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Javier Jiménez is the General Manager of Lanzadera, a business accelerator based in Valencia dedicated to selecting and nurturing talent capable of transforming innovative ideas into sustainable companies. Founded by Juan Roig, the creator of Mercadona, Lanzadera aims to generate employment and wealth by supporting new business ventures. The accelerator offers training, financial support, office space, networking opportunities, mentoring, and advice to entrepreneurs with promising projects. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, and every year, Lanzadera hosts an Investor Day where startups can present their projects to potential investors. Since its inception six years ago, Lanzadera has supported over 280 projects, created more than 600 jobs, and attracted around 2,000 proposals annually from diverse sectors. Notable startups include renewable energy company Gana Energía, robotics firm CFZ Robots, and sneaker brand Vacant.
Beyond accelerating startups, Lanzadera plays a vital role in the Valencian and Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem. Javier emphasizes the importance of collaboration between large corporations and startups to foster innovation. Established companies can provide funding, market knowledge, and other resources, while also benefiting from open innovation by integrating startup projects into their corporate innovation strategies. This synergy helps promote a dynamic and evolving entrepreneurial environment in the region.
Javier Jiménez, General Manager of Lanzadera, tells us what they do at the accelerator and how they see the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Javier Jiménez is the General Manager of Lanzadera, a business accelerator located in Valencia where talent capable of turning ideas into companies is selected and developed. Lanzadera is a personal initiative of Juan Roig (founder of Mercadona), which was born with the aim of generating employment and wealth through the creation of new companies, companies that can grow and be sustainable over time. With this objective, Lanzadera is looking for people with an idea or business projects with innovative potential, and offers them the training, economic and structural resources necessary to turn their dreams into reality.
The students of Akademia, the Foundation’s innovation course, of this course at the Polytechnic University of Valencia had the opportunity to visit the Lanzadera facilities and receive feedback from Javier Jiménez on their innovative ideas.
To submit your project to Lanzadera you only need to be 18 years old and have a promising project. At Lanzadera they will offer you training, a place in their offices with all the necessary services, networking, mentoring and advice to develop your idea. In addition, every year, lanzadera has its Investor Day, where the projects developed present their proposals to investors in search of financing.
Since its launch 6 years ago, Lanzadera has had more than 280 projects, created more than 600 jobs and has received an average of 2,000 projects per year from any sector. Among the projects that are or have come out of Lanzadera you can find renewable energy platforms such as Gana Energía, collaborative robots such as CFZ Robots or a brand of monochrome sneakers such as Vacant.
But in addition to being a project accelerator, Lanzadera is a key player in the Valencian and Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem. For Javier, it is essential that large corporations collaborate in the development of new companies to, among other things, promote innovation. Large companies have many mechanisms to support these startups, from funding to sharing knowledge about the market. In addition, Javier highlights the role of open innovation in this process, since large corporations can learn, or incorporate within their corporate innovation organization, the projects and innovation they carry out in startups.
Get to know Lanzadera first-hand in this interview with Javier Jiménez:
Click here if you want to meet other experts from the Akademia program.
