Founders of Tomorrow: Why We Keep Building Rooms Like This
Entrepreneurship is often taught through lectures, case studies and business plans. But building a company doesn't happen in a classroom.
It happens by testing ideas, solving problems, working with people you've never met before, presenting under pressure, receiving honest feedback, and learning to adapt quickly.
That is exactly what Founders of Tomorrow was designed to do.
On June 12, Friends of Bata and Aticco Lab welcomed a new cohort of aspiring founders to Barcelona Finance Hub for a full day of building, experimenting and collaborating. Interest in the programme continues to grow, with 76 applications received from students representing 27 different countries. From those applications, a selected group of participants joined this edition, creating one of the most international and multidisciplinary cohorts we've hosted so far.
The challenge was ambitious.
In just one day, participants had to identify a real problem, validate an opportunity, develop a business concept, build a commercial MVP using AI, and present it live in front of founders, investors and startup operators.
Rather than working on pitch decks alone, every team built a functional landing page using Lovable, dramatically shortening the journey from "I have an idea" to "I have something real I can show."
The results exceeded expectations.
Across a single afternoon, participants created 13 startup concepts covering AI security, fintech, education, travel, hospitality, productivity, retail, consumer experiences and community platforms. Teams built working MVPs including TocaToca, PromptShield, PathForward, CloseIQ, Travel Insider, ShowUp, Quick Plate, InsAIder, Tempra, ZFlow, Cross Continent Cash, Zapp Barcelona and several other commercial concepts that demonstrated both creativity and strong market thinking.
The winning projects reflected the diversity of challenges young entrepreneurs are choosing to tackle today.
TocaToca explored a more transparent and affordable way to transfer money between Europe and Mozambique. PromptShield addressed one of the fastest-growing challenges surrounding AI adoption by helping organisations prevent confidential information from being unintentionally shared with AI tools. PathForward focused on helping students make better education and career decisions through personalised recommendations.
Throughout the day, participants learned directly from founders, investors and operators actively building companies today.
Adrián Escabias, Head of Investments at Aticco Lab, shared practical insights into startup validation and what investors look for in early-stage founders. Javier Mateache Calderon, CEO and Co-Founder of NomuLabs, introduced participants to AI-powered product development through Lovable, showing how founders can move from concept to MVP in a matter of hours. Max López de Lamadrid, Co-Founder of Glimmer, challenged participants to think beyond ideas and focus on solving meaningful customer problems.
The programme was further enriched by the experience of Amélie Mariage, Júlia Pastor Sevilla and Pol Domingo, who shared practical lessons on entrepreneurship, communication, product development and innovation, while remaining available throughout the day to answer questions and engage directly with participants.
The workshop itself was supported by an outstanding group of mentors from Barcelona's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Founders, operators, investors and startup experts worked side by side with every team, challenging assumptions, refining value propositions, testing business models and helping participants think more critically about the problems they were trying to solve. For many students, these conversations became one of the most valuable parts of the experience.
And that is perhaps the biggest takeaway from this edition. The most valuable thing created that day wasn't the MVPs. It was the room.
Watching complete strangers become teammates in a matter of hours. Seeing founders exchange contact details with students. Mentors introducing participants to new opportunities. Conversations continuing long after the final pitches had ended.
The technology accelerated the building process. The people accelerated the learning. That combination is what Founders of Tomorrow is all about.
A huge thank you to every participant, speaker, mentor, jury member and partner who contributed to making this edition possible. Special thanks to Aticco Lab, Lovable, NomuLabs, Pitchless, Practiqe, Greensland, and to Triple B International, whose continued commitment to developing the next generation allows Friends of Bata to create opportunities where young people don't just learn about entrepreneurship—they experience it.
The next edition of Founders of Tomorrow is already in the making!
See you in September.
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