IdeaUp Challenge

About The Event

Barcelona’s Largest Student Startup Acceleration Competition: 6 months to develop a startup idea from scratch and deep dive into Barcelona’s rich startup ecosystem.

Throughout their journey, each team will be accompanied by one of the mentors drawn from their respective professional landscape. In addition to mentoring, the teams will have the opportunity to attend several workshops with speakers to learn the steps of creating a startup. The experience culminates in a Final Gala where the five best teams will pitch their startup to a pool of investors and where the top three will be awarded prices to further their entrepreneurial journey.

This year’s IdeaUp is made up of five different workshops spread across the first few months:

  • Saturday October 25 – Product & MVP Development
  • Saturday November 15 – Mentors and Team Networking and Pairing: “Set and decide ideas with the team, be ready to develop them
  • Saturday November 29 – Business Model & Go-To-Market Strategy
  • Saturday February 14, Pitching & Storytelling
  • Saturday March 14 – Fundraising & Investor Relations
 
After learning from the workshops and developing your business idea, two challenges will decide the winner:
  • Saturday March 21 Challenge Gala: The 5 best teams move on to the Final Gala.

  • Wednesday April 8th – Final Gala: The 5 best teams compete in order to choose the winner.

Our Partners

Our Mentors

Adriana Obregón

Founder @ digitalconnector

Alfons Mengual Altés

Head of Conector Startup Accelerator Barcelona

Felipe Contresas

Vice President of Global Communication at Too good to go

Daniel Clivillé

Partner at Crea invesión and Harvard graduate

Gabriela Moncada

Co founder and CEO of Lexy

James Archidona

Co-founder & CEO @ Joblanders

Jordi Planas

Strategic Initiatives Coordinator @ Barcelona Supercomputing Centre

Jordi Sacristan Adria

AI/Marketing Professor

Jose Luis Jauregui

Group product manager @ Factorial

Laura Subias Sin

Vice president at ABAC capital

Marcos Labori

Head of investments at GCO / Venture Capital

Maria Elena Martyak

Founder & CEO at Doyle Blackfriars

Martina Guzman

Pitch strategist and Human centered AI advocate

Miquel de la Mano

Senior Product developper and innovative product owner

Pau Font

CEO at Maria Barcelona

Quino Fernández

CEO & Co-founder en ĀticcoLab

Richard Nilsson

Founder and CEO @ MyPetGo

Roberto Costillas

Founder & CEO at Fertypharm

Valentin Rosell

Managing partner at Manglar | Entrepreneur & Advisor

Xavi Sala Valeri

Helping build & grow companies | SEO | Content | Digital Marketing

Venues

Workshops

Networking Session

Workshop with Connector

Challenge Gala Esade FusionPoint

Final Gala

2024-2025 Edition

WINNERS 2024-2025

1st Place

HUG-U is a sensory hoodie for children with autism spectrum disorder, designed to help them regulate sensory hypersensitivity.

Mentor: Jordi Sacristan

2nd Place

GABU SAKE is the first sake-soda company, ready to revolutionize Spain’s ready-to-drink sector.

Mentor: Adria Vazquez

3rd Place

Cariboo creates a community-driven carpooling system for students at ESADE University, solving the inconvenience of long public transport commutes while optimizing travel costs for students who drive.

Mentor: Richard Nilsson

We’re excited to announce this year IdeaUp will host an international Final Gala in collaboration with:

OUR MENTORS

 

Adria Vasquez Rodrigues

CFO at Vicio and IESE graduate

Richard Nilsson

Founder and CEO at MyPetGo and Harvard graduate

Beatriz Ibañez

Senior Social Impact Consultant at #Meet4Impact and Wharton graduate

Daniel Clivillé

Partner at Crea invesión and Harvard graduate

Luis Vives

Professor and Director of Corporate Relations & Engagement at Esade and MIT graduate

Ana Guasch Seculi

Independent Advisor New Technologies & Innovation at Puig and Esade graduate

Pedro Gil

Investment Manager at BCombinator and UIC graduate

Sandra Andres Bach

Mentor at Impact Hub Barcelona, Strategy and marketing partner

Sergi Pallarès

Co Founder and CEO at StockCrowd

Mar Mollet

COO Her Expat Life

Pedro Amador

Digital Marketing Manager & International Speaker

Ken Douglas

Argos Capital, Partner & Nina Capital,Board & Investment Committee

Jordi Sacristán Adrià

City Marketing and Innovation Districts Advisor

Jordi Planas

Strategic Initiatives Coordinator at Barcelona Supercomputing Center

Karina Riera

Trainer, Mentor and Marketing and Sales Consultant

Maria Luisa Aznar Alonso

MBA Candidate at IESE’25 | Strategy Consultant

Maria Lemonidou

Coach, Facilitator & Mentor

Oriol Barrachina

Head of Iberia Region Executive Partner at Cushman & Wakefield

Réka Bors

Strategic Business Leader

Peter Offerhaus

Head of OTC Business Germany at Viatris

Quino Fernández

CEO & Co-founder at ĀticcoLab and Director of BCN Finance Hub

PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS 2024-2025

INTELECTIUM

MENTORING SESSIONS AND PITCH REVISION

ESADE BAN AWARD

FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS AND PERSONALIZED SESSIONS

ESADE BAN AWARD

A YEAR OF FREE LEGAL ADVICE FOR ESADE BAN STARTUPS

BCOMIBINATOR*

DIRECT SPOT TO BCOMBINATOR ACCELERATOR PROGRAM

EWORKS AWARD

DIRECT SPOT AT ESADE’S EWORKS ACCELERATOR

ESADE BAN AWARD

ASSISTANCE IN EXPLORING PUBLIC FINANCING

NOTION

6-MONTH FREE USE OF PLUS + AI PACKAGE

*This prize depends on BCOMBINATOR’s interest in the startup. Also, if the team is willing to pursue its startup, the team can get access to BCOMBINATOR’s services. Otherwise, the team can still get access to BCOMBINATOR’s community and events.

An Outstanding Selection of Mentors from...

HOW TO APPLY?

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

 

On the 16th of November a Networking Session will be held in which an Auction process will join participating teams to a qualified expert mentor, at which point start up ideas will be set.

On the 29th of March the Challenge Gala will take place, leading to the removal of 15 participating teams, and thus awarding the 5 best teams with the great opportunity to present their startup ideas on the IdeaUp Final Gala, taking place on the 5th of April at Esade Pedralbes campus.

IdeaUp is opened to any student based in Barcelona studying undergraduate or masters. Teams size, min. 3 and max. 5. Subscription will be opened from the 21st of October up to midnight of the 28th of October through the questionnaire form that you will find hereafter. Cost per person, €75.

Please note that it is mandatory for participants to attend four out of the five workshops, as well as organising a minimum of 4 sessions with the assigned mentors.

2023/24 – LAST YEAR’S IDEAUP CHALLENGE

IdeaUp Pictures – 2023-24 Edition

Some of the past prices have come from companies like Wix, Notion, Cooltra, Cruderra, Jill White AI Bot, ESADE Ban and ESADE eWorks. This year prices will shortly be announced… Stay tuned!

 

Make sure to be the first one to hear about IdeaUp’s latest news! Stay in touch and follow us on our social media channels!

Overview Videos
Presentation of IdeaUp
Final Gala 2021