His startups are born thinking of global

Factorial announced a few days ago that It has already reached 100 million dollars of recurring annual incomebecoming one of the twenties Scaleups European that achieve this figure in the last decade.

The human resources startup founded in Barcelona by Jordi Romero, Bernat Farrero and Pau Ramon already serves more than 14,000 companies in ten countries.

Why is it important. This figure marks a change of mentality in the Spanish ecosystem. For many years, the country startups have focused on the domestic market of 48 million inhabitants (since this year already 49), Treating international expansion as an optional second step. Factorial is different: since 2019 he thought of global, not local.

“We are equally ready, handsome, high and strong anywhere in the world,” Its founders have said. A phrase that summarizes the new attitude: Spain as a trampoline, not as a final destination.

In perspective. Other recent cases reinforce this trend:

• Lingokids He has raised 120 million dollars to climb his global educational product.
• Ultralyticswith headquarters in Madrid and London, it processes 2,000 million daily inferences in 200 countries.
• Wallboxborn in Barcelona, ​​quotes in New York and sells electric loaders in more than 80 markets, although it has been collapsing for years.
• Jobandtalent It has expanded strongly in the United Kingdom and the United States After consolidating in Spain.
• Glovo demonstrated the ability of a Spanish startup to expand to dozens of countries in record time, although it is in the hands of Delivery Hero.

There are also less brilliant examples, such as Faver, today turned into a global reference of entertainment, which failed in his first attempt to internationalization and had to forward his strategy before growing again. Cases that show that going out soon is an opportunity, but also a risk.

The context. Talking about the “49 million” is to fall short: it is not only the size of the market, but its fragmentation.

• Climbing a B2B product in Spain is to face regulatory barriers, client dispersion and a purchasing power lower than that of the greats hubs Europeans
• There is the difference with markets such as Germany, France or the United Kingdom, where many startups can grow at home before going outside.

In that sense, Spain is approaching the logic of small countries where unicorns proliferate, such as Lithuania (Vinted, Nordvpn) or Norway (Opera, Remarkable), forced to be born global.

Between the lines. The change goes beyond the strategy. It is a mental revolution that leaves behind the “Spanish imposter syndrome”. In 2000 and 2010, success used to be selling a foreign buyer (such as Tuenti to Telefónica either Social Point A Take-Two).

Today, the horizon is different:

1. Maintain independence.
2. Quote in the bag.
3. Become buyers instead of acquired.

Factorial has rejected purchase offers and plans to reach 1,000 million income without selling.

The threat. This new ambition also uncovers the shortcomings of the ecosystem. They are needed …

• Funds capable of leading rounds of 50 or 100 million.
• An international talent that still does not flow with the same ease of Madrid or Barcelona as towards London or Berlin.
• And a investment culture more willing to assume long -term risk.

The Spanish venture capital market has grown, but is still limited to the hubs Dominants from Europe.

Deepen. Spain, however, has structural advantages to sustain this turn:

1. Spanish connects with 500 million speakers and opens a natural bridge to Latin America.
2. The geographical position places the country as a hinge between Europe and America.
3. Talent costs remain competitive in front of large European centers (Aka “We are cheaper”).

In a world where teleworking allows you to attract engineers and managers from anywhere, Spain can become an attractive pole not only to create, but to retain global companies.

At stake. The turn to the global is a change of role for Spain in the digital economy. Spain can become an exporter of technology with a global influence capacity, or resign to remain an acquisition nursery for foreign multinationals. The difference will be made by the maturity of its venture capital, the ability to attract and retain international talent and the ambition of its founders. Factorial and its contemporaries have shown that it is possible, now it remains to be seen if they will be exception or precedent.

In Xataka | The Spanish unicorn that does not stop growing: the unstoppable promotion of factorial within the technology industry

Outstanding image | Factorial