Interview | Jorge Marcos, Opentop Lead Project Manager: Milestones and next steps of the initiative

Interview with Jorge Marcos, Opentop Lead Project Manager: Milestones and next steps of the initiative

26/01/2023. We interviewed Jorge Marcos, Lead Project Manager of the initiative to know in depth the assessment that the team makes of this first cycle of innovation, which is in its last phase after the celebration of the Opentop Hackathon, the I Incubation Program, and currently the I Startup Acceleration Program.

Opentop is formed by a large team of professionals specialized in the port logistics sector, mentors, collaborators, advisors and partners, who are aligned in the objective of demonstrating that open innovation has much to contribute to the port sector as well as to startups and entrepreneurs.

In this interview Jorge Marcos reflects on the road travelled so far, the next objectives, the response of the port logistics industry to Opentop’s activity, the challenges faced in recent months, or the experience of entrepreneurs who have already worked with the initiative.

What has been the most valuable learning from 2022 for the initiative?

For me, without a doubt, the confirmation of the great potential of open innovation for the port logistics sector. Opentop is still a young project, it’s like a startup too. We have launched our programs and we have seen that they give tangible results. If we were to express it in Lean Startup methodology, we would say that we have completed a build – measure – learn cycle. 

What is the milestone that has driven the initiative the most to date?

The last year, the first year of Opentop, has been very intense, with a lot of activity and many milestones, such as the celebration of the launch event of this initiative in March 2022, then our hackathon in May, and then the launch of our 1st Incubation Call (June) and Acceleration Call (October)….

So it is difficult to mention a milestone, but, and although it is too recent to see its effect, I think the Demo Day of the first incubation program last week is going to be key, because, for the first time, we were able to show tangible results of the work that the startups have done, results of their collaboration with our port logistics partners, in short, tangible results of Opentop. 

The main purpose for 2023

Our main goal for the incubator-accelerator this year is that the collaboration between the entrepreneurs and our partners in the acceleration program is fruitful and that pilots are carried out to demonstrate the applicability of the startups’ technologies in our partners’ business. That would mean that the acceleration program is a success.

On the other hand, we are also working on other lines of activity of the Hub, in which we want to achieve important goals, such as starting the activity of the Opentop Labs, and the launch of the venture capital fund that will provide financial support to interesting startups, while generating investment opportunities for the port logistics cluster.

What is the main advantage of open innovation for the port logistics sector?

Everyone is convinced of the need to innovate, but most corporations and established companies are focused on their day-to-day business, operations, sales, communication… and have no time or resources left to innovate, or do not have specialized staff with the knowledge to do so. 

On the other hand, we have technological startups, young, agile companies, with new ideas and new technologies that need first customers to validate their products or services and be their commercial references. 

Thanks to open innovation, we put them in contact with each other through a collaboration framework designed so that corporations find in startups the partners that provide them with talent and new innovative technological solutions, and entrepreneurs find in corporations those first customers that help them grow. This, in fact, is generally applicable to any sector. 

What is undoubtedly a key advantage for the port logistics sector is the specialization of the Opentop accelerator, which brings all the knowledge of the Fundación Valenciaport, with its nearly twenty years innovating in ports, logistics and transport, and the experience of Telefónica in open innovation to bring out the best of both worlds, that of startups and that of the sector, for the benefit of both parties.

What barriers are being detected for open innovation in the port logistics sector and how does Opentop solve them?

We see that the port environment is a great unknown for many entrepreneurs. Ports in general are perceived as closed environments, which are not known to work, where it is difficult to enter and with which it is difficult to interact. Opentop brings the sector closer to startups, so that they can discover that the port is a place of opportunities in which a large number of new technologies are applicable, such as IoT, sensorization, 5G, Blockchain, AI, bigdata, robotics, microgeneration of energy and CO2 capture technologies, among others.

On the other hand, in the sector there is still not much experience in the relationship with startups. The business culture of startups and corporations and companies in the sector is very different. Opentop facilitates a friendly relationship framework between startups and corporations in the sector, so that both see their expectations reflected and the right environment for collaboration and co-creation is generated.

What areas of mentoring are covered by Opentop?

Our programs are highly personalized. At the beginning of their participation in our program, we meet with the entrepreneurial team and analyze the company in detail, both its strengths and areas for improvement and, with that information, we agree with the startup their personalized work plan, in which we assign the best mentors for the areas they are interested in working on during the program.

These can be, for example, sales, marketing, communication, product strategy, legal, etc. This refers to general areas of company management, but our startups also have mentoring in the port logistics business by experts from the Fundación Valenciaport and, of course, mentoring by managers of the challenge partner or promoter of the challenge that will solve the startup. The mentor or representative of the partner is the one who acts as a facilitator for the startup in the corporation, and transmits vital knowledge so that the startup can validate its solutions.

What would you highlight about the startups that have applied to both the incubation and acceleration calls?

We have had many applications from fantastic companies. As they are such customized programs we can’t attend them all and we have to select. But we keep in touch for future opportunities. On the other hand, it should also be noted, and this is very good news, that most of the applications are from international startups, which validates Opentop’s international vocation since its inception.

What do the startups and entrepreneurs participating in the programs value most?

Without a doubt, the possibility of collaborating with the challenge partner, the company in the port logistics sector that launches the challenge to which the startup responds, as well as learning how the port works and discovering from the Fundación Valenciaport and the Port Authority of Valencia, the possibilities offered by the port logistics community in general to apply their technologies, which opens the door to many business opportunities in a sector that is fundamental for the economy and society. But also the sessions with mentors from different management areas that allow them to strengthen their business in key areas of the company.