After winning the most important international student entrepreneur competition, Rated Power and BrainGuard sit in front of the camera to share experiences and challenges in making their innovative ideas reality. 

Miguel Ángel Torrero (COO) and Juan Romero (CTO) are among the three founding members of Rated Power, the winner of the Best ScaleUp category. Most of their teammates are engineers and developers from Universidad Carlos III, in Madrid, with vast experience in the renewable energy industry. 

Their project, committed to sustainability and the environment, developed ground-breaking pvDesign software, combining engineering and technology for more cost-effective, streamlined and flexible photovoltaic power plants than traditional engineering firms currently offer. 

“Entrepreneurs are on their own and need help to grow", said Juan. Miguel Ángel pointed out that "we had a long-term development project in mind, but this award has driven us to develop standard software for the international photovoltaic industry". Both agree that networking with other entrepreneurs, the roadshow with investors, the training programmes and the mentoring offered by this challenge made the Santander X Global Award a unique experience.

Rated Power's software propelled it to win the 2018 "Explorer, Young People with Solutions" student entrepreneur programme.

Winners in the Best StartUp category

Josué Pagán (CTO), Ana Gago (Clinical Scientific Adviser) and José Luis Ayala (CEO) are members of BrainGuard, a team of researchers from Universidad Complutense Madrid (UCM), which received the Best Startup award.

After four intense years of research, they designed a digital solution that can predict migraines an average of 25 minutes in advance, with 75% accuracy. Their goal was to ease the pain of migraine patients and the people close to them, as well as helping relieve pressure on the healthcare system. 

“According to the WHO, migraines are one of the world’s ten most incapacitating illnesses. 15% of people in Spain suffer from [them]”, said Ana, who became an entrepreneur to change patients’ quality of living. 

José said the award will help them "move from a laboratory research project to something that will truly benefit people". He believes the secret to their success is their cross-disciplinary team.  

This project also participated in the 2018 Explorer programme and was a winner in the UCM's Explorer Space centre.

A challenge to change the world

These young entrepreneurs seized the chance to change the world. Their technological and digital profiles will open many doors in their quest for social progress. 

In the next video, the co-founders of Rated Power and BrainGuard share experiences, dreams and challenges while comparing projects in a frank discussion.

The Santander X Global Award is another way Banco Santander commits to student entrepreneurs through its international project, Santander X, supporting young entrepreneurs along their journey.