The entrepreneur's long-distance race: better to start accompanied

Entrepreneurship is much more than having a good idea. It's turning it into a real project. It's taking risks, overcoming difficulties, and making decisions. It's taking a step forward. And, above all, it's knowing with whom to take it. Transforming an idea into a viable business is one of the challenges many entrepreneurs face, and often the path is not easy.

Arnau, Lara, and Guillem had to do it in 2024. A year and eight months later, their idea is already a reality. All three are the founders of PongoTodo, a lamp design company. "Lara and Guillem come from the EINA school. I, on the other hand, studied 3D and we met at the Disseny Market Barcelona. Coincidentally, my aunt gave me some tickets and I ran into them there. We talked, I liked what they were doing, and I told them I would help them. I was, at that time, in my third year of university and, finally, I found an interesting product".

Arnau Fernández explains it in the talk organized by ARA, in collaboration with BBVA, to analyze the keys to successful entrepreneurship. The conversation, moderated by journalist Laura López Sedano, also included the participation of Joan Carles Alba, director of SMEs at BBVA in Catalonia, and Muntsa Vilalta, general director of FemCAT, the Foundation of Entrepreneurs of Catalonia. From different but complementary perspectives, all three agree in pointing out the main challenges and opportunities facing the Catalan entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Streamline procedures

As Arnau Fernández recalls, his and his partners' experience was both enriching and stressful. "With the idea defined and the great reception our product had during the three days of the Market, the process accelerated. We got advice, we did all the paperwork, but we are clear that if we had been accompanied, everything would have gone more smoothly".

Starting a business in Catalonia can take between two and three weeks if the process is done online, but the process can be extended to 40 or 55 days if done through the traditional procedure. The time depends on the chosen legal form and the necessary procedures, so simplifying this journey is one of the biggest challenges for new entrepreneurs.

With this objective, BBVA launched its own service two years ago to support new SMEs in their establishment, as well as to streamline and facilitate administrative procedures. Since then, the entity has already supported more than 1,000 companies in their incorporation process. “An entrepreneur can have their company established in a maximum of fifteen days. We have managed to reduce the process time by 64%,” explains Joan Carles Alba, director of SMEs at BBVA in Catalonia.

However, the support does not end with the company's incorporation. "The most relevant thing is that we continue to support the entrepreneur, especially during the first months of activity, but also throughout the entire life cycle of the company," highlights Alba.

A consolidated ecosystem

Muntsa Vilalta highlights that "in Catalonia we have stopped being a promise to become a consolidated ecosystem. We are the fifth entrepreneurship hub in Europe, behind Berlin and Paris, and ahead of many other leading regions". The general director of FemCAT highlights, in this regard, Catalonia's strength in areas such as technological development, life and health sciences, as well as industry 4.0. "This translates into quality employment and the creation of qualified jobs, and support initiatives like BBVA's are very important".

However, the big challenge is to grow emerging companies. "It's very good to be a hub for start-ups, but we lack dimension and scalability. Many end up going to the United States to make the growth leap", she explains.

This challenge is concentrated especially in Barcelona, where more than 90% of start-ups coexist, but it also involves strengthening the innovative ecosystem in the rest of the territory. That is why Vilalta defends the more active role of universities and the academic world, as well as active action to end the gender gap. "Six out of ten people who drive start-ups are men. Parity remains a pending issue and we must start working on it from the earliest educational stages, awakening scientific and technological vocations among girls." "In SMEs there is muscle and financial instruments. The issue is how to make them accessible," she summarizes.

AI as an indispensable tool

Technology has also become an essential element for the growth of any company, as explained by Joan Carles Alba, director of SMEs at BBVA in Catalonia, who identifies three main areas in which the entity supports companies: day-to-day financial management, access to technology, and internationalization.

"As a bank, we provide solutions to facilitate the daily management of the business, from treasury to payment flows, through any channel. But we also want to facilitate access to new technologies, because today they are a key tool for competing," adds Alba. In this regard, BBVA offers its clients two ChatGPT licenses so that they can incorporate artificial intelligence into their processes from the early stages of the company. Thanks to technology, it also facilitates the international expansion of the company. "AI provides our clients with tools to contact potential buyers from other countries and break down borders".

Examples to follow

There is no doubt that innovation is one of the great drivers of economic progress. "Innovation is fundamental to improving productivity because, the more productivity, the better salaries and a higher quality of life," assures Muntsa Vilalta. To identify successful models, FemCAT promotes international missions to get to know the best practices of other countries up close.

In the last two years, the entity has visited ecosystems such as those of South Korea and Switzerland, the latter considered one of the most innovative countries in the world. "Despite being very different realities, they share key elements: they allocate a much higher percentage of GDP to innovation – more than double in the case of Switzerland and more than triple in South Korea – and they have managed to get universities, research centers, companies, investors, and public administration to work in a coordinated manner. When all actors are united, innovating and transforming knowledge into economic activity is much easier," she emphasizes.

BBVA's model for entrepreneurs, precisely, has specialists in all areas to promote the proper functioning of SMEs and “in 2025, more than 65,000 new companies trusted us in Spain and almost 14,000 did so in Catalonia, and in the first half of 2026 the trend continues and there are already more than 8,000”. Furthermore, “we understand sustainability as a great competitive lever along with innovation and, therefore, we provide all the tools and we believe we are on the right track,” explains Alba.

The key to success

Where does success lie? "Actively listening to everyone is important, and surrounding yourself with people who support you and bring you value is even more so. Conviction, resilience, and being true to yourself are key. Patience and resilience are crucial attributes," insists Vilalta. As Arnau Fernández says, "I will never discourage anyone from starting a business. There is no better experience than creating your own company. It makes you gain knowledge, and you should never be afraid of taxes or the procedures that need to be done. I am 21 years old, and although I don't like saying this phrase, this is life. Starting a business is exciting, and the more entrepreneurship, the more wealth."

For her part, Alba concludes that the key lies in seeking "close and specialized" support and in focusing on two pillars like innovation and sustainability to differentiate from the competition and ensure the future growth of companies. And she highlights that "we have great companies in this country because one day an entrepreneur had an idea and brought it to reality".