow is precious.”
Continuing with the gala program, it was YUCCS’ turn to receive the Award for the best Spanish company in natural innovation and sustainable footwear manufacturing. Pablo Más, CEO and founder of the company, was unable to attend the gala for reasons of force majeure, but he was able to thank LA RAZÓN for the delivery of this award through a video.
DOMMA was the next awarded company, a startup that empowers and values women of menopausal age. Cristina Martínez, co-founder and co-CEO of DOMMA, collected the Female Entrepreneurship Awardhighlighting the “importance of valuing and recognizing women entrepreneurs, who are not many and we should be more”.
Maximiliana is a company that has developed the first smartphone designed for the elderly. The average age of its team, which is 23 years, stands out compared to the average age of its users, 85 years. Jorge Terreu and Pedro Malo, CEO and Director of Technology, respectively, collected the Award for the best technology startup for the elderly.
It was time to award the last prize of the night, the Most Innovative Startup Award in the e-commerce category, which fell to BIZUM and which was collected by its general director, Ángel Nigorra, who highlighted the pillars of its success in comfort, safety and speed. Some bases that have made today that 34 banking entities offer the BIZUM service to their users.
After the awards ceremony, the closing ceremony took place, led by José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid. Martínez-Almeida thanked LA RAZÓN for the invitation and congratulated this newspaper on its 25th anniversary being celebrated this year. Paradoxically, the mayor of Madrid congratulated the non-winners, since “there are many startups that have not been awarded, not because they don’t deserve it, but because it is very difficult to get here.” Likewise, the mayor of Madrid emphasized the importance of this being the second edition, since “continuity is a primary factor both in entrepreneurship and in the media.”
He then went on to congratulate all the entrepreneurs for their courage. “Entrepreneurship is much more than a Steve Jobs in a California garage, it is putting dreams, aspirations, efforts and work at stake and risk”. Entrepreneurs, highlighted Martínez-Almeida, connect with the concerns and interests of large cities. “In Madrid you are very welcome and we work to create the ideal legal and legal frameworks so that you can develop your economic and business activity,” concluded Martínez-Almeida, before closing his speech by declaring that “thanks to the entrepreneurs, the Community and the city of Madrid are today leaders in entrepreneurship”.
With these words and with the traditional family photo of the winners, the event closed, giving way to a lively after-dinner meal in which winners and guests were able to get to know each other better and exchange impressions and opinions, creating links that will surely translate in synergies and future professional collaborations.