This chapter examines the entrepreneurial leadership landscape within the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem. It represents the ninth of the ten elements of the entrepreneurial ecosystem framework used to assess the country’s ecosystem. The chapter identifies strengths and areas for improvement, presents an international example for inspiration, reviews recent policy developments, and provides recommendations for further progress in the leadership domain.
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Diagnostics of Spain
Abstract
Entrepreneurial leadership – from both private and public sectors – supports the development and co‑ordination of actions that build entrepreneurial ecosystems. Research shows that the active involvement of experienced entrepreneurs in ecosystem activities, through mentorship, reinvestment, and ecosystem stewardship, can significantly enhance startup formation, growth, and resilience (Wurth, Stam and Spigel, 2023[1]; OECD, 2023[2]). Successful founders who remain embedded in the ecosystem after an exit also act as role models, lowering perceived risks and providing tacit knowledge to emerging entrepreneurs (Spigel, 2017[3]). This “entrepreneurial recycling” of skills, capital, and networks contributes to a cumulative advantage, helping ecosystems evolve from fragmented startup activity into dense, innovation-rich environments with a higher proportion of scaleups and high-growth firms (Brown and Mason, 2017[4]).
Evidence from countries such as Finland, the United States, France, and Estonia demonstrates that initiatives fostering peer-to-peer support, founder-led investment, and structured mentoring networks can accelerate ecosystem maturity (OECD, 2023[5]). For instance, leadership-driven platforms like Slush in Helsinki and Station F in Paris leverage founder involvement to attract talent, mobilise private capital, and foster a culture of collaboration in ecosystems.
Public policy can also play an important role in ecosystem leadership. At one level, policy makers can develop entrepreneurship strategies and relevant entrepreneurship support actions directly. At another level, policy can strengthen the capacity for private leaders to support the ecosystem, for example by incentivising mentoring schemes, supporting entrepreneurial alumni networks, and facilitating connections between successful founders and new ventures. In ecosystems where entrepreneurial leadership is weak or nascent, public policies can help build trust, embed entrepreneurial norms, and unlock latent potential (Isenberg, 2010[6]).
Successful entrepreneurs acting as leaders in the ecosystem
An entrepreneurial ecosystem can greatly benefit from the presence of successful entrepreneurs who can serve as an example and as mentors for other aspiring entrepreneurs. Successful entrepreneurs can also re-invest the profits from their venture exits in the ecosystem, for example becoming business angels, venture capitalists or serial entrepreneurs. The OECD ecosystem diagnostics measures Leadership in terms of the number of serial entrepreneurs, on which Spain performs relatively well (Figure 11.1).
Note: These scores correspond to the normalised values of the number of serial entrepreneurs’ total count. Values are transformed to logarithms before normalisation. Data are normalised using a min-max transformations where the max/min are equal to the sample mean +/- 2*sample standards deviations, relative to the average of data from the 2020-2023 period. 2016-2020 scores are anchored to the 2020-2023’s data and must be interpreted as relative performance the 2020-2023 period.
Source: Based on Crunchbase
Successful founders are playing a growing role in mentoring and reinvesting in early-stage ventures in Spain. For example, a visible group of at least 15 scaleup CEOs in Madrid and Barcelona are shaping a new wave of founder-led ecosystem leadership. These individuals are increasingly active in selection panels, advisory boards, and ecosystem-building events. Scaleup companies such as Wallbox, Tucuvi, and LeapWaveTech exemplify this dynamic. Founders from these and other startup companies not only lead innovative ventures in health, AI and deep tech sectors but also engage with policy and public funding frameworks, often advocating for more supportive regulation, better procurement access, and reduced bureaucracy.
As of 2025, although Spain generates significantly fewer unicorns than other more advanced ecosystems, it already leads Southern Europe’s tech landscape. Key companies include Jobandtalent, an online staffing platform; Cabify, a ride-sharing service active in Spain and Latin America; TravelPerk, a business travel management platform; Wallbox, specialising in electric vehicle charging solutions; and Factorial, a human resources software provider. Additionally, emerging startups like Copado, Devo, Fever, and Domestika underscore the ecosystem’s dynamism across sectors such as cloud security, event discovery, and online education.
These internationally recognised startups not only drive economic growth but also enhance Spain’s reputation as a vibrant hub for innovation, legitimising entrepreneurship as a viable and respected path in a country where risk-taking still faces cultural headwinds. They also contribute to attracting investment and talent while supporting policy efforts to strengthen the startup and scaleup environment.
Investor communities, corporates and banks also bring ecosystem leadership
While successful Spanish start-ups, and prominent founders, especially serial entrepreneurs, are the most visible drivers of ecosystem leadership, they are not the only contributors. Major Spanish corporate firms, investors, leading startup events, bank foundations, and other organisations contribute to bring leadership in the Spanish ecosystem.
In terms of corporates, major international businesses such as Telefónica, Santander, Zara, and Cabify have started to play a leadership role in the startup ecosystem through mentoring initiatives or by investing in public-private facilities and fund-of-funds.
Moving to the investor community, several venture capitalists and angel investors are playing key roles in scaling the ecosystem. On the VC side, figures such as Lourdes Álvarez de Toledo (JME Ventures), Marta Zanchi (Nina Capital), and Sonia Fernández (Kibo Ventures) are notable not only for their investment portfolios but also for their mentorship of emerging entrepreneurs and support for diversity in tech. Similarly, Enrique Penichet García, of Draper B1, exemplifies the entrepreneur-to-investor pipeline, having launched multiple seed-stage funds. Prominent angel investors are also shaping the ecosystem from the grassroots up. Helena Torras champions female founders and sustainability-focused ventures through Seastainable Capital, while Tom Horsey brings capital and visibility to startups in underrepresented regions outside Madrid and Barcelona. Meanwhile, Dídac Lee, through Galdana Ventures, leverages global VC networks to strengthen Spain’s positioning in the international innovation arena. These individuals not only provide capital but also act as mentors, role models, and ecosystem builders fostering the virtuous cycle of entrepreneurial leadership Spain needs to consolidate and scale its startup ecosystem.
Some banks and financial institutions are also very active entrepreneurial ecosystem leaders, supporting and promoting the ecosystem through their foundations and venture capital arms. For example, Bankinter, through its Fundación Innovación Bankinter, has been instrumental in promoting entrepreneurship. The foundation organises the Future Trends Forum, an international think tank identifying trends impacting the economy and society, providing valuable insights for startups and scaleups. It has also established established the Scaleup Spain Network in collaboration with Wayra and Endeavor. This six-month programme is designed for high-potential companies with validated product-market fit and annual revenues exceeding EUR 1 million. It combines personalised mentoring, practical workshops, and peer-to-peer learning to address scaling challenges. The potential scaleups benefit from a collaborative network sharing growth and international expansion strategies, with support offered at no cost to the participants themselves.
Leadership needs to grow further, especially outside the main entrepreneurship hubs
The recent growth of ecosystem leadership has been remarkable, but this growth needs to continue as the Spanish startup and scaleup ecosystem develops. While Spain’s ecosystem began to gain real momentum only after the global financial crisis, countries like France and the United Kingdom had already been nurturing their ecosystems for at least two decades and have been able to build up more serial entrepreneurs acting as mentors and ecosystem promoters. At national level, the development of successful entrepreneurs as ecosystem leaders is encouraged by Endeavor Spain, which provides a structured platform for scaleup support through its “pay-it-forward” model, bringing successful founders and corporate leaders into direct engagement with new ventures. Spain, could, however, do more to connect its growing community of successful entrepreneurs to the national ecosystem through a leadership programme, drawing from the experience of the United Kingdom (Box 11.1).
Moreover, ecosystem leadership and development is uneven across the country, and needs to be encouraged more widely. Spain’s main city hubs, particularly Barcelona and Madrid, host a large share of ecosystem leaders across all sectors and stakeholder types. This agglomeration helps explain why these cities consistently rank among the top 50 global startup ecosystems, while other urban centres rank significantly lower or are not mapped. There are some inspiring initiatives in other cities and regions in developing entrepreneurial ecosystem leadership at local level. For instance, the Asturias regional government has mobilised local investor networks and highlighted the importance of experienced founders in supporting deal flow and mentoring.
Another important initiative at national level is the creation of the Startup Forum (Foro Nacional de Empresas Emergentes), an initiative of the Startup Law. This is starting to play a role in ecosystem leadership, particularly in public-private dialogue, consensus-building, and policymaking legitimacy. The Forum brings together more than 50 public and private sector members. It can become a key mechanism for fostering stakeholder consensus and enhancing policy credibility, as well as consulting with stakeholders to support the effective drafting of legislation to meet the needs of the ecosystem and to ensure that policy measures like visas, tax incentives, and innovation support are effective in practice.
Female ecosystem leadership needs a boost
Spain’s entrepreneurship movement is increasing its attention to women’s leadership and female entrepreneurship. A growing number of initiatives target women leadership in entrepreneurship. For instance, large events like South Summit are increasing the visibility of female founders and innovation leaders through the Women Awards. CDTI’s Neotec Women programme targets at least 25% of funded projects led by women and prioritises women-led deep tech and science-based start-ups, aiming to expand the pipeline of female founders in tech and research-intensive sectors. Similarly, ICEX’s DESAFIA programme includes specific key performance indicators for fostering women entrepreneurship, with a target of increasing the share of women-led start-ups in participating cohorts from 13% to 31%. Another example is WA4STEAM, a women-led angel investment network promoting women entrepreneurs in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, architecture and mathematics) fields.
Despite these efforts, female-led startups remain underrepresented in the ecosystem and there are gaps in visibility, funding, and structural support for women entrepreneur leaders. More must be done on multiple fronts: shifting cultural mindsets, building confidence among aspiring women entrepreneurs and managers, and fostering gender-diverse investment vehicles and promoting the presence of women investors and syndicates.
Description
In the UK, two complementary national programmes – Tech Nation’s Upscale and Innovate UK’s Scaleup – aim to strengthen the leadership capacity of founders and executive teams in scaling businesses.
Tech Nation’s Upscale is a three-month leadership accelerator designed for post-Series A scaleups. Delivered by Tech Nation, the programme targets high-growth companies with between GBP 1.5 and 5 million in revenue, focusing on founder and executive leadership through structured workshops, mentoring, and peer learning. Over 250 companies have been supported through this programme, including now-prominent firms such as Olio, Faculty AI, and Bloom & Wild. Several beneficiary companies report having improved access to funding and international expansion readiness.
The Innovate UK Scaleup Programme is a flagship initiative by Innovate UK that provides intensive, tailored support for UK-based scaleups. Each company is assigned a “Scaleup Director” to co-develop a strategic action plan across leadership, market access, finance, and governance. Innovate UK’s Scaleup Programme has been recognised as a core pillar in the national innovation strategy. Although formal evaluation data is limited, demand is strong, and participants report high satisfaction with leadership advisory support and strategic outcomes.
Success factors
Features contributing to the success of these two programmes are: placing founder and executive team development at the core of the workstream, including modules on strategic leadership, people management, and scaling operations; tailored one-on-one support (Scaleup Directors); curated peer communities allowing founders to share real-world challenges and co-develop solutions; integration with other stakeholders (mentors, investors, policymakers, and successful alumni); association with the important national brands of Tech Nation and Innovate UK.
Lessons for Spain
Spain can leverage its growing cohorts of successful entrepreneurs by connecting them to a new national-scale, leadership-focused programme (e.g. “Spain Upscale”) targeting post-early growth companies with high potential to scale internationally while staying rooted in Spain. This could include pairing cohort-based executive development with personalised mentorship (via “Scale-up Advisors” or regional directors); expanding structured peer networks to foster trust-based exchange among scaleup founders in different regions and sectors; involving national institutions (e.g. ICEX, CDTI, ENISA) and private scale-up alumni as mentors to maximise reach and visibility; and tracking leadership development impact through founder satisfaction, governance improvement, and post-programme growth metrics.
Sources: Tech Nation Upscale Programme (2016–2022): www.technation.io/programmes/upscale, Innovate UK Scaleup Programme: https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/programme/scaleup/
In Spain, the public sector plays an important leadership role in mobilising the startup ecosystem with strategies, policy actions and the new National Startup Forum, which promises to improve co‑ordination across the national and regional levels and between the public and private sectors and take on an institutional leadership role.
Over time, private sector’s leadership of the entrepreneurial ecosystem has also picked up, backed by a growing cohort of successful founders, investors, and internationally recognised startups, as well as corporates and banks. Mentoring, advocacy, and public visibility are beginning to foster a “give-back” culture, critical for long-term ecosystem development.
Leadership, however, is still developing, especially in the private sector, and it is important to continue to grow the numbers and broader ecosystem involvement of serial entrepreneurs. The most prominent leaders tend to be located in top hubs (mainly Madrid and Barcelona) with lesser presence in other regions.
Women’s leadership in the entrepreneurial ecosystem is gaining momentum and is supported by a range of initiatives. However, women remain underrepresented in entrepreneurship and startup management roles.
To increase the level of leadership in the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem, it is recommended that the Spanish authorities continue to play an active leadership role. Priorities include:
Disseminate entrepreneurial role models through media campaigns, events, and networks that showcase successful entrepreneurs, including women founders and investors, and entrepreneurial leaders from other underrepresented populations.
Increase support to post-exit reinvestment by successful entrepreneurs through platforms, peer-to-peer learning activities and incentives.
Better measure the development of leadership in the ecosystem by improving data collection on serial entrepreneurs and their activities, developing new key performance indicators (e.g. founder board participation, pay-it-forward engagement), and building datasets on mentor networks and founder involvement in policy.
Promote women leadership roles in the entrepreneurial ecosystem by women entrepreneurs, women investors and women leaders in other stakeholder organisations such as corporates and banks by women entrepreneurship programme support, measures to encourage women participation in networks and consultation groups, and communication and educational campaigns across society on women entrepreneurship and leadership.
References
[4] Brown, R. and C. Mason (2017), “Looking inside the spiky bits: a critical review and conceptualisation of entrepreneurial ecosystems”, Small Business Economics, Vol. 49/1, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-017-9865-7.
[6] Isenberg, D. (2010), “The big idea: How to start an entrepreneurial revolution”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 88/6.
[5] OECD (2023), Framework for the Evaluation of SME and Entrepreneurship Policies and Programmes 2023, OECD Studies on SMEs and Entrepreneurship, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a4c818d1-en.
[2] OECD (2023), SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2023.
[3] Spigel, B. (2017), “The Relational Organization of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems”, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Vol. 41/1, https://doi.org/10.1111/etap.12167.
[1] Wurth, B., E. Stam and B. Spigel (2023), “Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Mechanisms”, Foundations and Trends in Entrepreneurship, Vol. 19/3, https://doi.org/10.1561/0300000089.