More industrial startups are needed

Susana Domingo
Director of the EMBA
Director of the Strategy and Entrepreneurship Area
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Industrial technology startups are scientific-technical based companies with validated technology that offer the market a tangible product. These startups are the great unknown of our entrepreneurial ecosystem, but they have a significant economic and social impact. And more startups industrial are needed in Catalonia.

It is true that the most powerful startups are from the services sector, such as Glovo, Wallbox, Letgo, Cabify, Badi or Flywire. 42% of the 1,700 Catalan startups have the ecommerce or marketplace business model. In terms of sectors, the areas of ICT, leisure and health account for 60% of companies. The specific sector with the most companies is healthtech with 289 startups, according to the latest ACCIÓ report.

Industrial startups have a higher survival rate than startups in other sectors and also pay higher salaries

The pre-existing industrial sector in Catalonia has favored the development of digital transformation, connectivity and the rise of Industry 4.0, and in this way, new forms of business have emerged with technology as the main axis.

In this sector we can find robotics companies such as Pal Robotics, Steering Machines, the food company Heura Foods, the unicorn of chargers for electric vehicles Wallbox, the company of devices for animal health Dinbeat, or companies that offer consumer products made from recycled materials, such as Infinite Athletic, manufacturers of sportswear made from fibers from used tennis racket nets, or FOS Eyewear, manufacturer of glasses frames made from recycled materials.

These startups have grown in the shadow of digital startups and seek to generate their own ecosystem based on their potential and their ability to generate added value in the economy. Industrial activity goes beyond its specific weight in GDP; If in Catalonia the industry represents almost 20% of GDP, it causes a drag effect through the large number of services linked to it: transport and logistics, research and technology, ICT services, etc., its impact reaching 50% of Catalan GDP.

In fact, industrial startups have a higher survival rate than startups in other sectors and also pay higher salaries. In Catalonia, according to the Labor Department, taking into account the activity sector, the highest average annual gross profit corresponds to the industry. Construction and services show, on average, wages that are 14.7% and 15.0% lower, respectively.

Industrial startups, compared to those limited to services, add more value to the economy and make it more resilient, and with greater socioeconomic benefits

It is a known fact that the industry guarantees greater stability of workplaces and more decent wages, as well as being a highly internationalized and innovative sector. If we want to reindustrialize the country, the way is the industrial starups.

In the current context of economic crisis, that the country continues to be an economic engine with a manufacturing industry that provides added value and, furthermore, is a pole of attraction in southern Europe, has to be a priority for everyone . There are no easy paths, but every stone makes a wall. If we want to reindustrialize the country, the way is the industrial starups.

These industrial startups, compared to those limited to services, add more value to the economy and make it more resilient, and with a greater socioeconomic benefit. For this reason, technological innovation of an industrial nature must be promoted from all areas.