Francisco is a Founding Partner of Fellow Funders. He holds a degree in Telecommunications Engineering and Industrial Organization from the Universidad Europea, a master´s degree in Quantitative Finance from AFI and a Executive MBA from EAE Business School, among other minor degrees. Francisco has developed proffesionally in capital management, and during the last decade has managed portfolios of Propietary Trading & Market of all major asset classes (equity, rates, fx and commodites) in leading international financial institutions. In addition, Francisco is an entrepeneur since 2002 when he found a company devoted to carrying out telecommunication projects and also, he is an investor in crowfunding Project. All this experience has given him a global vision of market risks and the difficulty of diversifying funding sources to avoid exclusive dependence on banks.

“Both SMEs and startups in our country need to diversify their sources of financing and deserve to have the tools within reach that large corporations use on a daily basis to finance themselves”

 is a Fellow Funder funding partner. Graduated in Administration and Business Management at ICADE, he holds a master´s degree in Treasury Management at IEB. Guillermo began his career in the world of foreign trade as an ICEX scholarship holder and then continued in the financial sector. With more than 10 years of experience in the sector, Guillermo has worked as an institutional and corporate client banker, as well as Fixed Income sales for investment funds and management companies and as a product specialist for SMEs. In addition, Guillermo participates in several companies through financing rounds “Friends&Family” and he is an investor in several equity crowdfunding projects. He is therefore aware of the current macroeconomic situation in a low rate environment where the risk/return ratio is skewed and the search for profitability is almost a chimera.

“Thanks to equity crowdfunding, individual investors can invest in companies with high growth potential on the same terms as institutional investors”

Oscar is an economist graduated at the University of the Basque Country, he holds an Executive MBA from IE and has taken several postgraduate courses at IESE and ESADE. He has developed an important part of his professional career in a leading Spanish bank, in management positions in the area of Credit Risk. He has extensive knowledge of business management and financing and is used to working in complex environments with multidisciplinary teams. He actively participates in volunteer activities mainly in educational projects and is an active investor in Equity Crowdfunding platforms. Its interrelationship with the business ecosystem leads him to conclude that Spanish companies must compete today in a globalized and volatile reality, needing to increase their efficiency. Tools that can help you are internationalisation, the capacity to innovate, the possibility of attracting talent and access to stable long-term sources of financing.

“The spanish economic model is overly banked. It is neccesary to incorporating private funds in companies, create new capital markets for SME´s and develop and strengthen alternative funding sources. In this context, crowdfunding can be part of the solution of the problem”

José is an Economist graduate from the University San Pablo, CEU in Madrid. He completed his training at IESE, Instituto de Empresa and the Madrid Business School. His career began in a medium-sized bank, where he learned the basics of the financial business through the processes and organizational structures. José then turned his career to business consulting, where he helped clients improve their processes and optimize their structures. He broadened his professional horizons in the IT Outsourcing business and as Systems Director in a credit bureau, positions from which he got to know the world of Information Technology. During his most recent period, he was a manager in a global financial institution, where he led transformation projects in various countries, always incorporating the client as the center of any change process.

“Crowdfunding is here to stay. Analyze projects with professional criteria, offer confidence to investors and access to financing to entrepreneurs and SMEs, take care of all aspects of the relationship, and act with transparency and rigor. These are the keys to success”

Ernesto has a bachelor´s degree in economics from the University of East London. He began his career in the financial sector working at Madrid Stock Exchange and Reuters, and then for technology consultants such as Forrester and Gartner, where he held management positions. Throughout his career he has been an entrepreneur and active partner in multiple business projects. Throughout his long professional career there has been a constant “being linked” to new technologies and their implementation in society. This has allowed him to develop a very strategic vision towards companies that are able to adapt these innovations to their business model and therefore be able to have a positive impact on different market sectors such as finance, environment, IT & market research. In recent years he has been providing business advice to the management teams of SMEs and technological start-ups through his collaboration as a Business Innovation Coach with the H2020 programme and the Madri+d Foundation, as well as in collaboration with other private companies.

“The SMEs and the start-ups, by definition, need mentoring and financial support during their first years and the emergence of professional structures that provide these services in a combined way and aware of the challenges they face is a unique opportunity”

Stéphan L. Maisons holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration and Management from Université Sorbonne, Paris. Also, he holds a DEA in marketing and was a PhD student in Business Administration at Universidad Complutense de Madrid. His thesis written in Spanish analyses the “decision-making regarding the financing of innovative startups and SMEs in Spain from the investors’ perspective.” Stéphan’s entrepreneurial spirit dates back to his teen years (he was only 14 when he launched his first project). Also, he has been a Strategic Coach, a Business Angel and a SuperConnector between a company’s reality and its environment. Stéphan has more than 28 years of experience in which he has achieved success in both Startups and in consolidates companies in Europe and Latin America. These are the most significant projects he has launched: INFOVIA, TELELINE, TERRA and OESIA. Member of the Management Committee (OESIA Networks and TERRA Networks) with active involvement in the management of innovative companies: strategy, marketing, finance, M&A, LBO, innovation and advisory sales management (software, solutions and technological products). He has worked in the banking, advertising, telecommunications, technology and strategic consulting and retail sector.

“Startups and SMEs need to ensure their financing margins reaction to deal with crises and seize the opportunities that are fundamental to their success. Therefore, they need improved market financial solutions including alternative financing.”

Ricardo Ruipérez holds a degree in Business Administration (ICADE-CEU), a Master’s Degree from IEB in Options and Futures, a Master’s Degree in Foreign Trade and a Technical Analyst. He has been an entrepreneur in financial services since 2010 and he has managed his own services company for professional traders. Throughout his career he has worked in markets as a trader of different financial products: commodities, equity and derivatives, investment fund manager and discretionary portfolio management, in both securities firms and multinationals. His considerable knowledge of the markets has led him to change his investments and his criteria when searching for value.Therefore, he has concluded that we will find the best opportunities in the alternative investment industry in the near future. He is currently an investor in several equity crowdfunding projects and a specialist in validating business models in the fintech and gaming industry.

“We are in a ever-changing world, in where companies create value by taking risks, reinventing themselves, using technology and adding in their value chain, disruptive and early-stage companies. Hunger for startups is not a fad, is not a trend, is a progress: our business evolution. It will no longer be the big one hitting the small one, but the fast who will hit the slow.”

Gonzalo holds a bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Research in Market Techniques from Nebrija University, Madrid. Also, he is a specialist in digital marketing and 360º communication. After performing different roles within the marketing and communication departments, Gonzalo finished his stint as a marketing director in the investee consulting company Everis (which specializes in software development and artificial intelligence). Gonzalo describes himself as a technophile and as someone who is fond of science, new social and market trends. Thanks to his duty, as the responsible of digital marketing on the Fellow Funders platform, he can combine his passions perfectly.

“Bringing the business investment environment closer to everyone is now possible by integrating state-of-the-art, secure and accessible technologies. Let’s make our companies of tomorrow be financed by our help today.”