Stepping away from 'safe paths' to see annual turnovers of €11M at age 22

One of Catalonia's most traditional career paths is to finish secondary school and then enroll in a university for four years before looking for a job. However, few prefer to step away from what gets to be called "safe paths" and focus on their own businesses.

This is the case for some of the youngest entrepreneurs in Catalonia. Some are 22 years old and are seeing annual turnovers of around €11 million annually.

Spain has the highest youth unemployment rate among countries within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). On average, 29.9% of women and 27.2% of men up to the age of 25 are actively looking for a job.

This reality may push some Spaniards to create their own company when, for them, the risks may be smaller. In fact, starting earlier protects you from creating a startup at a more advanced age, but it also takes you away from the "safe path," which could be civil service exams or having a job contract at a large organization.

Nude Project

“It’s strange not really having any previous work experience we can compare this to,” Bruno Casanovas, co-founder of Nude Project, said to the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

He is one of the main partners, with Álex Benlloch, of this ready-to-wear label founded in 2018. They both started the project when they turned 18, and at 22 years of age, they already have an annual turnover of €11 million.

"Álex and I have done some small jobs here and there, but well, this is now normal for us. This is our life, and it means everything to us. It’s our first job and hopefully our last one," he added.

"At some point, we had to make the difficult decision to leave university because it was impossible to do that at the same time as trying to take this to the next level," Casanovas said.

At that moment, both colleagues started living off the brand, with the thought that their reality had changed and it was "getting serious." They currently staff 20 people and have shops in Barcelona and in the Spanish cities of Madrid and Valencia.

The company is known for selling T-shirts and sweatshirts with funny imprints. However, for them starting the company was proof of the required sacrifices. Although, they believe people "can find a work-life balance," Bruno Casanovas said.

The Ker

Located in Barcelona's 22@ neighborhood, The Ker is the outcome of a joint venture between students from Catalonia's Polytechnic University (UPC) and Catalonia's Open University (UOC).

The team has created an award-winning microelectronic soldering robot that is more accurate than the competition and consumes less energy. Their goal is to "change the manufacturing paradigm of the electronics and semiconductor industry," their website reads.

Co-founders at this startup tend to work an average of 80 hours a week, double the norm, but for them, "becoming an entrepreneur is all about putting the hours in," Carla Gómez, co-founder of The Ker, said.

"It’s not just any old job. It’s part of your life. And in our case, we haven’t set up this company to then sell it, make some money, and retire. It’s not that. For us, it’s our project for life. We created it together, we want to grow it together, and we want it to be a great project and a great business," she added.

One of the most surprising elements for some of these entrepreneurs is that creating your own company is not as common as they thought it would be.

"I think when people finish university, they are anxious to find a job, to start earning money. Starting your own business is a risk, not everyone is willing to take. Some prefer to take a safer path, working as an engineer in a big company, making a living, rather than starting a business," Gómez said.

But starting a company at a young age, in some ways, is good because people do not have many responsibilities, such as children or families to look after, and they can take a risk.

Although "when you’re young is a good time, but it’s never too late," Gómez said before explaining that the team at The Ker knows "businesses with founders who are over 40, and it’s true that the older you are, the more experience you can draw upon."

Nora Real Food

Sacrifices and working long hours, but also fewer economic responsibilities, are some of the main thoughts shared by Nora Vallcorba with the team at The Ker. 

Vallcorba co-founded Nora Real Food with her mother, a company that wants people to enjoy eating at the office again. They prepare "good recipes, beautiful and healthy and affordable. So that each meal is a huge experience."

"I think there are more and more young people starting their own businesses. There’s a risk involved in starting any project, and obviously not having a mortgage to pay, not having a family or children, you can take more risks because you’re not thinking about needing that stability," she said.

When she started the project, she was 25 years, and in 2022, the company saw a turnover of €2.9m, almost three times more than the previous year. In 2023, Nora Real Food is expected to start making its first profits.

"Obviously, starting out young, you don’t have all the knowledge because you don't have much experience, but I think anything can be learned. And if you have the drive, you can succeed. It is true that you have to find your travel companions on this journey because these are projects that require a lot, and it’s better to share them and not try to do it all yourself," she added.

One of the most challenging moments for the company was at launch, as it coincided with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic as workers started working from home, and the business had to change its plan to serve the health sector.

Nora Real Food employs 40 people and prepares around 1,500 daily meals for companies such as Wallapop, Ferrer, or Glovo.

Talkual

Outside of Barcelona, there are also some Catalan entrepreneurs. It is the case of Talkual, a company based in Bellpuig, a small municipality in central Catalonia with 5,000 inhabitants.

The enterprise sells 'Naturally Imperfect' fruit and vegetables that are "unique on the outside and taste great on the inside," as their website reads. Talkual, in Catalan, means 'just like this' or 'like that.'

"You go to the supermarkets, and all the apples you see are the same, but is it really like that in the countryside?” Oriol Aldomà, co-CEO at Talkual, asked.

"Are the apples that fall off the tree the same? In fact, it’s not like that," he added, as the company is known for giving voice to producers to understand the food waste that customers do not see, as many fruit and vegetables get thrown away because of their look.

The company currently operates across Spain and Portugal with more than 2,100 active subscribers delivering around 1,400 to 1,500 weekly boxes of imperfect produce that "previously couldn’t be sold and nowadays can be," Aldomà said. Talkual has rescued more than 775,000 kilograms of fruit and vegetables in the two and a half years they have been going.