5 reasons to start a business in Valencia
By: Startup Valencia
Tags: Valencia, Spain, Startup, Lifestyle, Business

Thinking of starting a business in Spain? 5 reasons why Valencia should be Top 1 on your list!

Discover the talent held in the Valencian entrepreneurial ecosystem and four other factors that make Valencia a city to be considered when starting a company. Startup Valencia Follow Mar 11, 2020 · 5 min read

Choosing the right place to set up a company or grow internationally is not always easy; several factors must be taken into consideration. Investment funds, the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the ease of doing business, the country’s culture towards foreigners and the cost of living are just some of the variables that will make you decide for one place or another.

As figures show, Spain is quickly becoming a top destination for entrepreneurs who are looking to expand their current business or starting a new one. The climate conditions, the geographical location or the outgoing and welcoming culture are the first thoughts that come to someone’s mind when they think of Spain. But Spain is more than that; look at the figures below!

However, which city should you choose? Madrid and Barcelona are the largest and most well-known cities in the country and, therefore, the first choice for a great number of founders. Nevertheless, we can’t underestimate the growth potential Valencia holds. To convince you, here’s a list of 5 reasons why you should choose Valencia as a destination to start a business in Spain!

Plaza del Ayuntamiento, Valencia

1. Valencia #CityOfTalent

The city boasts of having one of the most competitive education systems in the country, a fact proven by figures and rankings. With two top public universities -the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and the University of Valencia (UV)- and six private ones, over 25000 Bachelor and Master students graduate each year (according to the figures gathered by the GVA). From those 25000, more than 3500 are engineers and developers, making the city an attractive destination to retain talented employees.

Both public universities appear among the Top 500 in the Shanghai Ranking (ARWU) as well as the Top Reuters 100 and U-Ranking. Therefore, it is no surprise that Valencia is one of the top 3 Erasmus destinations in both Spain and Europe.

2. Growing startup community in Valencia

Valencia holds more than 600 startups (and rising!) which makes it the city with more startups per capita of Spain: 0.064% compared to 0.056% in Barcelona and Bilbao or 0.033% in Madrid. Some of them such as Jeff, Beroomers, Flywire or Blinkfire Analytics have grown exponentially over the past years and are currently considered an inspiration for entrepreneurs due to their success.

Many funding rounds, 12 incubators and 21 accelerators such as GoHub, Demium, Lanzadera, Plug and Play Tech Center or InnSomnia, help these early-stage businesses grow: last year over 5 million € were invested in Valencian startups.

3. Home for international tech events

Throughout the year, several international tech events are held in Valencia which confirms the immense potential the city owns. Valencia Digital Summit, organised by Startup Valencia, is one of them: a referent event which aims to give international visibility to the whole entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem in the Valencian Community. The III edition will take place on November 25th at the City of Arts and Sciences, one of the most recognizable landscapes in Valencia.

Valencia Digital Summit 2019

Other major worldwide-known events such as Webit or South Summit have chosen Valencia for this year’s edition, a total benefit for the city as more investors and entrepreneurs will be attracted to it. Several recurring events of great popularity like DreamHack, CTO Summit, VLC Startup Week, Valencia Investors Day or Ftalks Food Summit are being held as well in the Mediterranean city.

4. Work-life balance in Valencia

Valencia has a competitive cost of living compared to Madrid or Barcelona where renting, groceries or leisure activities take a large part of an average person’s monthly salary. Added to that, many companies in Valencia have already adopted a flexible schedule for their employees and some of them include home office when necessary.

The urban lifestyle of the city is very active: there are more than 30 concert halls, around 50 museums and exhibition halls such as the City of Arts and Sciences and over 20 art, music and theatre international festivals are held in Valencia each year.

City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia

5. Living in Valencia means…

With a population of 1 million inhabitants, Valencia is the third largest city in Spain and one of the sunniest and warmest: 300 sunny days per year and an annual average temperature of 17ºC to enjoy 109 km of coast.

The city is well-known for its gastronomic culture, its extensive public transport network and bike path: 142 km and more than 15000 bicycle parking spots have been built to make Valencia a bike-adapted city.

Its strategic geographical location also plays an important role when doing business: Valencia’s airport has international connections to Paris, London, Berlin and Moscow, among others; it has the main commercial port in the Mediterranean, and thanks to the high-speed rail you can get to Madrid in 1h 30 mins and in 2h 30 mins to Barcelona.

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