From October 4th to October 6th, 2017, IE Exponential Learning presented at the third annual South Summit. South Summit is an event “…connecting the most innovative entrepreneurs with the most important investors in the world and the corporations seeking to improve their global competitiveness through innovation.” This past edition in Madrid took place in La N@ve, formerly the Boetticher y Navarro factory from its construction in the 1940s until the plant in Madrid’s southern Villaverde district closed in 1992. Today, this space is home to the Madrid Innovation Campus, and within the venue, works to foster education, open innovation, and the emergence of entrepreneurial initiatives.

What brought us to South Summit?

The entrepreneurial spirit plays a prominent role in all that we do at IE. Let us recall that IE’s overall mission is to shape “…leaders with global vision, an entrepreneurial mindset and a humanistic approach to drive change in organizations.” In fact, the 2016 Startup Competition winner, real-estate rental platform Spotahome, came from IE’s Area 31 startup incubator. There was no way that IEXL was going to miss out on that.

The main reason IEXL went to South Summit was to check out the action on the IE University-sponsored Demo Stage.

What was the highlight of our time on the Demo Stage? It was the closing talk with Joe Haslam, the professor at the helm of the Scaleup: How to successfully manage growth HiOP along with Assistant Professor Matthieu Heusch. The day before, Haslam also moderated a conversation with Flyspaces Founder and CEO Mario Berta. Flyspaces is in the throes of what many of you looking to take the HiOP are planning to do: Scaling up.

Curious about what Haslam and Heusch had to say?

Read on for a full recap of their talk.

What was it like?

Before sitting in on the talk on the Demo Stage, the IEXL team took a walk around the rest of the exhibit. In the central space, there were two main areas:

First, there were booths for each of the 100 Finalist Startups that presented their work as part of the competition. Among those to present from the IE family was Area 31 alumni Homyhub, a smart garage remote ideal for those prone to losing theirs daily; users can control each garage, see who opened it and for how long, and more, all from the comfort of a smartphone.

Then there was the marketplace, where sponsors and other entities offering services for startups, as well as for professionals looking for their next opportunity after having experience in the startup world, could meet up for one-on-one sessions:

Some of the players you can spot in the video include RTVE, Spain’s public television network, and Ferrovial.

IE also had an area ideal for those meetings and taking home pamphlets for various program offerings.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be complete without some demonstrations, including a Virtual Reality snorkeling experience courtesy of sporting goods chain Decathlon:

Over the course of the three days, visitors could also access a variety of panel discussions, pitches for the Startup Competition, hackathons, and more. We were even in good company, as many guest speakers from the HiOP actively participated, including Kike Sarasola from Room Mate Hotels.

Hear Kike talk all about his screw-ups and what-not-to-dos:

But before we could draw South Summit 2017 to a close, we couldn’t miss out on a photo op with María Benjumea, the driving force behind the event with Spain Startup:

From left to right: Director of IE Publishing Martín Rodríguez Hugo, Professor Joe Haslam, Founder and CEO of Spain Startup-South Summit María Benjumea, and IE Publishing Manager Roberto Álvarez Bucholska

Want to see more from South Summit?

Watch the highlights from this year’s summit:

Eager to dazzle a future event like South Summit?

If you’re looking to get on the path towards dazzling at a future South Summit or another startup gathering, the Scaleup: How to successfully manage growth HiOP can help you get on your way. Check out our homepage and click here to download your copy of our prospectus. And, if you’re ready to join our next edition, get a head-start on your application.