Alexandre Díaz Codina is a third-year student of Business Administration and Management (ADE) of the Faculty of Economics and Business at UPF. Born twenty years ago in Mollet del Vallès, at just fourteen years of age he was already the president of the Les Oliveres cooperative of the Sant Gervasi Cooperative School, where he managed a team of over a hundred students. A few years later, he came into contact with UPF to participate in the first edition of the programme “Bojos per l’Economia” (mad about economics), organized by the CREI-UPF.

Recently, in recognition of the Bioo project, of which he is one of the three founders (along with Javier Rodríguez and Pablo Vidarte), the magazine Forbes has included him in the ranking of the 300 most influential young Europeans aged under 30 in different areas (30 Under 30 Europe). In his case, he is included in the Youngest, Industry, and Dorm room Founders lists, the latter of which contains ideas that arose with few resources and a great deal of originality.

Bioo (the commercial trademark of Arkyne Technologies, SL) is a business project that uses plant photosynthesis to generate electricity. They have already released a product to market, a test with a USB port, into which the mobile is plugged so that the electrons generated by photosynthesis are captured by the system and recharge the battery. Moreover, along with Adrià Marquès and Robert Pérez, two UPF classmates, they have started up an intergenerational think tank called Impact.Barcelona. 

— What are your thoughts on being in the Forbes list of young entrepreneurs?

Very positive. being in the Forbes list is an invaluable help and we are very grateful. However, having so much public exposure also adds responsibility and extra pressure. It’s clear to us that awards are not as important as technological innovation and economic sustainability.

— Do you take it as a challenge or as a responsibility?

Both. Entrepreneurship means trying to overcome complex challenges with minimal resources. So, setting yourself ambitious goals always involves huge responsibility with respect to the team, customers and investors.

— Do you think the training you have received has been crucial to dedicate yourself to entrepreneurship?

The environment is a cornerstone in the construction of a person. So in my case, coming from a centre like the Sant Gervasi school was decisive. In addition to the compulsory academic training, the doors to entrepreneurship were also opened to me by participating, within the school, in creating the largest student cooperative in Catalonia. Also, the fact that I come from a family with its own business helps to take an interest in business and to understand the implications of having a business.

— When and how did you see this principle of generating electricity from plant photosynthesis as a business opportunity?

The idea of ​​generating electricity from plant photosynthesis came when my partners rediscovered NASA studies on MFCs (Microbial Fuel Cell) and thought about applying them in a totally different area. So we made a concept MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and we got the first round of investment.

— Have you put any product on the market? What response did it get?

The first product we brought to market was Bioo Lite, the first plant pot to charge a mobile. The demand was so high it reached twelve times more than expected. So we had to cancel orders and return the money because of the excess demand. Now we are preparing ourselves to return this product to the market with new production methods. Recently, moreover, we have brought out another widget with our base technology, the Bioo Pass, a test that combines NFC (Near Field Communication) technology with our own and is capable of giving you access to an existing WiFi network just by putting your mobile up to the plant and, furthermore, it confirms the connection by lighting a LED with electricity from the plant.

— In which environments or facilities do you think your business idea might be applicable in the future?

Our ultimate goal is that your garden will provide the electricity your home or office needs. Thus, our panels could be deployed in public parks, buildings (such as hotels, residences, museums, etc.), forests and, among others, in private homes.

— Recently you managed to get more than three hundred thousand euros in a first round of investment. How do young people 20 years of age gain the trust of large companies?

We start from the premise that trust is very hard to win, easy to destroy and almost impossible to rebuild. So, we have always tried to be as transparent as possible with our stakeholders. In this respect, we showed them all of the technical documentation required (due diligence, patents, scientific studies, etc.), as well as projections for the future of the company. A key factor was to demonstrate our professionalism and ability to succeed with facts and previous experience.

— How big can a business like Bioo manage to get?

Bioo’s growth potential is huge. The applications of our technology are highly varied and flexible. Thus, for example, the size of one of the most important markets where we wish to compete, distributed residential generation, is huge: $23 bn (23,000,000,000 dollars).

— How do you combine your ADE studies with the demands of your business activity?

For me it is very important to move the business forward, and at the same time manage to finish my studies. In this regard, I would like to thank and stress the help of my University colleagues. Moreover, at university level, I think a coherent global policy to support entrepreneurs is lacking. The fact that public authorities and politicians promote entrepreneurship is most welcome, but I think it needs to be materialized in a practical way. In this sense, I am convinced that it would be most positive for UPF to design some sort of fast track programme to enable entrepreneurs with solid foundations (that meet certain requirements for investment and innovation) to be able to combine studies (online and face-to-face), and have a more flexible timetable.

— Is Impact.Barcelona a commitment to the potential of young people to solve the problems of the city?

Impact.Barcelona is the initiative of three UPF students. Our goal is to empower young people so that they form part of the public debate and carry out their projects. In this regard, this year we have the support of the Mobile World Capital and Barcelona Global to hold an open innovation challenge. I invite you to enter our website www.impact.barcelona and share those you think will be the four most important challenges for the Barcelona over next four years.

— Do you think that young people have little weight in the decision-making and policy areas that will mark the future of the country?

I think that in general young people have lots of ideas, enthusiasm and energy, but often do not have the right mechanisms to transform these intangibles into realities. Precisely for this reason we founded Impact.Barcelona: young people must start to realize that they can do great things when they are given the right environment.

> EInterview with Alexandre Díaz by the Faculty fo Economic and Business Sciences