The Barcelona Activa experience
This Barcelona Activa experience has been key to strengthening their researcher–entrepreneur profiles and advancing their respective knowledge transfer projects. The two researchers highlight how it has changed their perspective: “We leave the laboratory thinking our technology is the best in the world. But when you want to bring it to the market, you realize you need to ask yourself many questions you had never considered before.” said Coral Herranz, to which Diego Gutiérrez added: “Technology isn’t the only important factor. The team also matters — a lot.”
The program has allowed participants to understand the real needs of the market and to work on aspects such as defining a business model, cost analysis, communication with investors and stakeholders, and building strong teams — all from a very grounded, realistic perspective.
The seminars were delivered by professionals from the business and technology ecosystem, including Verònica Torras, Helena Rico, Francisco Badia, among others, who provided an honest and approachable view of the business world. Participants particularly appreciated the human touch of the speakers and their ability to share knowledge based on real-world experience.
Gutiérrez said: “Receiving direct mentorship from investors helps you understand what they’re really looking for. It’s important to lose the fear of asking them for funding — their job already accounts for the risk of losses.”
Coral Herranz at her talk at BCN Activa | Coral Herranz & Diego Gutiérrez
Synergy with other initatives
This training program complements in a synergistic way, other initiatives such as those offered by AGAUR (Llavor and Producte), in which both researchers are also participating. The combined approach allows for progressive learning and formation when doing both of them: in Preaccelera, participants identify the key questions, while in AGAUR programs they begin to implement the answers.
Regarding their projects, Diego highlights that he now feels better prepared for the industrialization and scaling of the technology, while Coral is working on the certification of her product for the possible launching of an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) ready for market launch.
“I’m clear that the pace must be steady but calm. There’s a lot to do, and everything matters.”, said Coral Herranz
Through this experience, Coral and Diego strengthen their profiles as bridges between academic research and the applied world. At ICMAB, we celebrate that more and more researchers are engaging in knowledge transfer projects, and we encourage all members of the center to explore training opportunities like this one — programs that provide valuable tools to transform knowledge into real impact.
Diego Gutiérrez at his talk at BCN Activa | Coral Herranz & Diego Gutiérrez
About Coral Herranz and Diego Gutiérrez’s projects
Coral Herranz is Project Manager in the Functional Nanomaterials & Surfaces (FunNanoSurf) group at ICMAB, which focuses on the integration of active molecular materials into nano- and micro-devices for applications in electronics, sensing, and surface nanotechnology. The project presented at Barcelona Activa, SUBLIMAT, aims to develop a sublimation-based technology for the controlled deposition of organic molecules onto substrates, enabling the fabrication of hybrid electronic devices. The project explores scalable and sustainable manufacturing methods that could bridge the gap between material research and technological implementation.
Diego Gutiérrez, researcher at the Molecular Materials for Electronic Devices (eMolMat) group works on the design of advanced point-of-care (POC) biosensors. His research focuses on creating compact and low-cost diagnostic devices that combine absorbent materials for sample collection with a sensing layer capable of generating an electric signal depending on the analyte detected. This technology has potential applications in rapid biomedical diagnostics and aims to bring laboratory-level detection capabilities to accessible, portable platforms.
Coral Herranz at her talk at BCN Activa | Coral Herranz & Diego Gutiérrez
Read more
- Barcelona Activa Start-Up Programmert-Up Programme Barcelona Activa Start-Up Programmert-Up Programme
- ICMAB - ICMAB researchers win two LLAVOR and one PRODUCTE grants from AGAUR
- ICMAB - ICMAB will participate at the UAB Innovation Week (20-24 October 2025)
- ICMAB - Driving Knowledge Transfer with the Sublima2 Project
- ICMAB - ICMAB researchers present cutting-edge Point-of-Care biosensor technology at Transfiere 2025
