Your Friends Are Boring has emerged as the winner of the Seed Startup Program, promoted by València Innovation Capital and Startup Valencia. The Valencia-based startup, founded by Clara Haba and Amaury de Castelnau, organizes group trips that connect people with shared interests through collective experiences. Its creative approach, a business model that reinvents experiential tourism with social impact, and the milestones achieved since its MVP and first trips have allowed it to stand out among the more than 28 participants in this edition.
The winning startup was announced during the Investment Forum, a meeting that marked the end of the nine months of work of the program and in which 15 technology startups presented their solutions. The 28 participating startups have jointly received €600,000 in public funding through grants.
A specialised jury and investor presence
The jury, composed of Enrique Penichet, Funding Partner at Draper B1; Gabriel Velasco, Investor Relations at BCombinator; and Alejandro Valero, Co-Founder and General Partner at First Drop VC, was responsible for selecting the winning startup. In addition, other investors from prominent funds such as Successful Fund and The Lab Ventures were also present at the event.
Among the participating startups, technologies such as artificial intelligence applied to multiple sectors including digital health and wellbeing, advanced automation and data analytics, robotics, renewable energy, digital platforms, and new models of interaction and consumption stood out, reflecting the diversity and potential of the Valencian entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The event counted on the participation of Paula Llobet, Councillor for Tourism, Innovation and Investment Attraction at the Valencia City Council; Lucía Calabria, Deputy Director of Technological Entrepreneurship at València Innovation Capital; Nacho Mas, CEO and Executive VP of Startup Valencia; and Alberto Andújar, Director of BIGBAN Investors Spain, a collaborating entity of the forum.
The event made it possible to showcase the startups that over these months have driven their growth and accelerated new market opportunities, as well as to facilitate connections with investors from the technology ecosystem and promote the exploration of future collaborations.
Seed Startup Program
Designed specifically for early-stage companies with high growth potential, this program has offered financial support and has provided the 28 participating startups, selected from more than 70 applications, with the tools and experience necessary to overcome the obstacles of the initial stages.
The call was aimed at startups developing solutions in strategic areas for the future of the city. These include projects focused on addressing climate emergency situations such as those derived from the DANA that affected the province of Valencia; digital health and wellbeing initiatives driven by technological innovation in the healthcare sector; immersive technologies and videogames as new avenues for economic and cultural development; and urban tech proposals linked to the evolution of smart cities and the improvement of digital governance. These lines of work made it possible to select the startups with the greatest potential to contribute to the sustainable, technological and social development of the territory.
As highlighted by Nacho Mas, CEO and Executive VP of Startup Valencia, “seeing how these startups overcome the challenges of their early stages and transform their ideas into solutions with real impact demonstrates the strength of the Valencian ecosystem and the role of Valencia as a reference point for talent and technological innovation.”
For her part, Paula Llobet, Councillor for Tourism, Innovation and Investment Attraction at the Valencia City Council, noted that “these 28 startups are expected to reach an aggregated turnover close to ten million euros in 2025, specifically €9.26 million. And behind that activity there is employment, there are teams, there is future: 246 people are already working on your projects. This is direct economic impact; it is innovation turned into real opportunities for our city.”
