Last October, Rocío Alcocer (Madrid, 1989) was included among the 100 Women in Tech in Europe, the Sifted list that recognizes some of the women who are transforming the innovation landscape across the continent. In her current role as Managing Director of Norrsken Barcelona, the largest European hub for impact and technology, she works to ensure that entrepreneurship and the new solutions created by startups can contribute to solving global challenges.

With more than 13 years of experience in sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation, Rocío holds a double degree in International Business from ICADE and Dublin City University, and a master’s in Sustainability and Social Innovation from HEC Paris. She has co-founded and scaled several companies and has advised major corporations on their impact strategies.

TB: What is the purpose of your project?

RA: To help impact-driven entrepreneurs solve the main problems we face as a society, in order to build a world in which we can live fulfilling lives within planetary boundaries.

TB: What stage is it in, and where do you see it in two years?

RA: We’ve been open for exactly two years, so in another two we’ll have twice the life! I like to think that we are still in a learning phase, building networks within Norrsken and also with the rest of Barcelona’s ecosystem, which is very rich. In two years, I’d like to still see us in a learning process. The world is changing very fast, and over time I’d like to maintain this flexible, open, curious and reinventive spirit that you have at the beginning.

TB: A good idea you’ve had.

RA: Moving to Barcelona almost 9 years ago.

TB: What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced?

RA: I’m going through it now. I’m keeping it to myself.

TB: The best advice you’ve been given.

RA: Nerves about the unknown are a sign that your senses are awake and can help you become the best version of yourself.

TB: A role model.

RA: A librarian who worked at the university in Dublin where I studied. She was the best person in the world at recommending books and dedicating time to getting to know each student, so she could do her job well. I really admire people who do their work with passion and give it 100%. She’s also the one who gave me the previous piece of advice when I was on my way to my first job interview. And it’s advice I’ve reused in many moments of my life.

TB: A technology that will shape the future.

RA: Biomimicry. Nature is so resilient that it has found very intelligent ways to adapt over time. I am convinced that many of the answers we are looking for (in areas like health, efficiency, etc.) are already solved, in different ways, in the natural world.

TB: A startup or company.

RA: Patagonia. It sounds cliché, but I have my reasons: creating a company from scratch without needing VC funding, scaling it globally while maintaining its values and culture, and then, after 50 years, transferring 100% of the shares to a foundation so that the planet becomes its sole shareholder—this seems to me a unique and inspiring model.

TB: What do you do to disconnect?

RA: Going to the mountain with my husband and my dog Wanga.

TB: A book to recommend.

RA: ‘Predictably Irrational’ by Dan Ariely.

TB: A series, film or song that defines your current moment in life.

RA: ‘Don’t Look Up’, directed by Adam McKay.

TB: A recipe, a restaurant.

RA: Origo Bakery, objectively and subjectively; it’s my husband’s project 😉

TB: A place in the world.

RA: Bhutan, the most fascinating country I have ever studied and visited.

TB: Where would you invest 100k?

RA: In one of Norrsken’s funds, leading by example.

TB: If you weren’t an entrepreneur…

RA: I wouldn’t be motivated. In anything I do, I need to feel like an entrepreneur.

TB: What is Tech Barcelona to you?

RA: An ecosystem in which I still have a lot to discover.