The grand finale of Startup School 25: Inspiration, pitches, and community

On June 11th, we concluded Startup School 25, our incubation program in collaboration with INCIBE (National Institute of Cybersecurity), with a flourish. This is now the second edition with them. A vibrant Demo Day, full of energy and entrepreneurial vision, brought together the 15 participating startups, mentors, investors, partners, and institutional representatives in the Google for Startups Madrid auditorium to celebrate this great day.

What is Startup School?

Startup School 25 T-shirts

Startup School is an intensive entrepreneurship program for seed-stage startups, designed to offer key tools for validation, strategy, and growth from a cybersecurity perspective. In this second edition, we selected 15 high-potential projects and supported them for three months of practical training, personalized mentoring and consulting, and connection to the ecosystem.

This program is part of INCIBE Emprende , within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the Government of Spain , and is supported by Next Generation EU funds .

Furthermore, this program wouldn't have been the same without the support of our partners. We especially want to thank La Nave Nodriza and Letslaw , who have supported our startups throughout the entire process. From specialized mentoring to training, their involvement has been key in enabling the teams to move forward with a solid foundation in strategic design and legal framework. Thank you for being part of this adventure and for sharing your knowledge so generously!

A Demo Day that lives up to expectations

The closing event began with an institutional welcome by Íñigo Peña Medrano , CEO of Tetuan Valley, followed by Rocio Gutiérrez , Business Promotion and Business Development Technician at INCIBE, who emphasized the importance of cybersecurity as a strategic axis for technological entrepreneurship in Spain.

Following the introduction, we shared a summary of the program and reviewed some of the highlights, such as the visit to South Summit , which allowed startups to immerse themselves in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, connect with potential partners, and be inspired by industry leaders.

Graduate entrepreneurs and mentors from Startup School 25

Rafa Salinas, founder and CEO of Dulce Safari

A wild story to undertake with determination

One of the most anticipated moments of the afternoon was the talk by Rafa Salinas , founder and CEO of Dulce Safari , the best cheesecakes in Madrid, who shared his journey as an entrepreneur with honesty and a sense of humor. His wild story—of mistakes, reinventions, and triumphs—inspired the entire room and reminded everyone that, in the startup world, the journey is just as important as the destination.

Logos of 15 participating startups

The protagonists: our startups

During the final pitch, the 10 finalist startups presented their projects to a jury composed of Rocio Gutiérrez, Carlos Hernando (Board Member of the Tetuan Valley Association), Héctor Guantes (Director of Cybersecurity for Global Manufacturing at BT ), and Daniela Kominsky (Head of Operations in Spain, Portugal, and Italy at Cymulate ). The level of competition was extremely high, with proposals covering everything from digital security solutions to analytics, healthcare, AI, gamification, and more.

The 10 startups finalists in the Startup School 25 program were:

1. Atapia : AI virtual emotional advisor based on cognitive behavioral therapy to support teachers and students with the mental health challenges they face in the classroom.

2. Com,ma : Offers quality, instant prepared food through smart vending machines in high-traffic corporate spaces.

3. Xipén (formerly DatoCuriosso): By combining theoretical knowledge and programming, we find inefficiencies in the market to make value stock investing easier and more accessible to retail investors.

4. Holachatbot : Chatbots and Agents powered by Artificial Intelligence to improve business communication and user experience.

5. Intellio : AI-powered platform with self-awareness tools (such as the personality test), personalized methodologies to enhance it, and to develop soft skills.

6. Lailo : An app that helps people quit smoking through a program based on hypnotherapy, craving-reducing tools, and a community of ex-smokers.

7. Limitless Education : They facilitate science learning by making the content visible in 3D and supporting it with a virtual tutor who answers all the students' questions.

8. LockSphere : Based on the provision of cybersecurity advisory and consulting services for SMEs. They are also developing a SaaS cyberintelligence product to monitor their clients' sensitive data (cyber surveillance on the deep web).

9. Mino : Offers Compliance as a Service (CaaS), helping SMEs align with security standards like ISO 27001, DORA, and GDPR through AI. Its platform automates audit and certification preparation, reducing costs and simplifying regulatory compliance.

10. Softcheck : SaaS for software approval using cybersecurity criteria and removing unapproved software from a company's employee computers.

And the winners were...

🏆 1st place – Limitless
🥈 2nd place – Lailo
🥉 3rd place – Softcheck

These three winning startups were voted on live by the jury and stood out not only for the quality of their proposals, but also for their evolution throughout the program, their adherence to the selection criteria, and their ability to clearly and ambitiously communicate their vision.

Thank you for making it possible

From Tetuan Valley, we want to thank all the people who make it possible for this community to continue growing: the INCIBE team for their trust, the startups for their dedication and commitment, the mentors for their generosity, and each attendee who joined us at the Demo Day (we were more than 120 people!)

We continue to strive to create spaces where talent, training, and collaboration drive innovation. Want to participate in the next edition? Discover our open calls and join our community!