Beatriz de Vicente, CEO of Juno House: ‘We are not here to talk about women, but rather about what they build and the impact they have’

In a rapidly changing business ecosystem, where speed, innovation and collaboration set the pace for organisations, Juno House has established itself as one of Barcelona’s new leadership hubs. Its CEO, Beatriz de Vicente, promotes a vision that goes beyond networking: a community model that acts, connects and accelerates real opportunities.

Yesterday, during Founder’s Mindset, Juno House’s annual initiative, more than 100 leaders from sectors such as technology, sustainability, AI, branding and communication discussed the challenges that are already defining the future of leadership. But above all, the event reflected the new direction the community is taking: a bold, diverse and action-oriented space where entrepreneurial mindset is understood as a cross-cutting attitude, not a label.
Throughout this conversation, Beatriz de Vicente shares how she is redesigning the direction of Juno House, why diversity is not a slogan but a strategy, and what is the real driver of today’s business transformation.

The Founder’s Mindset: a roadmap for future leadership

How would you describe what happened yesterday during Founder’s Mindset?

It was a day full of energy. More than a hundred professionals sharing very real visions, challenges and lessons learned. Founder’s Mindset is inspiration, but also a statement of intent: we want the entrepreneurial mindset, that way of making things happen, to be the common thread throughout the community.

I like to say that we are not here to talk about women, but to highlight what we are doing: real challenges and real responses. We need to put experience and impact first, not labels. We return to purpose and impact: consolidating ourselves, growing and generating opportunities for all.

The morning kicked off at 9:30 a.m. with the institutional opening alongside Eva Vila Massanas (WeEQUAL). From the very first minute, it was clear that the aim was not a theoretical debate, but rather conversations applied to the reality of the ecosystem.
The first panel, dedicated to Leadership and Positive Intelligence, brought together Pablo Ozonas and Sílvia Pardo (Esperta), Laura Tornay (Veritas) and Merary Soto-Saunders (Thrive Forward). They discussed how today’s organisations need to move from control to collaboration, and how empathy, shared responsibility and the ability to ask for and offer feedback are essential skills today.

Leadership is not just about giving orders or holding a position. Anyone can be a leader if they understand how they impact others and combine firmness, kindness and courage to support their team,” commented Pablo Ozonas and Sílvia Pardo, partners at Esperta.

Eva Vila-Massanas, Co-founder of Juno House, and Beatriz de Vicente, CEO of Juno House. More than 100 attendees at International Women’s Entrepreneurship Day during the Founders Mindset conference.

After a networking breakfast, the three thematic round tables for the day began. The first, Circularity and Sustainability, brought together Marta Castillo (Back Market), Julie Campbell (Aesop) and Melissa McDermott (Reclaim). The panel explored how sustainability has gone from being a message to becoming a business strategy, a key criterion for competitiveness and a pillar for attracting conscious talent.

The second panel, focused on Technology and AI, featured Azahara Espejo (Hearst Lab), Stephany Oliveros (SheAI), Eli Bernal (Tranxfer) and Marta Rifà (Qonto). They discussed how AI is redefining growth models, the role of technology as a tool for scaling up with small teams, and the importance of integrating ethics, diversity and transparency into its development.

With AI, we have a tool that drives us forward, so the most important change now is in attitude,’ said Azahara Espejo, CEO of Hearst Lab.

The third panel, dedicated to branding and brand identity, brought together Sandra Wolf (Riese & Müller), Mabel Mas(El Periódico), Lisa D. Novak (BEEUP) and Jordi Mateu (Summa Branding). Here, the focus was on how the brands of the future are not defined by logos but by consistency: strong internal cultures, clear purpose and experiences that connect through authenticity.

In the afternoon, Laura Fernández, CEO of All Woman, gave a TEDTalk entitled ‘Artificial Intelligence with Purpose’, followed by the institutional closing remarks by Carla Crespo, co-founder of Juno House.

Redesigning entrepreneurship through action

Since you took over as director of Juno House, what strategic changes have you implemented?

We have taken a very clear step: from club to action platform. Juno was created to promote equal opportunities, and we continue to do so, but now with more focus and more intention. That means returning to our roots: purpose, impact and diversity. We have opened the club to the world; it is not a space exclusively for women, but a space driven by women and enriched by collaboration between women and men. We want to generate real value, not parallel structures.

Diversity: strategy, not rhetoric

You talk a lot about diversity as a driving force. What does that really mean at Juno?

Diversity is not a slogan, it is a strategy. When we all come from the same place, conversations do not transform. Juno seeks to mix sectors, backgrounds, ages and cultures. Here, executives, entrepreneurs, creatives, techies, doctors and financiers all work side by side. Forty per cent of our members are international. That mix is what generates new ideas, unlikely connections and opportunities that you wouldn’t find in your natural circle.
Barcelona, in particular, works entirely in ‘concentric circles’. It’s hard to break out of your own professional ecosystem. That’s what happened to me: economists surrounded by economists. It’s boring. The richness lies in crossing circles. At Juno, we encourage this: our community is designed to introduce you to profiles that are different from your own. So that you can learn, expose yourself, even make yourself uncomfortable… because that’s where interesting things happen.

Progress over perfection: the mantra that defines a new way of leading

Your motto, ‘progress over perfection,’ keeps coming up in all your interviews. Why is it so important?

Because it’s real. Perfection paralyses. Action transforms. Coming from the start-up world has taught me that if you wait for the perfect scenario, you’ll never launch anything. At Juno House, we activate quickly, learn, adjust and improve. This approach is also being transferred to the companies that collaborate with us: agility, speed, decision-making, shared culture.

This mindset has enabled us to mobilise the community, generate new opportunities and improve as we go along, which is precisely what “progress over perfection” means: thinking long term and acting in the short term.

The Juno House space creates connections

At the event, you talked about the ‘brave space’. How does it differ from the ‘safe space’?

A safe space is friendly, comfortable, and sometimes necessary. But a brave space challenges you. It exposes you to different opinions, invites you to grow, to question yourself, to step outside your comfort zone. Juno wants to be that place: not a refuge, but a network that supports you as you grow. We don’t all come from the same professional background, and some need a friendly place to start before making the leap to more exposed spaces. Here, we make that transition possible.
In terms of physical space, the founders chose La Nave (C/Aribau, 226, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi) with a very clear objective: to be a centre for connections and networking. They wanted a very large space, around 1,500 m², that was not a typical office and was located in a very specific area of the city: close to the economic centre.

What kind of profiles are best suited to Juno?

I always say that we’re not looking for “top profiles”, we’re looking for profiles with attitude: people who want to help and be helped. Hyperactive people — in the best sense of the word — who want to move, learn, inspire and create opportunities for others. If someone comes in just to receive, they won’t feel comfortable. This is an ecosystem of exchange.

 

Women entrepreneurs: resilience, speed and invisible talent

What would you say characterises a good entrepreneur today?

Resilience is still crucial. For a woman, twice as much. Here’s a very harsh fact: only 2% of venture capital goes to teams led by women. With £10,000 or £20,000, you can’t compete with someone playing with £300,000. That’s why the women who make it are extraordinarily well prepared: the selection process is brutal. But I also see a new generation with a lot of vision, speed, purpose and less fear of failure.

There is a lot of talent out there. What is lacking is visibility. It’s always the same four voices that are called upon, but behind them there are dozens of women who are just as prepared.

At Juno, we are creating a very solid database, helping less visible profiles to make the leap. Sometimes they just need a friendly first stage to then fill any auditorium.

Where modern leadership is headed

Looking ahead, our goal is to be a bridge. We want to grow, yes, but in a meaningful way. We are working on pop-up models to open the community in other cities and test what they need. Growth is not just about opening more doors, but about connecting women from different geographies and cultures. That will be our strength.
Founder’s Mindset has not just been an event, it has been a portrait of the type of leadership that is already emerging in companies, start-ups and global communities. Leadership that is not defined by gender, but by mindset. By purpose. By courage. By shared growth.

Sometimes it’s tiring to have to constantly remember that we are women. That’s not what’s relevant: what’s relevant is what we are building, the opportunities we create and the talent we bring to the table.