- Barcelona-based mobile payments startup Verse announced an $8.3 million round from Spark Capital, e.ventures and Greycroft Partners. The company, co-founded by 20 year olds Dario Nieuwenhuis, Borja Rossell and Alex Lopera, had previously raised €1.8 million from business angels such as José María Fuster, Adeyemi Ajao and Bernardo Hernández, who recently joined e.ventures as a partner.
Verse allows users to send money to each other, promising instant delivery and a high level of security. The app was built on top of the blockchain and has been downloaded 500,00 times.
Until proven wrong, it’s another app in the mobile payments space and probably won’t be the last. Venmo (today owned by PayPal), Square Cash, Twyp (ING), Bizum and many others provide similar value. It’s a volume game.
- El Confidencial has an interesting article on successful bootstrapped Spanish startups: Milanuncios, Aspgems, Pompeii and Hawkers.
- A FT study suggests that Spanish business schools are better for entrepreneurs than Stanford