Carlos Cosculluela, director of the Damián Rodríguez Olivares Foundation, better known as the DRO Foundation, exclusively tells Franquicias, PME and Entrepreneurs Magazine about the detailed vision of the purpose and activities of the organization he leads.
Since its creation in 2013, this non-profit organization has worked tirelessly to connect scientific research with the business sector, promoting the creation, development and transfer of innovative solutions that have a positive impact on society. Under the leadership of Carlos Cosculluela, the DRO Foundation has become a benchmark in promoting scientific entrepreneurship in Spain, a key professional path to avoid talent drain and ensure that scientific advances translate into tangible benefits for the country. Today, we will talk with him about the challenges and achievements of the Foundation, as well as his vision for the future of research and entrepreneurship in Spain.
Cosculluela highlights that one of the main challenges for scientific SMEs in Spain is access to financing and bureaucratic complexity, problems that the Foundation helps to alleviate by connecting entrepreneurs with experts and specialized companies. In addition, the Foundation has established strategic alliances, such as the collaboration with Nowture and the Margarita Salas Biological Research Center, to strengthen its impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
What is the purpose of the DRO Foundation?
The Damián Rodriguez Olivares Foundation (better known as the DRO Foundation) was born with the idea of promoting the network of companies of scientific origin. We have been promoting scientific entrepreneurship in Spain for more than 10 years, since it is not a very developed activity among Spanish scientists.
What type of support do you offer to scientific entrepreneurs?
When a scientist thinks about starting a company, he is a bit lost because he has not received this type of training. That is why, from the Foundation, we support them in the first stages of the project development. We help them with the business plan, we put them in touch with people who we think can make the project grow. In short, we act as facilitators. In these first stages, we want to facilitate the process for the scientist, that is why all this support is free.
What programs have you implemented to encourage the development of scientific projects in Spain?
We organize an open call throughout the year where scientists can send us their project and we will give them advice.
On the other hand, we organize a series of specific training courses in the areas that we consider crucial when creating a company. For example, in the search for financing or in an approach to protecting innovation through patents.
In your experience, what are the main challenges faced by innovative scientific SMEs in Spain? How does the DRO Foundation help them overcome them?
One of the challenges, at least in Spain, is access to financing. These types of companies consume many initial resources with great uncertainty, which means that the number of investors and the volume invested are very low.
On the other hand, there is bureaucracy and regulation. The rhythms between bureaucracy and the daily life of the company are different. Knowing the legal and administrative requirements can consume time and resources that could be used to develop the company. At the DRO Foundation we try to connect with companies specialized in these topics so that they can develop their work and the entrepreneur can focus on what is relevant to his business.
What types of collaborations or strategic alliances has the DRO Foundation established to strengthen its impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem? Some examples?
At the DRO Foundation, we like to generate synergies between public and private entities. From a private perspective, we recently signed a collaboration with Nowture to boost innovation in life sciences. Nowture is a Venture Builder dedicated to connecting and developing the best ideas in the field of life sciences. With this alliance, we seek to accelerate the advancement of innovative projects and the development of effective solutions.
From the public’s point of view, we have a very good harmony with the Margarita Salas Biological Research Center, with whom we have organized the “Workshop on the first steps in scientific entrepreneurship” in five editions.
From your point of view, what are the future trends in scientific entrepreneurship in Spain and how is the DRO Foundation preparing to face these challenges?
A future trend, although it is already present, is artificial intelligence. Many projects already have this component (or are looking to have it) and it is something that greatly attracts investors. To this end, at the Foundation we will develop training for researchers so that they can acquire the necessary skills and apply these technologies to their projects, as well as create alliances with investors who invest in this type of projects.
From a financial point of view, we believe that more Venture Builders will be developed. In fact, the government has launched a Venture Builder to transform ideas into solutions in the field of Deep Tech. From the Foundation, we will create alliances with these entities to strengthen the ecosystem.
Finally, I would like to point out that we have observed on several occasions that in projects, what they can contribute to society is more important than the economic model. The social aspect is a trend that we observe in the projects that reach us at the Foundation.
They are organizing the VIII National Congress of Entrepreneurial Scientists, which will be held on November 28 and 29 in Madrid. What will be the main topics that you will develop in these sessions and who would you invite?
We are very happy to be able to continue organizing this conference. It started in 2012, led by Manuel Pérez-Alonso (a serial entrepreneur) and we have already had 8 editions. We see that there is interest from the participants and that it is necessary to bring together the entire scientific and entrepreneurial ecosystem in one place.
This year we return to Madrid after 5 years. We do it with the help of the Botín Foundation, which participated in this edition. The congress addresses the themes of the trends that we consider to be upcoming. We will talk about artificial intelligence, how company founders perceive the trends in their sector (Food Tech, space, biomedicine…), discover how to start a company outside of Spain, as well as the different financing models. The congress also wants to serve as an impetus for companies looking for financing, which is why we promote bilateral relations between investor and entrepreneur. We hope that this edition will be a success.
