Opinion

“In the UK, social ventures are fast evolving from social enterprises, previously a ‘catch all’ term for organisations committed to resolving social, health, education or environmental challenges.

Back in 2019, when Angela Strange of Andreessen Horowitz predicted that “every company will be a fintech company,” it was forecasted that nearly every company would soon derive a significant portion of its revenue from financial services.

Spain is becoming a hotspot for European investors, with VC funds opening offices in Madrid and Barcelona. But behind the promise lies a fragmented ecosystem with cultural nuances that require thoughtful adaptation. This op-ed was written by Anna Casal, Leïla Messouak, Nuria Rivaya and Laure Schlagdenhauffen from the Maïa & Mercure collective.

I've always considered myself self-sufficient when it comes to pressure from shareholders and teams alike at work. Having experienced family fall-outs, living on streets, going to prison, bad reputation, loneliness in its truest sense, I couldn’t see anything worse than that. As such I never thought I'd need a "shrink" to tell me how to not get pissed at a bunch of Gen-x hires unnecessarily complaining about a dysfunctioning coffee machine at the office. Then I met Shahab Sayardoust, his bald head, Patagonia jacket, in a small office located in Stockholm and my perspective completely changed.