Door 01 · A problem
Have you got a problem nobody solves? It is worth more than you think.
If you live with a problem your sector takes as inevitable, you already know something almost nobody knows. Here that is not a complaint: it is the starting point of a project, and whoever brings it receives from 1 to 5% of that project (indicative).
Who it is for
Is this you?
Professionals who have spent years inside a sector (industry, healthcare, agri-food, logistics, energy) and have identified a critical problem the market still does not solve. You do not need to have the solution: the problem, well framed, is already capital.
Step by step
How it works
- You tell us
You describe the problem, the context and who it hurts. A conversation is enough; confidentiality is agreed from the first contact.
- We validate it
Agents and people verify that the problem exists, that it is technological and that there is a market willing to pay for the solution.
- We build, and you take part
If it is solid, the engine generates the solution and a dedicated startup is born. Your contribution is recognised as a stake or compensation, as negotiated.
The result
What you get
A stake or compensation in the startup built around your problem, and formal recognition of your contribution in the register: when the problem generates value, you are in.
And besides
Innovate without tying up capital- Innovation without CAPEX. The R&D that solves your problem is funded with third-party tax capital: your company ties up no investment and takes on no research risk.
- Commercial preference. Preferential access to the resulting product or technology, agreed from the start.
Play with the numbers
How much your problem could be worth
Whoever brings the problem receives from 1 to 5 % of the project that solves it (indicative, depending on stage and contribution). Choose the type of startup and move the two sliders: your stake and the years of the journey.
Indicative median valuation for that type in that year:
Indicative value of your stake:
Illustrative and non-binding simulation. The time curve derives from US medians by stage (Carta, more than 40,000 startups) adjusted to Spanish reality with a factor of ≈ 0.25, calibrated on two independent anchors from the Spanish market (seed ≈ €2.5-3.5 M pre-money; Series A with usual pre-money ≈ €12-15 M) that converge on the same interval. The multipliers by type are indicative, with the AI premium documented. Sources: Carta 2025, Spain Tech Ecosystem Report (Dealroom · Enisa), Spanish market data on seed and Series A rounds. Each specific operation is valued by Volcano's internal committee and the last word is always yours. Conversion rule: if the project gives rise to a new startup with no other projects, the share of the project equals the stake in the startup; if an existing startup acquires the project, the stake follows from comparing the startup's pre-existing value with the project's value.
Your problem is worth more than you think.
John F. Kennedy, 1962