Friday night, no plans. You download Mate. Problem solved. Dinner with strangers—but carefully selected so you click. A tailored match between 6 people, with no swipes, no ghosting, and no screens in between.

Behind these gatherings is Guillermo Correa (Barcelona, 2002), co-founder and co-CEO.

TB: What is the purpose of your project?

GC: To connect ambitious and interesting people through curated, real-life gatherings. Because your circle defines how far you can go.

TB: Where is your project now, and where do you see it in two years?

GC: We’ve just launched the new concept, with a strong core group of founding members who already come back every week. In two years, I see us established in several global capitals as the go-to reference for meeting high-quality people offline.

TB: A key decision that shaped your project.

GC: Killing an app with over 200K downloads and starting from scratch with a curated model. We had volume, but not value. It was the hardest decision—and the right one.

TB: What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced, and what did it teach you?

GC: Raising capital is about understanding that consistency pays off, and that 30 “no’s” mean nothing.

TB: The best advice you’ve received.

GC: If you try to serve everyone, you end up serving no one.

TB: We all change over time. Have you changed your mind about anything?

GC: I used to think scaling fast was the most important thing. Now I know that scaling something that doesn’t work only multiplies problems. I’d rather build something 80 people love than an app 200,000 people download and forget.

TB: A professional role model who inspires you.

GC: Marc Förster, founder of Karisma. I think he has a sense of balance and inner peace with himself and his purpose that I really relate to.

TB: What do you value most in the people you work with?

GC: Proactivity, honesty, and kindness.

TB: A technology that will shape the future.

GC: AI agents, without a doubt. They’ll replace many roles and handle tasks end-to-end.

TB: A startup or company you admire and why. 

GC: Vicio. They’ve built such a strong brand that they could sell anything. It’s a masterclass in branding and community, and a big inspiration for us.

TB: What do you do to disconnect?

GC: Spend weekends with friends or family, avoiding screens as much as possible.

TB: A book to recommend.
GC: ‘The Cold Start Problem’ by Andrew Chen. If you’re building anything with network effects, it’s a must-read.

TB: A song that defines your current moment.

GC: ‘Moth to a Flame’ by Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd.

TB: A recipe, a dish, a restaurant.

GC: My mother’s ‘arroz a banda’, no doubt. A restaurant? El Malparit.

TB: A place in the world.

GC: El Rayo Verde, in Cantabria.

TB: Where would you invest €100K?

GC: In training young people in vibe-coding in a developing country.

TB: If you weren’t an entrepreneur…

GC: I’d like to be a social connector—connecting people with projects, or projects with each other.

TB: What is Tech Barcelona to you?

GC: A place where people with projects meet and help each other—which, in the end, is what we all need.