Rebeca Minguela is a Spanish entrepreneur[1][2][3] [4] and startup advisor.[5][6] She was the founder and CEO of Blink Booking,[7] now Blink by Groupon, an award-winning [8][9][10] mobile app to book hotels last minute in Europe. When Blink was acquired by Groupon in September 2013,[11][12] she joined Groupon.

Minguela is co-founder of Global Impact Rating, a startup selected for the Harvard Innovation Labs - iLab (Harvard Business School Incubator)[13][14] in 2015.

She was selected Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in March 2017.[15][16][17]

In 2011, Minguela started Blink Booking, a mobile travel app to book hotels last minute in Europe.[7] Blink Booking was the first startup of a platform aimed at fostering entrepreneurship in Spain.[1][18] She joined Blink as full-time CEO in March 2012 due to an issue with her co-founder and to be able to manage the rapid growth of the company (as stated in Harvard Business School case about Blink Booking[1]).

Blink Booking attracted investment from tech and travel investors (SoftTech VC, ProFounders – Brent Hoberman, Charles Petruccelli and American Express Travel (UVET Italy), Radisson Hotels, Kibo Ventures and others[19]). The Blink app was available in six languages, Android,[20] iOS / iPhone[21] and HTML5 in eight different European countries.

Blink Booking was advertised in Spanish and Italian TV, and the TV advert "The Lady in White"[22] received the Sol de Bronce award in 2013 (Festival Iberoamericano de Publicidad, FIAP).[23]

In September 2013, Blink Booking was acquired by Groupon to strengthen its travel and mobile business. Blink Booking is now "Blink by Groupon",[24] and Minguela started then working for Groupon.[11]

Public speaking, press and awards

Minguela and Blink Booking (the company she started and managed) have been mentioned in the press in several countries, with features in publications including Forbes,[18] The Economist,[25] Financial Times,[26] El País,[2][27][28] El Mundo,[29] Il Sole 24 Ore,[30] and many others. Minguela's entrepreneurship platform and Blink Booking are also the subject of a business case at Harvard Business School.[1]

Minguela has been a speaker at several events and conferences, including the Harvard European Conference 2015,[31] sharing the panel with the Director General for the European Commission; Spain Tech Week Silicon Valley/ Seattle 2014;[32][33] Startup Spain 3.0; and Red Innova 2013.[34]

Blink has been a top-rated app by Apple Store and Google Play in several countries. It was awarded "Travel Pioneer of the Year 2012" (Travolution Awards, from Travel Weekly)[9] and "Travel App of the Week" by Female First,[8] and it was a finalist of the fifth edition of the Open Talent Award 2013 to most innovative start-ups.[10] Blink Booking TV advert "The Lady in White" was awarded the Sol de Bronce in 2013 (Festival Iberoamericano de Publicidad, FIAP).[23]

Minguela was named female role model entrepreneur in Spain by El Referente in April 2016.[35]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Blink Booking". hbs.edu.
  2. 1 2 "Ganga hotelera en el movil". El País. 2012-02-06.
  3. ↑ "El 20% de las reservas de hotel ya se hacen desde el movil". La Razon. 2012-10-21. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2015-05-26.
  4. ↑ "Blink, una aplicación de reserva de hoteles para viajeros perezosos". Expansión. 2011-11-01.
  5. ↑ "Smile & Learn - Sonrie y Aprende". smileandlearn.net.
  6. ↑ "People". Columbus Global Solutions. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26.
  7. 1 2 "How local context shapes digital business abroad". Harvard Business Review. 2015-06-24.
  8. 1 2 Adam, Shabana (15 August 2012). "Travel App of the Week: Blink Booking". femalefirst.co.uk.
  9. 1 2 "Travolution Awards 2012 - the winners revealed". travolution.co.uk.
  10. 1 2 "Conoce a los 20 finalistas de BBVA Open Talent 2013". centrodeinnovacionbbva.com.
  11. 1 2 "Groupon Acquires Travel App Blink". VentureBeat. 2013-09-09.
  12. ↑ "Groupon Acquires Blink Booking". Mashable. 2013-09-09.
  13. ↑ "Global Impact Rating". The Harvard Innovation Lab. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  14. ↑ "Founding Team". globalimpactrating.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-05.
  15. ↑ "Young Global Leaders class of 2017". widgets.weforum.org. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  16. ↑ "El Foro Económico Mundial reconoce a la española Rebeca Minguela, CEO de Clarity, como Joven Líder Mundial" (in European Spanish). Europa Press. 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  17. ↑ "La única española que entra en el 'top 100' de los jóvenes líderes mundiales". EL PAÍS (in Spanish). 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  18. 1 2 "Building a Startup As a Global Business". Forbes. 2013-08-26.
  19. ↑ "Hotel app Blink scores funding". GigaOm. 2012-05-04.
  20. ↑ Blink Booking. "Blink by Groupon - Android Apps on Google Play". google.com.
  21. ↑ Innovative Mobile Apps Europe SL (18 October 2011). "Blink by Groupon". App Store.
  22. ↑ "Blink by Groupon". Blink Hotels. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26.
  23. 1 2 "Los 34 premios que España se ha traído a casa de #FIAP2013". Marketing Directo.
  24. ↑ O'Hear, Steve. "Groupon Acquires HotelTonight Competitor Blink to Get In on the Last Minute Hotel Booking App Action". TechCrunch. AOL.
  25. ↑ "Book late to book cheap". The Economist. 2012-10-19.
  26. ↑ "Hotels probe looks at room for competitors". Financial Times. 2012-07-31.
  27. ↑ "How your cellphone can help you find a hot hotel deal". El País. 2012-02-06.
  28. ↑ "Los emprendedores (tambien) emigran". El País. 2012-09-30.
  29. ↑ "Hoteles de ultima hora". El Mundo. 2012-09-01.
  30. ↑ "Dai viaggi ai vestiti: le dieci app che ti fanno risparmiare". Il Sole 24 Ore.
  31. ↑ "Schedule". European Conference at Harvard and Fletcher.
  32. ↑ "Seattle cautiva a emprendedores españoles como alternativa a Silicon Valley". ABC.
  33. ↑ "SPAIN TECH WEEK 2014". californiaspainchamber.org.
  34. ↑ "Blink, lujo y descuentos en reservas de última hora". Red Innova. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-05-26.
  35. ↑ "75 mujeres emprendedoras de referencia en España". www.elreferente.es (in Spanish). 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
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