Science meets capital: BeAble Capital and BIC Gipuzkoa - How to make technology transfer a reality
Cruz Mendigutia, Ainhoa Aizpuru
BeAble Capital, BIC Gipuzkoa
DIPC Josebe Olarra Seminar Room
Ricardo Diez Muiño
In this seminar you will learn key points to take your technology to market and being able to get investment . We will talk about the steps to hit market from R&D, the importance of the market-oriented research approach from the beginning and we will focus on real cases of technology transfer through spin offs.
BeAble Capital is a Venture Capital management company specialized in Science Equity which means an investment strategy focused on deep science technologies and their transformation into viable industrial and economic solutions. BeAble Capital invests in Seed and Early Stage phases in the Industrial Deep Science sector with the goal of transferring to society the technologies born in academic and research institutions in Spain and providing support for transforming breakthrough discoveries into products through start-ups. It specifically involves investing in early-stage, science-based companies, often emerging from universities or research centers, and supporting their transition from the laboratory to the market.
BIC Gipuzkoa is a publicly backed agency that supports the creation and growth of innovative, technology-based companies in the province of Gipuzkoa. Backed by regional and local institutions, it provides entrepreneurs and researchers with business advice, training, infrastructure, and access to funding. Its mission is to promote entrepreneurship, facilitate the transfer of scientific and technological knowledge to the market, and strengthen the local innovation ecosystem.
Cruz Mendigutía, BeAble Capital
She holds a degree in Pharmacy from the University of Salamanca, a Master's degree in Health Biotechnology from CESIF, and a specialization in Technological and Competitive Surveillance (Pompeu Fabra University) and European Patent Law (EOI and OEPM). She worked for two years as a Pharmacist Manager in the UK and subsequently joined Pfizer in the marketing department, working on two of its blockbusters. In 2009, she joined the BeAble project as a technology analyst, participating in the development of scouting, strategic analysis, and industrial property. In 2016, BeAble SL became BeAble Capital SGEIC S.A., the first investment fund manager specializing in Science Equity (investment in technology transfer of technologies emerging from the scientific field, Deep Science, from pre-seed and seed stages) in Spain, managing a total of €85 million. Cruz is currently Principal VC at BeAble Capital, responsible for scouting, investment analysis, and monitoring the intellectual property of the investee companies. During this time, he has analyzed countless technologies and participated in the creation of more than 30 spinoffs from the Proof of Concept phase.
Ainhoa Aizpuru, BIC Gipuzkoa
She is the Project Director at BIC Gipuzkoa, She holds a degree in Business Administration and Economics with a specialization in Marketing from the University of Deusto. From 2000 to 2015 she managed projects at BIC Gipuzkoa Berrilan, and since then she has been leading strategic initiatives to support technology-based entrepreneurship in the region. Prior to her current role, Ainhoa held public offices, as a provincial deputy for Economic Promotion and Strategic Projects in Gipuzkoa’s regional government. Her multidisciplinary background—combining economics, entrepreneurship support and public administration—makes her a key asset in driving BIC Gipuzkoa’s mission to foster innovation and transfer scientific and technological knowledge to the market.