Led · Equity · Sep 2019

GreyHounders is a Madrid-based eyewear brand that sells prescription glasses online using technology to broaden access to quality optics. The company disintermediates the traditional optical production chain to lower costs, enabling it to offer high-quality frames and lenses manufactured nationally at competitive prices. Its model includes exclusive designs and augmented reality tools that let customers try products remotely. GreyHounders aims to open physical presence in two new cities, triple its 2021 revenue, and strengthen its brand to become a leader in online prescription-glasses sales in Spain. The company recently closed a €500,000 venture round and previously raised €200,000 in an earlier round led by G8I, Metxa Inversiones and public financing. It is preparing a new funding round while continuing to close alliances with sector experts. GreyHounders Glasses is a Spanish startup that sells prescription eyewear through a fully digital platform. It aims to democratize the optical sector by eliminating intermediaries and offering exclusive designs at prices under €80. The service features an augmented-reality virtual try-on, home product testing, and a nationwide network of ophthalmologists who provide free eye exams. Founded by Marta Frenna, Marco Resino and Juanjo Ruano in 2018 and launched in August 2018, the project started inside Demium Startups and was accelerated by Barrabés Next (in a program with the Comunidad de Madrid and La Nave) and later by METXA. As of the article date the company had surpassed 1,000 customers and planned to quadruple the number of orders in 2020. The startup positions itself as Spain's first fully online optical retailer.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2018

Dog Vivant operates a listings and certification platform that helps thousands of people find dog-friendly hotels, restaurants, shops and other trusted canine businesses. The company reports more than 25,000 registered users, roughly 60,000 monthly visits, and over 1,000 certified businesses, which receive on average five contacts per month. Founded in 2016, Dog Vivant aims to consolidate growth in Spain, expand into Portugal, and launch new technology- and data-driven business lines. The team plans hires including a Chief Data Officer and additional marketing, content, commercial (Portugal) and technical staff to improve scalability and efficiency. The startup also works with tourism stakeholders—such as Basquetour, the Basque tourism agency—to produce dog-friendly content and services. Part of the investment will be used to accelerate community growth and double key metrics within six months.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2018

ValueCar.es is a digital marketplace launched in September 2017 that connects car buyers with official dealerships to find, compare and buy new, nearly-new and rental (renting/subscription) vehicles. Users enter their desired car and postal code and the platform obtains five definitive offers from participating dealers for easy comparison. The service is free for users and is financed by the participating dealerships. After one year of operation the platform reports more than 25,000 registered users, 400 dealers onboarded and over 15,000 offers issued per month, with double-digit monthly growth. The company is developing new business areas on its web platform and is expanding its renting/subscription offerings toward more frequent subscription cadences. ValueCar aims to consolidate and scale its position across Spain while investing in communication and marketing to acquire new users. It also has financial support from the Agencia de Desarrollo Económico de La Rioja.

Led · Equity · Sep 2018

Osoigo has developed a technological platform offering citizen-participation services to associations and public institutions. The company reports more than 500 participating politicians and over 150,000 active users. It closed its first funding round of €160,000 with Metxa Inversiones. Osoigo plans to use the proceeds to consolidate its business in Spain and to become the country's leading citizen-participation platform. The startup is based in Zarautz (Guipuzcoa). The article places the company in the Internet/IT sector and highlights its focus on expanding nationally.

Participated · Equity · Sep 2017

Boatjump operates a marketplace that allows users to search, compare and reserve boats across major nautical destinations. The company focuses on offering a simple, intuitive booking experience and has positioned renting a boat to be as easy as booking a car, flight or hotel. It reported more than €1.6 million in sales and customers from 17 countries, with sales having tripled in 2017 and 30% of revenue coming from other countries (expected to exceed 50% next year). The platform hosts 7,170 registered boats and saw nearly a threefold increase in customers during 2017. Boatjump plans to develop new technology to automate internal processes and improve the user search and booking experience, while consolidating its team across operations, IT, marketing and sales. The company also intends to expand its product supply, strengthen its brand in Spain and existing international markets, and continue geographic expansion; it was founded by Jaime Vara, Alfonso Pastrana and Pablo Ruibal about a year and a half ago in Mallorca.