{"id":72036,"date":"2016-08-11T10:57:27","date_gmt":"2016-08-11T08:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/?p=72036"},"modified":"2018-04-03T10:33:11","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T08:33:11","slug":"barcelona-startup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/barcelona-startup\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenges to Barcelona&#8217;s Startup Scene"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As you may have alread heard, Barcelona has a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/startup-scene\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">growing startup scene<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0This is the case because Barcelona is a city that offers a variety of favorable conditions for <strong>new businesses and independent workers<\/strong>\u00a0who, after visiting the city and doing some research, end up choosing it as their new home. Some of those conditions include the fact that the cost of living in Barcelona is not very high, the fact that there is a constant flow of newly qualified labor fresh from some of the city&#8217;s most prestigious colleges, and an abundance of coworking spaces that can be rented for affordable prices.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yet, as with any city, there are some <strong>limitations and challenges entrepreneurs must overcome<\/strong>. Some of these issues are slowly being dealt with. However, there are still many obstacles\u00a0that <strong>entrepreneurs<\/strong> will have to find a way around. This article will highlight a few challenges and possible solutions.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_17 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-grey\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/barcelona-startup\/#Spanish_Paperwork\" title=\"Spanish Paperwork\">Spanish Paperwork<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/barcelona-startup\/#Finding_Investors\" title=\"Finding Investors\">Finding Investors<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/barcelona-startup\/#Cultural_and_Language_Divide\" title=\"Cultural and Language Divide\">Cultural and Language Divide<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Spanish_Paperwork\"><\/span>Spanish Paperwork<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_72089\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-72089\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-72089\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/tight-budget-300x229.jpg\" alt=\"Picture from visualhunt\" width=\"300\" height=\"229\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-72089\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Visualhunt<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the top of the list of <strong>challenges for local entrepreneurs<\/strong> is that Spain is one of the most difficult countries in the EU to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/startup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>set up a company<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in. This is largely due to the bureaucracy and relatively high taxes involved. For example, if you wish to become a freelancer or &#8216;<strong>autonomo<\/strong>&#8216;, you&#8217;ll have to pay a monthly fee of over \u20ac250 a month for social security as well as taxes of 20% or higher. If you&#8217;re under 30 years old, you will pay less for social security for the first 2 years, ranging from 50\u20ac to 200\u20ac. If you wish to register your company,\u00a0the process will be more costly.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The most common alternative\u00a0is simply not registering or to register in another country like <strong>Andorra<\/strong>. For example, if your business is online, you can become an <a href=\"https:\/\/e-estonia.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">e-Resident<\/a> of <strong>Estonia<\/strong>, which lets you quickly <strong>open a business<\/strong> and pay taxes based on profit and capped at 20%. The reality is, if you want your <strong>startup<\/strong>\u00a0to be profitable, it&#8217;s a good idea to consider the alternatives. We advise you to consider only alternatives that are legal and that you take the time to think about which will serve your <strong>business<\/strong> best.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/fuckup-nights-barcelona\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FuckUp Nights Barcelona<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Finding_Investors\"><\/span>Finding Investors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_72088\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-72088\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-72088\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Investors-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Picture from visualhunt\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-72088\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Visualhunt<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In terms of money, there is also the question of finding <strong>investors<\/strong>. The number of <strong>investors<\/strong> in Barcelona who can<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/crowdfunding-spain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">offer you the proper funding<\/a><\/strong> are fairly rare. Most of the successful <strong>startups<\/strong> in Barcelona tend to go abroad to the UK, Germany, or even the US to find <strong>investors.<\/strong> This is one of the reasons why many successful <strong>startups<\/strong> in Barcelona or Spain move to the country where their <strong>investors<\/strong> are. This creates a further divide of the quality of financial support and mentorship that is available in Spain. Yet it&#8217;s promising to see more foreign<strong> startup support\u00a0<\/strong>starting to\u00a0come to Barcelona.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related article:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/websites-entrepreneurs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Best websites for entrepreneurs in Barcelona<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cultural_and_Language_Divide\"><\/span>Cultural and Language Divide<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_85708\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-85708\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-85708\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/spain-379535_960_720-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-85708\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo via Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last but not least there is the matter of the divide between <strong>locals and foreigners<\/strong> in Barcelona. This is likely due to the language barriers and the cultural differences. For example, when it comes to scheduling events, locals often prefer meeting during the week, while foreigners often have more time on the weekend. Also, the local <strong>startup communities<\/strong> are typically in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/difference-spanish-catalan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Spanish<\/strong><\/a> and the foreign communities are in <strong>English<\/strong>. Some <strong>startup communities<\/strong> like <strong>Startup Grind<\/strong> try to alternate the language of their events. Yet, in the end, it still remains a challenge to get a 50\/50 split of locals and foreigners in the same event. Why is this mix of locals and foreigners important? Locals tend to have a good network of people and potential employees and foreigners tend to have more financial resources and networks abroad. To seamlessly merge these two would greatly strengthen Barcelona&#8217;s <strong>startup scene<\/strong>. A hard truth locals may need to accept is if they wish to receive support from abroad or want to expand globally, <strong>English<\/strong> remains the #1 language!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Looking for an apartment in the city? Let\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ShBarcelona<\/a><\/strong> help you find the perfect one.<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"\n    class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-valign-bottom kksr-align-left \"\n    data-id=\"72036\"\n    data-slug=\"\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 105px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-legend\">\n            <strong class=\"kksr-score\">3.6<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">\/<\/span>\n        <strong>5<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">(<\/span>\n        <strong class=\"kksr-count\">5<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">\n            votes        <\/span>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As you may have alread heard, Barcelona has a growing startup scene.\u00a0This is the case because Barcelona is a city that offers a variety of favorable conditions for new businesses and independent workers\u00a0who, after visiting the city and doing some research, end up choosing it as their new home. Some of those conditions include the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":77397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4493],"tags":[6072,467,6074,6075],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72036"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72036"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100995,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72036\/revisions\/100995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}