E VA T O R R E N T SA N E D I T O R I A L C H A L L E N G E B Y T R A I N

P U B L I S H I N G A B O O K I N 6 , 0 0 0 M I N U T E S

Thanks

To the Imagine staff . I feel like they are just one person. Therefore, I decided not to mention any names in the book. Because they are but one. They think and work for one purpose: to transform dreamers. Imagine takes mentoring a step further. Their professional and emotional support makes it possible to overcome any challenge. Xavi, Rosa, Eliane, Philippe, Albert, Josep Lluís, Ivan and Cristina, thank you for your sparkling eyes, 24 hours a day.

To the team that worked directly on this project. The images of the process, the project and the people, taken by my travelling companion Ferran Forné, speak for themselves. Anna Defez’s graphic design brings incredible clarity, transparency and innovation to what we experience during those 6,000 minutes. And the text, which is just a small part of this story, would not be what it is without the work of Eva Funoll, who is always curious, fl awless in her observations, improving the text with each revision.

To Pep and Roger, who are always by my side and understand me when I simply need to take off and do wonderfully crazy things like this; Always with a smile on their face and never questioning, not even for a moment, why I do these things.

To family, friends, clients, the people I know and many others, who smile when I tell them about these things and share their dreams with me.

A project by Eva Torrents in collaboration with Anna Defez

Publication

TextsEva Torrents

EditingEva Funoll

DesignAnna Defez

PhotographyFerran Forné

Digital HostingImagine Creativity Center

TranslationTick Translations

© Text. Eva Torrents© Fotògraf. Ferran Forné

February 28th, 2014

BARCELONAPARIS

LONDRES

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“Every book has to have a preface. For this adventure, I asked myself whether the preface should be on-train or off -train… I did not have a single doubt. I recalled the eyes of the incredible Ventura Clotet when I told him that I was embarking on this adventure. Few people’s have understood my project as quickly as he did, and few people’s eyes have lit up as much as his. So I decided that I wanted to add Ventu to the project. For one reason: in the world of science, which seems so methodical and square, there are people with privileged minds like his who understand brilliant strokes of madness such as this one! Because he also has to be a genius and a lunatic to believe the world can be saved from AIDS and, in fact, he is very close to doing so…

I am delighted and excited to include Xavier Verdaguer and Ventura Clotet in this project, because they are living proof that genius dwells in diversity, because they are both convinced that the world can be changed”

P R E FA C E

When Eva told me about the Imagine Express project and her special Imagine Daily Express project, while having dinner at the Bodega Sepúlveda, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. I couldn’t believe it. It was a wonderful stroke of madness

What a brilliant idea! Six-thousand minutes, most of them on the train journey from Barcelona to London, and all in order bring out the most innovative ideas in this short timespan. Everything had to be fi nished within this period of time.

Eva has always has a reputation for being smart and daring, but now I think she has even surprised those who know her best! Bringing together entrepreneurs who normally have to create, develop and prove the viability of business ideas and sell them to investors, but this time with the added element of a timeframe of 6,000 minutes... When she explained the challenge to me I loved it because it was outside the box, but also because it added an interesting setting -the element of time- to that which is already a stressful and maddening challenge: entrepreneurship and convincing investors.

The contestants have to be very good, but also very aware that if they win the challenge their ideas will be broadcast many times over thanks to the media coverage given to Imagine Express. I am sure that many more journeys will come out of this one. What a great idea for times like these! Projects like this stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit and make us feel that Spain will come out of this.

Ventura Clotet

I N T R O D U C T I O N 9C H A P T E R S

#6000 13#5000 47#4000 69#3000 87#2000 107#999 123

#1 127D R E A M E R S 131

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

Tickets to dream – in glossary formatTo enter Imagine is to enter a unique world, not only because of the creative and transformative methodology applied by the entrepreneurs that apply for it, but also because of the language they use. And so, fi rst of all, I would like to provide you with the background on how the candidates, which we call dreamers, have been selected.

There were 36 dreamers or contestant places available at Imagine Express, separated into three categories: creative personnel (people contribute an idea or project to develop as an App), developers (programmers who want to develop the application) and business personnel (people capable of creating the business model and monetization necessary to make the project economically viable).

The Imagine staff clearly envisioned one essential objective in the process of choosing among the more than 1,200 applications received: 12 contestants for each profi le had to be chosen, so that once the project was in gear, 12 teams would be created, each one of them made up of a creative member, a developer and a person responsible for business, who were previously unknown to each other. Thereupon, the basic pillars and phases involved in any entrepreneurial project (its creation, technical development and the outlining of the business model) could be quickly set up –in 6,000 minutes, throughout a train trip from Barcelona to London, with a stop in Paris. To be concluded with a presentation before potential investors.

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Why a train?More than a year ago, Verdaguer told me that he had a wonderfully crazy idea in his head. This wasn’t anything new coming from someone who shared wonderfullycrazy ideas with me every time I saw him. But when he told me about a wonderfully crazy idea that was to take place on a train, I automatically smiled. He briefl y outlined what he had in mind. More than once, he used the expression “a train that you can’t miss”, which is what gave meaning to the entire project. And I knew that I certainly wouldn’t miss it.

We met three or four times over the course of this year and the project gradually evolved, to eventually become this challenge that you are now holding in your hands. For some time I had been wanting to write about the entrepreneurial spirit, about what it is that entrepreneurs recognize in each other from the very start, that connects and stirs them.

Today I am on board a train full of genius,motivation, shared excitement towards

new challenges. It is a unique opportuni-ty to watch the spirit that moves entre-preneurs in action, a kind of compressed Winzip fi le, containing time, space and challenges.

Xavier’s train stories come to mind. He has always told me that there are trains that just can’t be missed. Today, this train awash with excitement, makes me start writing in search of an answer to the question “Why a train?”.

He says that, for many diff erent reasons, he has always been fascinated by trains: by their shaky motion, because they take you on a journey, beyond your comfort zone, by the uniqueness to be found in each car and each seat... When he was little he already played with Ibertren model trains. Many years ago he was involved in the undergrounding project of the Vic train line, the city where he was born. As an adult he spends half of his life on planes and another half on trains. When I asked him, while sitting in front of a beer, why he chose a train to write

a new chapter for Imagine (the creativity center launched in 2011) he answered me with a bunch of anecdotes. I recall how my stomach hurt from laughing so much, how he talked about it so naturally while, he was ultimately doing was showing me his relationship with trains.

He told me how one day he had had to stop a high speed train by pulling the emergency stop lever -with the conductor’s permission- when he realized that he had just missed his stop. He was expected at a conference in Castellón and was going in the wrong direction.

Or how on his birthday, which happened to also be the opening day of the Barcelona- Madrid high speed rail link, he’d been left in the dust, at the platform, not quite knowing how it happened, watching both the train and his luggage leave without him.

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He says that he was talking on his cell, the train had stopped at a station and he realized that an elderly woman was having problems lowering her suitcase onto the platform. So, still holding his cell to his ear, he didn’t think twice and helped the woman unload her bags onto the platform. Suddenly and while he was helping the woman, the doors of the train closed. “I saw my computer go by through the window” he told me laughing.

When he turned around, he saw a train attendant standing next to him with the same look of “I missed my train” on her face. They were both left on the platform. “No jacket, no briefcase, no computer… with nothing more than my cell we decided to celebrate my birthday while we waited for the next train” he told me between sips of the coff ee he’d ordered.

So I saw that there was a certain kind of relationship between Xavier Verdaguer and trains; let’s say a love-hate or special relationship. He says that he works a lot on trains, that he works comfortably on trains and that, in relation to the Imagine Project, trains don’t only provide the

attitude symbolism of not missing one’s train, but other basic technical Elements as well, such as: the train makes stops in stages (which fi ts with the stages of the Lombard method created at Imagine), travels (takes people beyond their comfort zone) and makes roundtrip journeys (it leaves, but comes back like all projects have a return).

I wanted to know why this trip, Barcelona-Paris-London. The answer was very clear: “Because each city fi ts into one of the stages of Imagine’s creative and development process. Barcelona symbolizes creativity and happens to be the fi rst stage. Paris symbolizes great cathedrals and buildings and goes well with the developmental stage. London is known as the City, and for its fi nancial power. So, of course, London is the fi nal phase where the contestants will have to pitch to the investors to obtain support for their project.”

Clearly, this brilliant, crazy idea could only start on a train, full of hopeful, yellow dreams.

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It’s 9.30h in the morning. I arrive at Plaça Espanya and I don’t see any signs of the yellow that would make me think that there are dreamers nearby. But when I get closer I fi nd that, behind one of the columns to the entrance of the hall, there is a sea of yellow T-shirts and boxes of Imagine Munich sneakers being passed around.

It’s odd: it’s like a ritual... A van drops off boxes of yellow Imagine Munich sneakers and T-shirts, which the dreamers are anxiously waiting for. Their eyes light up. Some of their hands tremble as they put on the dreamer sneakers and pack the shoes they were wearing into their suitcases.

They don’t know each other... They look at their T-shirts, which have their name and Twitter accounts printed on them, and start to make Twitter lists and follow each other. In a mobile environment full of entrepreneurs, the most natural way for making friends is to Follow them on Twitter. They ask questions and shake hands afterwards.

A sense of team and community is created when everyone puts on their yellow Munichs. They feel they’re where they wanted to be. They travel from Plaça Espanya to the 4YFN site. More contacts are made along the way. The T-shirts bearing their Twitter account, which identifi es them, as creative, developer and business, help them out.

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More than one dreamer tells me that they fantasized about putting on these shoes, and have been following Xavier Verdaguer’s initiative for some time. Wearing these shoes makes them feel good. The yellow on the feet of some sixty people who are moving up and down is the mark of movement. And they certainly leave their mark.

They know that they have very little time – just a few hours - to get to know their team. All of them have spent the weekend analyzing the projects and people boarding the train. They don’t say anything but you can tell how they are starting to network, how they want to get to know the character of those who could be a potential member of their team.

They bite their nails, arms folded, looking around to see if they can dig up a bit more from the Twitter account. They have to know with whom they share this genius. It has been hard for them to get here and they want to do well. Choosing the right team is essential.

We enter the 4YFN, where the staff briefl y introduce each team member.

The dreamers are nervous. Arms crossed, they bite their nails, their yellow shoes dancing around...

The Imagine staff tells them that the process of introducing their projects and making up teams will start shortly. The pressure translates into murmuring when they are told that they can’t get on the train until they have made up a team. They look at each other, fi nding each other in the auditorium, hoping they’ll get a chance to have just fi ve minutes to talk to the person who might be who they’re looking for.

When the Imagine staff fi nishes the session with the sentence “this will be blood, sweat and tears, but remember that you’ve come here to have a good time” they quickly get up, not wasting any time, to fi nd the people they have already identifi ed and with whom they want to

talk. They form yellow groups, still a little embarrassed but with the purpose of weighing out the possibilities of creating a trio of dreamers that will make their project a winner.

The crew that climbs aboard the Express to fi lm the documentary has already been following them from the get-go. Before they even began, the cameras, microphones and audiovisual equipment moving around make them feel uncomfortable. This is the dreamers’ show, the show that makes dreams come true.

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First contact at the Mobile The dreamers are in the 4YFN auditorium. They have one minute to tell an audience of strangers who they are.

The right side of the hall is bathed in yellow. They are trying to listen to the person who is giving his talk, but they’re all glued to their phones, and not exactly tweeting about the person on the stage. They’re looking for more information on the projects, on potential partners. Who will they have to learn how to get along with to make their dream come true?

The way they look at each other gives them away. They continue to make acquaintances. The countdown is very

present, in every single person’s mind... They laugh nervously and some of them start sharing their project on their phones. Suddenly, the words “Imagine Express: departure” are projected on the screen.

Our hearts skip a beat. “Departure!” The speaker starts his presentation by saying that a “very interesting adventure” is about to begin. The Imagine introduction reminds us that the objective of this creativity hub is to change the world with the ideas that are born here and transform the people who take part in it.

The staff explains that Imagine works using its own methodology-the Lombard method. Yes, like the winding street in San

Francisco! I will tell you about it later on because it’s the working methodology used on the train. .

I try to imagine which phase of the entrepreneurial process today’s sensations fi t into. Besides the life experience, I think that it’s similar to when you have to fi nd your partners, with whom you have to get along in order to make a collaborative project work; with whom you are taking a risk because you don’t know them well enough, nor whether, despite the amount of talent and knowledge they have, the necessary human chemistry will be there to bring you together with the same amount passion for that one, shared project.

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While the project presentation goes on, a sea of yellow feet starts to shuffl e nervously in their seats. They begin to talk more and more among themselves, to smile more... You can start to see a fi ne line of community being drawn around them, bringing them together.

They’re physically connected by the fl oor they’re sitting on. I am sitting on the fl oor in the back of the auditorium. I see lots of feet tapping on the fl oor nervously. All yellow, with something in common. Their feet are already expressing a sense of community.

They know that the process of presenting their opportunities, their projects, will soon begin.

They will have a couple of minutes, but it will be a process that will defi ne their choice of partners. It’s the last stage and the last chance to refi ne their projects and seethe people who might be a part of their team explaining what they want to do.

In a few minutes, the team of dreamers is already on the stage. The presentation is quick.

The people who bear the word “creative” on their T-shirt are more expressive, the business-oriented combine creativity with academic practicality and the developers are clearly more uneasy, out of their element.

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A Diffi cult choice: an express matching process They are seated facing each other. Their legs brush against each other’s, their yellow sneakers intermingle. They’re nervous. Face to face, they wait for the moment to and answer questions. The countdown clock defi nes the express window of opportunity to meet the best member for their team. As in any project, it’s a crucial moment. They look into each other’s eyes and at each other’s projects. They’re in a hurry. They know that part of their success depends on this choice. Heads nod, looking for consensus. The monitor displaying the countdown hangs over the two rows of dreamers and staff

and reminds them they only have one minute left. Everything is in express mode. The entrepreneurial spirit surfaces in each and every one of them. They promote themselves as best they can. They all want to carry out their own projects. They are more relaxed. Most of them look each other in the eyes, which is essential for some entrepreneurs. Their eyes speak of hope, of integrity, of everything... Eyes do not lie.

Their hands, which are now less fi dgety and more relaxed, reinforce what they say with words, confi rming and emphasizing their message. The fi rst unmistakable trait

of entrepreneurial DNA that I notice, after belief and anticipation, is knowing how to communicate. They’re passionate about what they do, and that comes through.

I sense a leader in every chair, setting the pace and rythm of the discussion. They negotiate, inquire, talk, and above all, charm. That’s what being an entrepreneur is all about: starting to look for partners by charming, transmitting one’s passion so that others feel that the project is worthwhile.

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The express chair game is stressful. No one gets a chance to fi nish a single discussion. The creative members in one of the rows don’t move, while potential new partner with whom to carry out one’s project “appears” in the row in front of them every two minutes.

The yellow sneakers are a bit more static than before; they’re not moving around as much, they’re grounded, in contact with the fl oor. You can feel the steadiness of the moment. The dreamers - the entrepreneurs - relax when they talk about their project. It’s something they like. It doesn’t make them uncomfortable. They’re in control.

I feel that the excitement and anxiousness have given way to a more controlled stage. They’re working...

A second entrepreneurial DNA trait: self-control. I can feel it around me, right now. They are in control of what they’re doing, they know they are taking risks but they are in control of the situation.

They ignore the microphones, the cameras, the pressure around them... They’re focused. They create a world in which only their partner exists and disconnect from everybody else. Heads continue to nod. The time runs out. Clearly, the winner will be the person who leads best, who is the most convincing. They lean forward, showing interest. Their knees touch. The staff smiles... The adventure is starting.

The dreamers are enjoying themselves, but the staff ecstatic.

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A ritual begins with each new round of potential partners. With each new turn, they’re more experienced and well prepared. The seductive potential they put into advancing their projects is overwhelming. In general, the creative candidates assessed on their partners are saying with their eyes and their hands, while the developers ask for more technical arguments. The business-oriented participants are a mixture of the two: they examine their potential partner with analytical eyes but also let themselves be seduced by the message.

Feet start tapping again… They know that time is running out, that the moment approaches when they’ll have to make a decision. How does one fi nd the best possible partner in so little time? If in real entrepreneurial situations we had so little time, would we end up making the best choice? What part do instinct, mutual recognition -with just one look- or the feeling that you’re just as crazy as the other person play?

I sense that they’re very aware that all of this is essential. Watching them, I understand that they don’t need big business plans or elaborate presentations to choose their partners. The feeling that they’re both ready to take off , that they believe in the same things, is enough for them.

I feel that, as dreamers, the instinct of sensing that you’re heading in the same direction defi nes every single project. What is about looking into each other’s eyes while we talk about a project that makes us understand each other so well? This intangible reality is diffi cult to explain, but sitting here on the fl oor of the 4YFN hall, I can feel it in my fi ngers. I can feel how it reveals itself in every partner in the room.

None of them have a notebook or piece of paper. They only have their phone. That’s all they need. They continue to focus on the eyes of the person in front of them. The dreamers lean forward, closer to each other with each new round. Their

foreheads are almost touching. Beyond the hope and motivation, they feel the pressure crawling under their skin as they watch the time slowly running out.

I see two rows of people, full of talent. It’s the diversity that makes the group so good: diff erent ages, origins, training, incentives, motivations… They’re all completely diff erent but end up knowing which project they’ll go with.

A question occurs to me that makes me refl ect on this initial entrepreneurship stage: should one look for affi nity or diversity in the partner selection process?

There is an example, right in front of me, that proves that diversity adds to talent: A 19 -old techie kid and a 50 -old executive with a fi nancial background, who never stops repeating that he is the oldest person on the train, are able to understand one another.

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The partners’ booths: “Where the hustling happens” The dreamers start to look for their team in an area full of wooden booths that create a more intimate working environment. They explain to me that they know the kind of projects that they’d like to work on, but are willing to admit that the project isn’t everything; You also have to consider how well you’ll be able to get along with the rest of the team.

They view the experience positively. They say that, in the real world, the partner selection phase can go on for much longer, that maybe you don’t have as much diversity to choose from, that maybe having a selection of talent like this to choose from makes it easier.

The dreamers manage to transform what seemed like pressure - in the form of limited

time, the amount of candidates, having to pick a team before being granted access to the train -into an opportunity.

Which makes me think: Is being able to smell out opportunities, in choosing a partner, for instance, in a situation in which other people would only sense an overwhelming chaos, an entrepreneurial trait?

The conversations continue in the booths. They’re much calmer and beginning to go into detail. Some of the dreamers prefer to sit separately with their laptops or tablets, still looking for the profi le that suits them best and taking another look at the projects. Others are quickly negotiating, trying to form a team. They want to ally with the best and know that they can’t aff ord to lose them.

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It is clear to me that entrepreneurs know that time is an essential variable but it doesn’t worry them. Enthusiasm drives them quickly, in express mode!

Teams start to take shape. The fi rst partners are made up of women. A coincidence, perhaps? The four women in the group were the fi rst to know for sure who they wanted to work with. They say that they were somewhat sure about the project ideas but the chemistry between them had been essential.

When Blanca is asked about the diff erence between having a secure project with a salary at the end of the month and being an entrepreneur, she quickly answers: “That has nothing to do with it. You know you’re taking your chances but it’s gratifying. You feel that you have to do it.”

The fi nal phase of the team formation process begins: the creative and business candidates are paired together. Now they have to charm a developer. Blanca, Sana, Patricia and Fàtima are the fi rst ones to fi nd partners. Some time goes by before the next partnerships are formed.

They begin the “hunt” for a developer, and do it in very diff erent ways. The teams made up of freelancers are interested in knowing whether the developers are available to work on the project after Imagine Express is over. The developers evaluate everything analytically. They listen attentively to both the enthusiasm displayed by the creative participant, as he explains the project, and his business partner, who explains how it can be monetized.

Reactions vary. Some ask the creatively oriented to focus: “Anything is possible, but you need to set limits to what you want to do in these three days. If you’re unfocused we won’t have a chance to win or to develop whatever project we set out to work on”.

There are a few disappointments when several creative and business participants ask for the developer for a commitment to continue pursuing the project once the Imagine Express is over. Some of them, those coming from companies, and therefore not freelancers, admit that they will not change jobs and that they cannot

be counted on to continue the adventure further down the road. The creative participants frown... but they keep assessing the developer’s’ technical qualifi cations.

They also look into their eyes and end the round of talks by asking them: Do you actually believe in this project? And are you excited about it?

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A love story in entrepreneurship Are there love stories in entrepreneurship? Yes, there are. Just like in life itself!

5895 minutes to go and we already have 8 teams. And they say that one them was formed as if it were a love story.

Fàtima and Sana got along from the start. In fact, it was one of the fi rst creative-business partnerships. They were looking for a developer and they didn’t look convinced.

Suddenly, they entered the booth where Brais was waiting for them. They explained the project to him and Brais’ eyes started to open wider and wider. You could see his enthusiasm in every look. During those few minutes, it became obvious why it

was worth forming a team. Tension and excitement were growing, until the three dreamers spontaneously hugged each other, with sparkling eyes. They were drunk with excitement. Nothing more needed to be said. Sana, Fàtima and Brais were a team.

While I write about this love story, those who have already formed teams start telling me stories. They say that if there really has been a love story, it involved Oriol, Patricia and Blanca. They say that they knew that they would end up together from the very beginning and that even after all the rounds, they ended up teaming up after all. When I ask them why, they answer quickly: because of the chemistry we had, it can’t be explained.

The same goes for Nicko, Valentí and Marc. “You feel like this is your team. This is more important than anything else,” says Marc.

Many dreamers say that this quick and diffi cult process is the same thing that happens in real life: you have to choose quickly and you often have to do it on instinct, based on the chemistry between you.

All of the teams have been formed by minute 5890. They smile, they are happy… they already have their train ticket. They are dying to get started but they still need to get on the tourist bus that will take them to Sants train station.

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Star teams and non-star teams The personal coaches who travel with the Imagine Express use our bus trip from Barcelona to make a speech to the dreamers. They want to give them guidelines for making their project successful.

They tell them: “We know that you’re talented, that you’re enterprising, that you’re well prepared, but we want you to think about whether your knowledge will actually be the key to your success, as you won’t be working alone, you’ll be working as a team and the key to group success is managing emotional intelligence.”

They emphasize that responsibility lies with each member of the team and remind them that at “school we graduate

as emotional illiterates. It’s hard for most of us to tell the diff erence between an emotion, a feeling and a mood.” They warn them that they will confront their own emotions as well as those of others and that the key will be knowing how to manage this set of emotions.

The statement “intelligence is the ability to understand emotions” leaves an impression. They give them two guidelines to control their emotions: look calm and check your language. They stress that they should be aware that everything has an infl uence on others and that moods are as contagious as yawning.

The coach ends by saying “At Imagine we’re looking for star teams, not teams

made up of stars. Don’t forget that.”

While the trip continues on towards Sants train station, I see a refl ective Xavier Verdaguer in front of me, the founder of Imagine and this crazy Imagine Express. H’’s looking all around the bus full of dreamers. I ask him what he’s thinking about.

He looks at me calmly, satisfi ed, with a smirk on his face, and says: “It’s out of my hands!”

I see that he’s happy that it’s out of his hands. That’s the dreamer attitude.

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Entrepreneurship values, team values While we wait for the train in Sants station, the personal coaches organize an exercise for working on values. The teams are asked to choose two values that they will stick to during the whole trip, which they’re recommended to keep in mind at all times. When you’re subjected to pressure, in the form of time, space and challenges, with a team you just met, at times you need a helping hand.

A new thought about entrepreneurship occurs to me: about the values that are present when the project starts and that are not to be forgotten until the end… The coaches have made up some cards with values written on them, from which the dreamers have to choose two:

humility, confidence, companionship, communication... The teams discuss which values will defi ne them. The entrepreneurship debate gives way to the values debate. Each dreamer defends a value and while they do so, they bare themselves and show attitudes that may come out during the trip. The business plan, design and creativity have cross over into the fi eld of values. All of the entrepreneurs are aware that they want values in their project. They accept it as a natural attitude.

I like to see how entrepreneurial projects full of values arise. This kind of debate is nothing new for the entrepreneurs. They’re comfortable having it.

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First stop: Reframe the problem The moment has come. The train is waiting for us. The dreamers board fi rst. Their faces look nervous again. They’re looking forward to rolling up their sleeves and getting to work.

They hurriedly leave their bags and take their assigned seats. The train starts shortly thereafter and the Imagine staff explains how to work in the fi rst phase of the Lombard method. It’s about starting from the challenge that they’ve decided to take on, stepping back and asking themselves the questions necessary to reframe it. They call this “Reframing the problem.”

The objective is to achieve ten idea-challenges that fi nd solutions to potential problems that we might have to solve in relation to our challenge.

Each team has a mascot. Coco is a stuff ed crocodile that the contestants, as well as any of the staff members, will throw at the fi rst contestant to make judgments on any of the ideas that come up during the brainstorming session. The dreamers become frenetically active...

There are groups working on social and health problems on the lower level of the train. On the upper level there are teams developing solutions to the cultural, tourism and open categories.

Most of them don’t know where to start. They work with a deck of cards designed by Imagine to help them ask questions that may fl esh out their ideas. No project can move forward if this phase isn’t carried out properly.

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What’s my problem? What isn’t my problem?This is the starting point that Imagine’s Lombard sets for the entrepreneurs.

“There are a lot of solutions that don’t have problems”. We need to resolve prob-lems. There’s no point in creating solu-tions that don’t solve problems. I wonder why many ideas end up in the graveyard for ideas or why they don’t succeed after having been developed.

This kind of thing would seem to be com-mon sense but sometimes common sense isn’t as common as one might think. Therefore, it’s worth reframing the prob-lem and refraining from thinking about entrepreneurial projects that don’t solve problems.

The entrepreneurs begin an intense debate. They’re beginning to look tired. The people who have the most trouble questioning the idea - any aspect of it - are the people who proposed the project in the fi rst place. It’s interesting to see how crucial the diversity among team members is for creating value. When a creative member, for instance, who has a clearly defi ned stance and idea, has to stop and answer to the business-oriented member or the developer, this forces him

to explain and rethink his position. The initial challenges evolve. The people who thought up the project are clearly the ones who have the most trouble reframing the problem, but the ef-fort is worth it.

While they challenge the problem by ask-ing questions about what really is a prob-lem and what it isn’t, the developers start to pose questions about the project’s technological feasibility and the business dreamers start to see opportunities and weak points to consider, in terms of mon-etizing it.

The Reframe the Problem stage ends up providing multiple opportunities: strengthening the group dynamic and team knowledge, facilitating the main-streaming process in terms of how knowl-edge is contributed to the problem and, especially, developing the confi dence and solid foundations necessary to start de-veloping the project.

“The fi rst thing that you need isn’t a solution, it’s a the

problem”

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After two hours rethinking the problem, the teams present their project to the Imagine staff . Some of them have a clear idea of the problem they’re solving and confi dently explain the solution.

Interesting attitudes and ideas towards the entrepreneurial process are displayed during the presentation.

There are smiling, cohesive teams that have rethought their initial challenge and are convinced that they have solutions to contribute. The discussion is dynamic, the storytelling fl ows by itself, the answers they give in response to the staff ’s questions are quick and sound. There are few gaps.

The diff erent roles - creative, business and developer - dissipate in the teams that have solid projects. Communication and commitment to the project are fl awless and their reasoning is carried out as a team unit. It has trouble telling their roles apart. The diff erence between these teams and the ones in which the separate roles and functionalities are still divided, is incredible.

In addition to the mainstreaming of the team roles and functions, this crossover attitude is essential.

3 2

Another variable catches my attention: a team talks naturally and spontaneously about the details of t solution their app provides. There’s an interesting touch of shared passion that attracts me. Later, I discover that the intangible tie that makes this team diff erent, like an umbilical cord, is a shared passion for animals. The three dreamers that are developing an app that deals with pet health and protection all have a dog at home that they love. They love pets and intuitively develop an application that keep them from worrying about the health of an animal they love to deathThey acknowledge that their passion, as well as the fact that they can personally relate to the problem and solution their entrepreneurial project deals with, add value to their eff ort. Or multiply it.

In another presentation it is clear to me that the team was unable to achieve the objective set for the problem-rethinking phase. They present their project and present the benefi ts the application would provide. The functionalities, nonetheless, are attractive and interesting. The Imagine staff looks at them with questioning eyes. The dreamers are starting to lose confi dence. Suddenly, the

staff points it out. “You have a solution but we still don’t see the problem. The fi rst thing you need is a problem, not a solution.”

Once again it is confi rmed that an idea isn’t enough if it doesn’t solve a problem. You have to step back and evaluate what the problem you’re trying to fi nd a solution for is.

The Imagine staff explains to me that the rethinking phase is essential and that many projects start out on the wrong foot because they don’t begin with a problem. “So, entrepreneurs, remember to think about problems to solve! Don’t start with an idea, start with a challenge” they say at Imagine.

The last case that grabs my attention is interesting because of the charisma demonstrated by the creative participant, who captivated an experienced developer a business-person. The team makes an eff ort to show that they have answers. Their reasoning is sound and coherent. The team is cohesive and the message is unanimous… But the idea begins to crack because, fi rstly, it doesn’t solve a problem, but

especially because, surprisingly, the developer and the business member – who will have to defend the project in front of the jury - have completely bought into the project...

The creative member’s charisma, the passion in his message, swept them away. The leader’s personality has excited the rest of the team, who have stopped questioning and contributing value, which is what makes a project move forward, because they blindly believe in it. It makes me think about how many times we might follow charismatic people without needing any explanations.

It’s true that entrepreneurs have to know how to sell their project, but our team needs to make demands of us, make us explain our position, so that we don’t collectively walk into an oasis that will later turn out to be a desert. I hear someone in the background say: I wouldn’t invest any money in something I didn’t understand.

What do you need in order for your idea to work? Brain-storming. Three things that are decisive as far as what goes into an app.

3 5

The transformation into yellowIn a thousand minutes there are almost as many distinct moments as there are minutes. It’s not easy to choose one, and especially one that happens on the fi rst day, when emotions are running high.

But, since it is the fi rst day, maybe I’ll go with the very fi rst moment. It’s diffi cult to describe the faces of 36 people who have never met before but who know that they’re equally excited.

Seeing their faces next to the Imagine van, while all of the boxes of yellow shoes,

that identifi ed them as dreamers, were being unloaded and they were fi lling their suitcases, was incredibly symbolic. Seeing this transformation so graphically and from the very fi rst minute has made us experience two emotions at the same time: feeling part of a community and feeling the transformation in express mode, which they assure us, is what participant in the Imagine program feel.

It has been strange and beautiful. The shoe boxes fi lled the sidewalk; the dreamers were sitting on the ground, leaning against

the walls, barefoot, putting on their new shoes. T-shirts gradually changed colors as they started to put on their dreamer T-shirts. Meanwhile, the van full of suitcases took off , leaving a pile of empty cardboard boxes in the trash can.

Symbolic. The trip started out absolutely graphically from the very fi rst minute.

3 6

We have a team!I sensed a lot of contained emotions on the fi rst day. Restraint is perhaps the most appropriate emotion to describe the fi rst 500 minutes. An understandable feeling, considering that the group still didn’t know each other.

In the middle of this restraint, however, there was a moment that captivated me: the moment the teams begin to take form. As each team was created, you heard a shout; you saw hugs, excited handshakes. From that moment on, there was no hold-ing back.

This magnetism or coming together rubbed off on the staff , the people at-tending the Mobile conference, wanting to see it…on everybody.

Spontaneous applause accompanied the feeling of having entered a new phase of the project. In the entrepreneurial pro-cess, a handshake or a hug in - to mark the event of becoming partners - defi ne a before and after. It works exactly the same in express mode.

3 7

Sharing a coff eeIf there’s anything that is truly entrepreneurial, it’s sharing. I remember that a few days ago, at a round table of entrepreneurs, one of the participants said that the only advice he could give new entrepreneurs was that they should share, not be afraid of others copying them, that explaining an idea helps move it forward.

To exemplify this, I’ll use an anecdotal situation that repeated itself thousands of times during the fi rst 1000 minutes of the trip: sharing.

Five minutes after meeting the photographer for this book, Ferran Forné,

we were sitting at a table while I wrote and he made profi les so he could send the images he took more quickly.

He had gotten a coff ee after waiting in an endless line at the Mobile bar. I was dying for a coff ee but didn’t have the time to stand in line.

Nothing needed to be said. He shared the coff ee without hesitation.

Absolutely anecdotal, but it sums up what was seen throughout the day among each and every one of the participants.

3 8

Writing everywhereI wasn’t sure how I was going to manage to follow 36 dreamers – plus the staff – around on a traveling route, or how I would write about it. I decided I would have to be fl exible: a train, 36 people, continuously changing places… A wireless keyboard and an Ipad were my work tools.

Today, I discovered the pleasure of being able to write from anywhere, right in the middle of everything, with just a place to sit and set up my Ipad. I did the same thing that any other journalist around the world does every

day, but I wanted to provide an account, on the fi rst day of the trip, of the on-train working model used while writing this book.

I’ve been on the fl oor, in corners, on cushions, in train bathrooms, bars…Always in the middle of the dreamers. A pleasure!

3 9

CountdownIf time has defi ned this experience from the very fi rst second – this number, 6000 minutes –, it’s clear that one of the most important moments of the fi rst 1000 minutes was when the countdown began. It was in the middle of the 4YFN stage. All of us followed the countdown with anticipation, from 10, 9, 8, 7, 6... until it reached zero and we saw how the electronic countdown appeared on the display; a countdown that goes with us everywhere, which we’re aware of at all times.

4 0

#Calm momentsIt might seem impossible, in the middle of this whirlwind of more than 60 people, squeezed into a train, with the added pressure of 6000 minutes counting down, for there to be moments of calm. But there have been a few. I’ve seen small break areas, especially among the staff members. They look for quiet corner where they can think, to get organized…

In the eye of the hurricane, there is calm, refl ection and refocusing.

4 3

At no point did I ask myself: “What am I doing here?” Only sometimes do I think: “I’m lucky to be here”.

The Imagine Express slogan says that this is a train that you can’t miss. I’ve always been convinced of this. It’s incredibly exciting to be surrounded by so much and such diverse talent, working under pressure, against the clock, using the Imagine methodology. It’s unique to feel so much unadulterated entrepreneurship in the air, like a creative, problem-solving ecosystem.

Many people had asked me about the project during the days before I boarded the train. Some didn’t understand it and thought it was ridiculous. Others asked if it was because I was out of work and could aff ord to take off on a week-long train trip, but in a few cases, their eyes lit up and they told me it was a once in a lifetime kind of chance and that I was lucky.

Today, in the middle of an ecosystem on rails, made up of entrepreneurs who don’t believe in the word “impossible”, but who are also realistic and create viable projects that provide solutions, I feel, more than ever, that entrepreneurship is an attitude. And I don’t think it’s an attitude that’s written in one’s DNA. I’m tired of that same old question of whether an entrepreneur is born an entrepreneur or becomes one. I think that in some cases an entrepreneur

is born an entrepreneur, in others they become one and sometimes they are born one and end up not becoming one. The diversity that there is on the train is proof that stereotypes need to be broken in the entrepreneurial world. It’s fantastic to see a 52 year-old civil servant and a 19 year-old college student together, to choose an extreme partnership, interacting and talking about how to develop an entrepreneurial project. “The key to innovating is diversity”, Xavier Verdaguer always tells me when he explains how they work at the Imagine Creativity Center.

While I watch the development of Imagine’s Lombard methodology, I wonder if my own entrepreneurial process would have been diff erent if I had applied another system. At the same time, I wonder whether many entrepreneurs actually know about and want a methodology to develop their project. Most people fi nd a method to carry out their business plan, but not a creative methodology that makes them think over and rethink their idea, one that makes them start with the problems that need solving. Maybe business incubators and partners who want to strengthen entrepreneurial activity should reconsider which tools and support systems they use. The tools and methodologies themselves can transmit the entrepreneurial spirit, the dreamer attitude. Without the right attitude, there’s no entrepreneurial

project. But without methodology, there’s no project either.

Feeling the challenge in real timeAlongside observing the dreamers, to which I dedicate most of my time, I also try to analyze my own, personal process. The dreamers often ask me how I plan on pulling off this crazy challenge, how my Agatha Christie adventure is going… and things like that. Which is funny, because what I’m wondering is how they can possibly manage their crazy journey on the Imagine Express. So it looks like we have something in common. A dreamer tells me that the fact that we’re all here to begin with means we’re all a bit nuts. Each of us in our own fi eld and our own way, we’re united by a common, mad journey called the Imagine Express.

The writing process is entirely automatic. The pressure time exerts doesn’t allow me to thoroughly develop my thoughts, to do more research or to delve deep into the characters’ personalities. On the other hand, experiencing this fi rsthand allows me to show a story, from which, afterwards, I hope conclusions can be drawn about the entrepreneurial process, about the emotional stages the dreamers go through during the creation process. I decide to go with a fresh, direct and automatic language… a dreamer, language, perhaps?

5 1

The day starts off grey and rainy in Paris. The bad weather, however, hasn’t stopped the early risers among the dreamers, who are already running around the city before 7 am. Some of them have decided to stay in bed an extra half an hour, which is understandable considering that most of them only got 3 or 4 hours of sleep, having stayed up to make progress on their project.

At 8 A.M. they were all ready to get back to work at the Sanofi central offi ces in Paris. They go from working in train stations, on high speed trains, stages and hotel reception areas to working in beautiful offi ces.

In fi ve minutes, the space set up for the dreamers at Sanofi space has been turned into a kind of journalist editorial offi ce with islands of dreamers scattered all around, working frantically on developing their project.

We’ve left the creativity phase behind – the phase in which the dreamers reframed the problem and fi rst presented their

projects in Barcelona (the city associated with creativity) – to move on to the project development phase, which also involves preparing the presentations that will be given to the jury. This phase takes place in Paris, the city of majestic buildings and architecture.

The journey, besides pushing the dreamers out of their comfort zone, holds a diff erent symbolic meaning at each stage. Today is Paris’ turn: building. Emotions have changed color. The initial nervousness and pressure of forming a team and rethinking the project/problem – which one could think of as being bright yellow - has turned into intensive working sessions, focused on the development of the mobile application that’s supposed to solve the problem defi ned the previous day. The Imagine staff gives the day’s briefi ng and explains that while the programmers work on the development of the application, the creative members of each team will have a new creativity and innovation session that will make them think about the projects’ communication

possibilities. The business dreamers will sketch out their business model with the Canvas methodology, something few are familiar with.

The developers create their virtual caves. In the world of programmers, they’re used to being called geeks and to hearing that they love to work in caves. Some of them tell me that programming is an “intimate” activity, which is why people say that they work in caves; because when they’re working, they like to be alone, focused on the code they’re working on. In fact, when programmers dive into their frantic work, it really does look like they’re inside a bubble. They don’t take their eyes off the screen while they’re writing code. In the meantime, the creative and business team members are more relaxed, receiving their training.

5 2

The second stage in Paris starts with two phases of the Lombard method having already been completed. After rethinking the problem and giving a few short presentations in the train, the dreamers – who have sorted out their ideas - acknowledge that during the previous stage, a feeling of mental chaos had overwhelmed them. “I had very clear ideas of what I had to do, but after the fi rst day on the train, I have no idea what we are going to do.,” one dreamer told me. The Imagine staff explains that these are absolutely normal feelings. For most entrepreneurial and business processes, the shakeup from the rethinking phase involves questioning everything, but this is precisely one of the keys for developing the main idea and directing it towards problem solving.

Today, the dreamers look optimistic. They want to develop everything they’ve been thinking about. I see the satisfaction in their faces, they’re please with the work they did the day before. From the tense expressions they had when they thought that their idea was falling apart, their features now express determination and conviction: they’re certain that their project will work.

I ask the creative dreamers, whose ideas were questioned from every angle yesterday, how they feel. They show no disappointment whatsoever but they understand that some of their proposals had to be refocused in order to provide better results. They acknowledge that they have to make an eff ort but also understand that the process is absolutely necessary. I don’t think they would have

said the same thing yesterday.

They looked tense during the reframing process. They felt questioned and sometimes, beaten down, after having been subjected to batteries of questions that took apart their arguments, so they could more soundly and coherently refocus and rebuild them.

The creative and business team members are in a hurry. They’d like to move forward on preparing tomorrow’s presentations but the staff makes them see that working along these lines doesn’t make any sense. Changes may occur during the app development, which is taking place at the same time, and the direction of the discussion that they will have to prepare may change.

5 3

Their attitude, this desire to dive in and move the work forward, leads me to think about how sometimes, urgency and desire push entrepreneurs to move forward more quickly than they should, overlooking the process of maturing their ideas. Rethinking is the key. What’s the right balance between the stampeding pace of entrepreneurship and passion for a project, on one hand, and creating temporal spaces to think and reconsider, on the other? Seen from the Express point of view, I would say that it’s in the mentoring, in the oversight and the reminders that they need to be patient despite having a timer right behind them that never stops ticking. The balance

between drive and pacing that the entrepreneurs require can’t be neglected during any of the stages of the process. No matter how fast they go, that’s something they can never forget.

Even now, when the teams should already be half way through developing their projects, I hear some groups saying: “Why don’t we reframe everything?” Nerves and pressure are starting to take their toll… The experts and consultants become essential in this process. Doubts arise regarding legality, strategic and communicative focus, the app’s impact... The teams speak with the consultants while the staff prepares the last phase

of the Lombard process: preparing tomorrow’s presentations in front of the jury, at the London Eye.

The business dreamers polish up their business plans, working with the Canvas method. Many of them aren’t familiar with this technique of having to think about the business model practically, visually and strategically, which gives rise to some new doubts. I wonder, once again, whether we’re putting enough work into the methodologies aimed at making the entrepreneurs’ business plans fresher, quicker, more visual...

5 4

Communication is essential: key points for any project presentationAfter lunch, the presentation preparation phase begins. The staff reminds the dreamers that they’ll have 5 minutes, in a booth in the London Eye, revolving around London, to convince investors. “The fact that it isn’t original doesn’t mean your message is less powerful,” say the staff , “but you should try to tell a good story and bear a few pieces of advice in mind. They’re all common sense, but are often lacking in many presentations.”

The staff stresses the incredible importance of preparing for the presentation. “It’s all about communication. If a project isn’t presented properly, it can’t be defended for 5 minutes, no matter how good it is,” they stress. Gradually, a series of practical tips for convincing and charming the jury are outlined. First of all, the dreamers need to start with a WOW phrase, whose message will give meaning to the rest of the presentation. They need to describe the problem that the app solves, followed by the solution (if there’s a problem, there’s a chance that it can be solved). The staff constantly repeats that dreamers should focus the presentation on the extra and unique value their solution provides. Once the project has been outlines, it’s time to point out the benefi ts it provides and go on to demonstrate the app.

Their objective will be “making the jury feel the WOW through the demo you’ve worked on.”

The staff stresses that competitors must be kept in mind at all times. “In the beginning there are always competitors and barriers. It’s naïve not to mention that fact. One must professionally present the project’s weaknesses and other elements that are susceptible of being criticized. Relevant aspects cannot be left aside, even if they’re weak points.” Dreamers also have to explain to the investors how the app will be marketed (sales tools and marketing strategy) as well as make a forecast of the revenue that it may generate.

The team presentation should bring the presentation to an end together, as a unit, and end it with a call to action to the investors: “Make what you want from them clear. What would you do if you were lucky enough to win?” Finally, as an additional element, they are encouraged to project the Canvas sheet to explain the business model. The staff training session ends by saying that “the format is important but what will be even more important is how you verbalize your passion and enthusiasm for your project.”

5 5

“In the end, it is all about communication”The teams of dreamers start working on their pitch, applying the framework they have received, and with the staff ’s constant tutoring, who go from table to table helping them work on and focus their messages. Although outside the work area there’s a lovely area for taking breaks, where there are couches and coff ee, there’s little activity there. The dreamers only stop by it to grab a quick bite to eat before getting back to work. The time on the digital countdown display is constantly decreasing; it doesn’t stop to wait for anybody.

The Imagine staff has also prepared an intense session on communication suggestions for the dreamers to keep in mind for tomorrow’s speech. They

insist “The choice doesn’t only depend on your project, but also on your ability to charm. Communication doesn’t stem from the best app, it’s a battle waged in perceptions. How do they see me?” You have to work on the verbal message, but be especially aware of non-verbal communication. “During the presentation it’s essential to get a lot of energy, good vibes, strength and enthusiasm across.”

They also remind the dreamers that it will be impossible to not communicate. “We communicate things to those around us, both consciously and unconsciously, so you shouldn’t try to hide.” They add that it’s the dreamers’ responsibility – and nobody else’s - to charm the jury and get their message through to them. From this point on, the staff gives them a battery of

advice on communication that mustn’t be forgotten: look for a good structure and storytelling method, interact with the jury, using anecdotes and rhetorical questions, create an emotional connection with them to avoid losing their interest.

Finally, to top it off : “People like to see authentic people. Today we’ll rehearse polish every last detail until we can’t go on, but remember that your presentation should never look unnatural.” The dreamers silently listen to the explanations. Some of them take notes. Their eyes look tired but they know that communication is the last stage and that all their hard work could fi zzle out if they don’t prepare it work well enough.

5 6

Feedback about the transformation The rounds of presentations in front of the Imagine staff begin. Every variable involved in the communicative process are analyzed. “You have to work on your tone of voice,” “Careful, don’t point your fi nger,” “There’s no passion in what you’re saying,” “You don’t need that pause”… The dreamers get hundreds of comments from the whole staff on all of the aspects that they have to improve.

Afterwards, they go back to their workspaces to keep working until it’s time for their second round. There are a total of 12 teams and before their turn comes up again they have time to fi x and rehearse what didn’t work in the previous round. The improvement in the level of their presentations is incredible. It’s as if the

personal and professional transformation they’ve been going through for hours was on display, right in front of us, while they gave their presentations. All the dreamers evolve at diff erent speeds… but they’re all cruising speeds. The communication concepts that they’ve learned start to go around the tables. “I hope you’re not contagious,” says one dreamer to a team member when he stops, pauses and stalls for time with an “uuhhhhhh…”

At midnight, after concluding that the hail of criticisms that they’ve received has sunken in and given their presentations the ability to charm, they head to the hotel, exhausted. One of Imagine Express’ key moments is approaching, in the form of the revolving London Eye.

5 9

The countdown clock, spending the night at the stationThe anecdote of the day is that the base that supports the countdown clock has disappeared. And that until after 10 in the morning, when we found it, we hadn’t been able to tell how much time we had left. The base stoically held up on the platform where the bus picked us up yesterday evening. This morning when it arrived, all eyes were fi xed on seeing how many minutes we had left. When it was turned back on … we had 4668 minutes left. The dreamers’ eyes move from the clock to their laptops, which they look at nervously. The sense of pressure generated by having this electronic countdown clock next to you is incredible.

6 0

Weaving the intangibleDuring a mid-morning break for a quick coff ee, without knowing how, I ran into 5 women sitting around on a couch in the central offi ces of Sanofi in Paris. The encounter was unplanned and extremely interesting.

The sharing of professional experiences on one hand, and the experiences lived on the Imagine Express, on the other, in diff erent places, with diff erent people and out of our comfort zone, made for a special and unique moment. In these

little moments and occurrence’s there is usually an immense amount of intensity and potential, which are diffi cult to explain in a tangible way. The power of the intangible, of the web woven during breaks, while having coff ee, making calls, texting or tweeting….it’s one of the forces that drive entrepreneurship.

6 1

Pause modeSince this frenetic journey began, moments to be on one’s own have been practically non-existent. Working in a small space like a train, with the countdown as a reminder that not a single second can be wasted, there has been no time for a pause. Until today. The wonderful space of the Sanofi central offi ces in Paris have allowed the dreamers and staff to fi nd a few moments alone. I’ve found plenty of dreamers enjoying a break among the city noise, simply catching their breath, standing outside, in front of the offi ce. They look tired but pensive.

6 2

Goodbye, FebruaryOne of the members of the Imagine staff , Philippe Delespesse, unexpectedly left the project today. A calendar-related misunderstanding with one of his clients, who had booked a creativity workshop in Barcelona with Philippe for February 26th, while Philippe had organized it for March 26th, led him to catch a plane and leave early. It would only be 24 hours without him but when he had to say goodbye, thankful applause spontaneously erupted from the dreamers and staff . And he didn’t take off without leaving them with an instructive phrase: “The customer is always right. Never forget it”

6 5

I feel that my own weariness grows alongside the dreamers’. They rub their bloodshot eyes, stretch their arms to straighten their hunched backs, an occasional yawn is let out and cups of coff ee are all common sightings. But what I feel that we have in common, above everything else, is the conviction that we’ll achieve our objectives. The mixture of hope and passion with the feeling of sucking up emotions and knowledge at such a brutal pace leaves tiredness in the background.

I still feel privileged to have a ticket for this train. It’s been an exhausting day because I’ve been focusing on the dreamers’ presentations. I’ve worked with the Imagine Express photographer who took the photos for this book, Ferran Forné. We’ve worked all day to be able to make a portrait of each dreamer and to talk with them to fi nd out how their motions have changed and how they think this experience will change them. It’s been fantastic to hear them talk so sincerely about transformation. Now that I’ve had a chance to be with them in a more personal, intimate setting, it’s clear to me once again that there’s something

that makes them special. Perhaps it’s the ability to dream and fi ght for their dreams?

Beside the 36 mini-interviews that I’ve conducted, I myself’ have been interviewed by the team fi lming the Imagine Express documentary. Dani’s questions led me to refl ect on entrepreneurship. He asked me why I think the Imagine Express initiative has come to be, why is all this talent entrepreneurship appearing now? I told him that I think there’s a great deal of talent out there that couldn’t fi ns the means to fl ourish in the old economic models - models that, at the same time, have proven incapable of changing the world for the better.

While I talk about the pressure to which the dreamers are subjected, I forget that I also have a digital countdown clock that’s ticking. At diff erent times of day, and despite the feeling of not having much time left, the dreamers ask me about the project. They keep me company. The staff members, who haven’t read a single word that I’ve written, show interest, always with a smile, happy to see that I’m living up to my challenge to.

Besides the pressure of the countdown, I now feel the pressure to be able to fulfi ll their expectations, precisely because of the interest they’re all shown in my project throughout the day. Why… what are their expectations? What do they expect to fi nd in a project like this? I have the same doubts as the dreamers. They are my jury, as is the staff and those of you who are reading these words… I keep wondering what you might want to fi nd when you read this book. These thoughts worry me, but at the same time they encourage me to keep writing.

It’s late, very late. I go to bed with the feeling of having drunk from this positive energy that fl ows freely between the dreamers, especially because the staff facilitates it. Nothing had to be said between Eliane and myself when we were sitting next to each other and Ferran approached with his camera. We put our arms around each other without saying a word, gazing at the ceiling! So, yes, I see that the dreamers freely express their emotions and feelings. I now carry my box of emotions full of energy with me to keep defying the countdown clock.

7 3

At 5 in the morning the telephones ring in every single dreamer’s room in the hotel we’re staying in in Paris. Most haven’t slept. Some have shut their eyes for an hour or two. The apps and presentations had to be fi nished. In a few hours, they’ll be putting their projects – along with a wonderful opportunity – on the line, on the other side of the Channel.

The faces waiting for the bus in front of the hotel look tired, but anxious to show off the work they’ve done. There’s a strong sense of community. They’ve spent many hours together. Hugs, slaps on the back and words of encouragement become more and more frequent. They ask each other how their projects are going.

They encourage and motivate each other, knowing that they still have a couple of hours on the train to go over the details.

The staff and experts get on the bus while they wait for the dreamers to join them. Each time a dreamer steps on the bus there is a spontaneous wave of applause. The dreamers are surprised, but grateful. The aisle of the bus has become a hall of fame. The staff ’s teasing breaks through their drowsiness and makes them laugh.

The arrival at the Eurostar station is once again a landing of yellow footsteps and bags. They’re all looking for coff ee but not even the cafés have opened yet.

The Eurostar’s crammed seats don’t manage to stop the yellow feet from spreading throughout three train cars. The passengers curiously observe the cameras and the people wearing yellow sneakers who are preparing presentations on the platform, next to a yellow countdown clock. Some passengers ask what’s going on and keep smiling and saying that what these yellow-shoed people are doing is incredible.

74

Some of the groups work on their presentations, fi nalizing details and talking with the experts about some loose end. Others, convinced that they’re ready, try to get a couple of hours of sleep, even though the adrenaline keeps them awake. When I ask them what they’re feeling, they don’t seem nervous. They look prepared and ready to do it. The staff is relaxed, knowing that their monitoring and tutoring will soon show results. The feeling that they’re one –still watching over the dreamers – is still present, but more relaxed now.

When we get to the station in London, the adrenaline rushes out again, as pure motivation. They want to get there in a hurry; they want to see the London Eye. First, however, there is a thirty minute bus trip that ends up being a guided tour, given by a very British, middle-aged gentleman. He calmly tells the dreamers about the buildings, monuments and streets that we drive by.

As was the case for the other cities that they’ve been to, they know that this will certainly be the most they will get to see of London.

The arrival in London, the City, marks a turning point in the project. Even though the Imagine Express doesn’t end until Friday, they know that the fi rst chance to actually get investment for their projects and turn them into a reality will happen here. The bus stops at the Royal Festival Hall, where the dreamers quickly fi ll up the lobby tables with their belongings. Jackets, laptops, bags, tablets and dreamers are scattered around the area, rehearsing their presentations for the last time. The staff ’s eff orts to make them think about every last detail of the project can be seen being put into practice all around the lobby. Some Londoners ask what’s going on, since the dreamers have no problem doing their presentation in any odd corner.

They still don’t know what order the presentations will be given in, and are worried about where they’ll have to present their project. Can you imagine having to give a presentation in a revolving pod in the London Eye? Where will the jury be? Will there be enough room to move around? How will the countdown clock work, which will become an exposition screen for a couple of hours? They realize that the London Eye is another way of getting the entrepreneurs out of their comfort zones, to push them to go further than they thought they could go.

7 5

In standby modeThe situation changes and the nerves and adrenaline return when the staff arrives with the countdown clock to explain how everything is going to work. They all gather around to see how the technology works and make sure it doesn’t fail them later. After the presentations, more than one of them says: “I didn’t actually need the visual presentation. The jury never even looked at the screen. They wanted to hear our message, not see the PowerPoint.”

The intense preparation dedicated to preparing the presentations (pace, tone, non-verbal communication, storytelling, message...) has sunk in. Just a few hours

ago they were worried about starting to prepare their PowerPoint, which they thought was essential. Now they’re very aware that this tool was only been a means to an end: to get their message through with passion, with feeling.

While the fi rst four dreamers head towards the London Eye, which is a three minute walk from where Imagine Express has established its headquarters, the rest use the last few minutes to practice one last time.

7 7

Backstage supportThe dreamers boarding the bus – at 5 in the morning – that would take them to the Eurostar station was very symbolic. After more than 18 hours of continuous work, most of them without having slept, they were leaving to present their project in London. The spontaneous bursts of applause, whistles and slaps on the back, every time a dreamer went down the narrow aisle on the bus, lit up their faces. The initial looks of surprise turned into gratitude, some of the dreamers with teary eyes. An entrepreneur, a dreamer, is always infi nitely grateful for the support he or she receives behind the scenes.

7 8

A hoody-shaped acknowledgement ritual Halfway between Paris and London, while some of them went over the details of their presentations and others slept, the platforms between the train cars became meeting places for dreamers and staff , where they stopped for a moment to slow down and relax. In one of these spaces, having noticed that the photographer who had been with us during the entire trip, Ferran Forné, had never stopped working once, Xavier Verdaguer got up and told him to wait.

He came back with a black and yellow Imagine hoody and told him that he wanted to hand it over to him as a symbol that, at Imagine, has become a sort of graduation ritual It’s the only picture that Ferran didn’t take himself because, for once, he was the story. A brief occurrence, in between train cars, that created the magic of a ritual.

7 9

Visualizing success while on a bus As the English bus took the dreamers through the middle of London towards the Royal Festival Hall, the London Eye could occasionally be seen -symbolic of the dreamers’ fi nal objective after a long process. You could feel the tension and nervousness in the air. Suddenly, the staff asked everyone to close their eyes and led a relaxation session in the middle of the frenetic traffi c in London’s city center.

The message was as simple as: “Breathe and visualize that the moment has arrived in which you to enjoy the benefi ts of

everything you’ve done over the last few days. Close your eyes and imagine you’re in the capsule on the London Eye. Feel how well you’re doing, what a good time you’re having, the applause you’re getting…because that’s what’s going to happen.”

When the dreamers opened their eyes, they spontaneously clapped their now relaxed hands.

8 0

Imagine stressThe last few hours have been frantic. Not only because of the fatigue, but also from constantly being on the move, getting on and off of trains, the late hours, hauling suitcases up and down… Suddenly someone captures, the essence of what most of us are thinking: “I don’t know if this is Imagine Express or Imagine Stress!!” We burst into laughter and the expression becomes a part of both the dreamers and staff ’s vocabulary.

8 3

I feel that the physical fatigue is starting to takes its toll on me: slight tendinitis is creeping into my forearms from writing in all kinds of positions and all kinds of places, my eyes sting from some many hours in front of a screen, my back hurst from sitting just anywhere, following the dreamers around to describe their experience, my neck aches…

The physical decline is, oddly enough, directly proportional to the emotional growth. Adrenaline keeps me awake. I’m not sleepy. It’s getting harder and harder to separate myself from the dreamers’ emotional buzzing. They carry me away as they tell me about how they feel or how their work and project have progressed. I feel that a kind of Express family is being created.

The schedule for the day, constantly moving from here to there, doesn’t allow me to write more than a few lines in a row and the countdown keeps ticking. It’s not the only thing that reminds me of the challenge I’ve accepted. The dreamers and staff ask me excitedly how the book is going.

The questions are always: “How’s it going?”, “How many pages so far?” I always say that it’s fi ne, even though I’m worried because from 5 in the morning until now (midday on Wednesday), when I fi nished chapter 4000, at noon on Wednesday, I haven’t been able to write a single line.

I could turn into a complainer and feel sorry for myself, but I feel that this is one of the elements that make a challenge a challenge. Going from my comfort zone in an offi ce with an Internet connection, ergonomic furniture and everything I’m used to having when I write to running from corner to corner, writing on fl oors, couches, chairs and even, if necessary, train bathrooms, makes me think. I think that in an environment with so much pressure, limited space and limited time like the one I’m here, is when talent and eff ort are able to make up for it and make things come out diff erently.

I can hear what Xavier Verdaguer told me about the train getting people out of their comfort zone. Now I understand it. I know that it was an absolutely necessary

part to make us feel the challenge and get diff erent results. Without realizing it, I’m writing with a tablet propped up anywhere and the keyboard on my legs. The best part, strangely, is feeling that there couldn’t be a better situation. I transfer it to entrepreneurship and I am completely convinced that this is also one of the keys: making you get out of your comfort zone.

Time is slipping away and I know that tomorrow I will have to come up with something to recover all the time I’ve lost wasn’t able to write. I’m not sorry about it. While I wasn’t writing, I got carried away by the dreams of the dreamers around me. It’s been an incredible experience, perceiving them as if they were my own. I’m sure that this will make the description better when I get a chance to write about it.

I feel that, whatever the challenges, they have to be allowed to fl ow. We should make the best of any changes and unforeseen events and turn them into opportunities.

9 1

The return to the Royal Festival Hall of the fi rst four teams who went up into the London Eye capsule becomes quite an event. Amid the applause from the rest of the dreamers, the teams hug each other. Some tears start to roll down their cheeks.

There is excitement and relief after getting past one of the most important turning points. The others are nervous because they still haven’t gone through it.

Projects revolving in a capsule over the ThamesWriting inside the London Eye is nothing compared with the excitement there is inside this capsule. There is no anxiety. There’s excitement to get to a critical phase. While we are carried away over the Thames, the presentation of the projects

start. Time passes, the capsule moves and the presentations move forward. The team members show how the eff ort in the preparation has sunk in. They articulate, they pause, and they gesture calmly and confi dently.

The jury standing on the other side of the capsule nods their heads as the projects are presented. They look serious; they show interest, take notes and listen attentively. They’re pensive. While one of the dreamers on the team presents, the other two members help by smiling and nodding at the presenter’s arguments, reinforcing the message. The capsule moves along. Big Ben stands in the distance. The applause echoes loudly at the end of each presentation.

The jury asks questions and the dreamers respond calmly, confi dently. The evaluators say that the app is fantastic and congratulate the dreamers on their project, but ask questions to go deeper into details. They want concrete facts, and that’s what they get. Even though these projects were developed in record time, the entrepreneurs are able to give them the details they’re asking for.

The wheel turns calmly while a dreamer says: “I believe in this project, I love it.” The presentations are diff erent but all share the same level of passion and commitment.

9 2

I attend the presentation of an app called Miracle that aims to makes doing good deeds fun. The miracle is actually happening at that very moment, as several entrepreneurs convince investors, aboard a huge ferries wheel, turning over the Thames, under a cloudless sky, in a sun drenched London. We joke that they started the Miracle by bringing such an unusually beautiful day to the British capital. The jury comes closer to see the application on the phone. The dreamers are not showing them images of what the app might look like; all of the teams have actually made fully functional prototypes. The expressions of surprise on the jury’s faces make the dreamers smile. They know that they have them in their pocket.

The presentations continue: “Business is the reason why we’re here”, says one of the entrepreneurs.

Their hands speak, their faces smile. When the limited time for presentations is over, which is measured in minutes like everything else on the Express, they wait to fi nd out if the jury has any questions. It is as if they were giving them time by showing interested in their project. Given the ever present countdown clock, the fact that they ask about the project is gift.

On the other side of the capsule from where the presentations are taking place, tourists look intrigued about what is happening inside the clear, turning bubble. It’s full of the cameras used by the Imagine Express documentary crew, the jury and the various teams presenting their projects. There are a total of 19 people, many of them wearing eye-catching yellow sneakers.

While in line, they are often asked what

they are doing. The Imagine-yellow colors the area wherever it goes. The wheel reaches 12 o’clock and the presentations continue. The dreamers are happy; they look well prepared for this moment. They feel lucky to be here today and their dreams are fl ying high. The Imagine expert that is accompanying the teams nods while they present the project numbers. “We are a young but powerful and passionate team,” the dreamers say.

From time to time, a dreamer looks for approval from his colleagues after answering a question asked by the jury. It’s the only time that I have seen them hesitate, tremble, not from excitement but from pressure.

The jury senses the weak spot and uses it to delve into their doubts.

9 3

Minutes of waiting that slow down The dreamers have little more than an hour to have lunch while they wait for the jury to reach its verdict and make it public. One project from each category (social, cultural/tourism, health and open category) will be awarded the prize of granting the dreamers the opportunity to turn it into a reality.

The jury is completely surprised by the quality of the presentations and by what the dreamers have accomplished in so little time. “Believe me, I’ve seen projects that took 9 months to prepare that aren’t even close, in terms of the development of the application and business model, as I’ve seen here at the London Eye,” says an English investor. It’s

incredible to see how talent under pressure and out of one’s comfort zone can get such brilliant results,” adds another member of the jury.

Once the jury has deliberated, they sit down to lunch at a long table where the dreamers are regaining their strength. The jury take advantage of the occasion to give the dreamers more feedback on their projects, now that there’s no pressured or hurry. Even though they know the decision has already been made, the dreamers explain their projects again, in light of the nuances given by the jury.

The non-verbal communication says more than the verbal communication. Some of the dreamers’ expressions show their

relentless defense of their project, while the jury points out that they can improve certain things, always congratulating them, nonetheless, and showing their admiration for the work they’ve accomplished in so little time.

A giant eye watching the award ceremony The time has come to know who won. The dreamers and staff walk together to the grassy area in front of the London Eye. The slowly revolving giant eye presides over the dreamers’ nerves.

9 4

The wait is long but the dreamers make use it to take a look at the other teams’ projects. The programmers form a spontaneous group and show each other their phones with the apps they have created. They are comfortable and relaxed, in their natural environment, talking in programming language and technical terminology, which makes them feel at ease. They congratulate each other while they wait to fi nd out which of the apps will win.

The staff arrives with four yellow envelopes with the names of the winning projects. The revolving eye, London street music and the sun add to the already special moment.

The envelopes are opened and the fi rst prize winners are:

Trip4Real (an alternative tourism application, where local residents become guides for visitors), WiPet (a social network for people with pets whose purpose is to facilitate information exchange about their pets’ health, safety and recreation), Physious (an app for rehabilitating cognitive ability after a traumatic neural injury through the use of virtual and enhanced reality) and Vincles (an application for creating a collaborative and trust-based network between dependent and/or socially isolated people).

Emotions overfl ow upon fi nding out the names of the winners: some because of the reward in the fi rst phase of evaluations, others because they can fi nally let go of their fatigue. Whatever it is, they hug

and congratulate each other. It feels like a turning point, the closing of a chapter, while the staff reminds them that they are at the halfway point of the Imagine Express. “The winners are those that today have learned that this is about being bold. That it’s about explaining what you want to do and learning from the feedback you receive, explaining it again as many times as needed and getting better and better each time. Keep taking trains and keep learning,” they persistently tell them.

They keep saying that this fi rst recognition of their work is just that, the fi rst time. That they need to keep working hard on their presentations for the fi nal Imagine event in Barcelona where there will be a lot of investors and business incubators looking for talent.

9 5

Returning to BarcelonaImagine’s founders say that they never take talent away from Barcelona, to San Francisco. The goal is always to train dreamers in a methodology and attitude and bring them back to Barcelona so they can develop their project there. So the dreamers get on the bus that will take them to Gatwick, to return to where they began the journey just a few days ago, although, for them, it felt more like thousands of intensity-fi lled minutes.

On the bus, the winners who have to present their projects at the Mobile World Congress the following day are starting

to talk and work on how to reorient their presentations, focused on innovation, which is the next prize they can win. The other teams rest, sleep and talk about how they can improve their presentations for Friday.

The return trip is long. The bus moves slowly along the crowded streets of London, in sharp contrast with the Express’ rapid pace during the last few hours. Upon arriving at the airport the pace picks up again, as t we’ll soon be taking off . We board the plane without even the slightest delay (a word that doesn’t exist in the Express’ vocabulary)

The Express jet has been made into a long room. Almost everyone collapses, exhausted.

When they land in Barcelona, all the dreamers feel like doing is picking up their bags and climbing into a bed. But the experience continues. Those who live in Barcelona welcome those who don’t into their home. The big family quickly scatters in all directions, but the countdown is always there, reminding them that the Express keeps on rolling.

9 7

Capsule ExpressThis stage clearly has its own name: The London Eye. Someone said that while the dreamers were giving their presentations, the Imagine capsule looked like the Marx Brothers’ cabin. Nineteen people inside a capsule - four teams of dreamers, the expert, the four members of the jury, the photographer and the documentary crew - was a funny sight to see.

Being inside the capsule, in such a unique environment, being lifted higher and higher and seeing Big Ben and the

city of London watch over a meeting of investors, is an unusual experience, to say the least. The other passengers on the London Eye, the tourists waiting in line and the attraction’s workers looked at the encapsulated Express experience with surprise.

9 8

Chain reactionsIt was clear that the awarding of the prizes would cause emotional confusion among the contestants who had been subjected to the constant pressure of time along with brutal accumulated fatigue. Undoubtedly if there is a moment today that’s worth mentioning, it’s when the dreamers found out the names of the four winning apps.

Besides the leaps of happiness, the expressions of disappointment, fatigue… it was a moment of release, during which the cohesion of a community – that breathed the same Express air for 3,000 minutes - was put to the test.

9 9

The yellow and black eff ectHaving reached the fi rst half of the Express experience, the dreamers have fully integrated the colors - yellow and black - of their projects. The countdown clock, the sneakers, the T-shirts, the presentation templates, the lanyards that pick up the identifi cations, the balloons… All of the yellow and black elements end up being internalized to the point that, when they arrived at Gatwick airport and got in line for a company that used yellow in their branding, they started to feel that Imagine tints everything yellow, wherever it goes..

At the entrance, a digital screen that shows the time in yellow and black creates an initial impact as if we were seeing the countdown clock. After so many hours taken up by yellow and black, we start to notice that we have really been aff ected by the Express eff ect!

100

Decompression planesWaking up in Paris, working in London and ending up sleeping in Barcelona is Express Mode, 100%. So it is not strange to see the plane half full of dreamers and Imagine staff asleep… except for a few: the winners of the day are preparing for the presentation at the Mobile World Centre, an incredible showroom and world-class opportunity.

The feeling of decompression is incredible. The dreamers’ sneakers are no longer fi dgeting nervously. They’re resting.

The talent comes home.

1 0 3

For me one of the most #Imaginestress moments of this challenge was the phase between minute 3000 and minute 2000. I hadn’t been able to write for practically the whole day. The frenetic starting and stopping the schedule demanded, waking up in Paris, working in London and coming back to Barcelona, added to the time that we’d spent transferring from one place to another, hadn’t allowed me to write.

I started to feel pressure because I wasn’t able to write in real time and had to make up for moments that were already part of the past. In any case, this allowed me to enjoy the dreamers’ passion to its fullest extent. It was like a gift. In a way, I accepted that the barriers can also be opportunities. If I can’t write, I can watch them. When I do write, I will get more intensity out of it.

Seeing opportunities where there are obstacles. It was not easy but that was my intention within this #3000. The rollercoaster of feelings caused by the dreamers helped me. They have been incorporated into my

working ecosystem and this has allowed me to see them more closely.

I fi nish the trip meeting someone who I have only seen directing a crew of camera operators. Someone t who, like me, was developing a project alongside the Imagine Express: fi lming a documentary about the experience.

I sit down in the plane next to Dani from Ordan, a young 24 year-old director known for directing “Barcelona, summer night”.

He tells me that he’s enjoying fi lming the documentary because he wants to tell the story of people that have dreams and fi ght to make them come true. He tells me that he enjoyed watching the dreamers evolve over time and defi nes them as people “who are sure of what they’re doing and have an objective and a well-defi ned path to follow.”

Dani’s observations surprise me, bearing in mind that he’s only 24 years old. He tells me he wants the documentary to

address expectations. “They struggle for something that isn’t… a given thing. And they believe in it wholeheartedly.”

I like this vision. We always talk about fi ghting for one’s dreams. And dreams often fail to guarantee security or stability. They guarantee hope and expectation.

1 1 1

The day started more calmly. Being able to start the Express day at mid-morning is a luxury.

The general feeling was that spirits were calmer, as if the competition had lowered the tone, although by mid-afternoon, seeing that there were only 1000 minutes left, things picked up again.

The presentation at the Mobile World Congress made the dreamers feel what it’s like to be in the limelight. Television cameras and radio crews covered the presentation, which taught the dreamers to bear another kind of pressure: the media.

The presentations have been quiet, calm. Despite the huge showcase and pressure the Mobile Conference involved, the dreamers did an extremely good job, much more confi dent, with a smile on their faces.

The Audi prize awarded at the Mobile World Congress is worth mentioning: a week in Silicon Valley for the team of three dreamers working with Audi.

The challenge: working with their innovation center on the development of an app to promote responsible driving.

The Wipet team, who developed the

application for keeping in touch with pets, was an unexpected success. There was a general feeling that the Audi innovation prize would go to more technological applications, but instead they bet on the concept of creativity, as the word innovation actually suggests.

A nice gesture that contributed to debunking the link that many people tend to make between innovation and technology.

1 1 2

One member of one of the winning teams of dreamers, who let his emotions fl ow freely the previous day, is more restrained today. But his words, however, capture the moment’s excitement: “I want to hug my wife because every time I talk to her, I get emotional and I can’t explain to her what I’m feeling”.

The team members began hugging each other on the stage, and continued to do so after they were off it. Theircomplicit looks persisted throughout the entire afternoon.

In the afternoon, the Imagine Express set up their headquarters at the Mobile World Centre. The impressive views of Plaça Catalunya reminded the dreamers that they were in Barcelona. The question

that all the dreamers seemed to have in mind was: “Where were we yesterday? Where are we today? Have only 6000 minutes gone by? It seems like a month with all the things we got done!” A few huge screens reminded us that only a few minutes remained before Imagine Express 2014 would be over. The groups kept working on the presentations for the last day. Meanwhile, they received unexpected visits from the entrepreneur Dídac Lee, from Google representatives, tech companies, investors...

The atmosphere was calm, the dreamers looking forward to feeling Barcelona’s warmth from up close the following day, to returning to where the journey began and starting a new stage after having begun an Express project.

1 1 5

Hugs that speakThere are hugs that embrace you, period. There are hugs that can speak.

The team that won the Mobile World Congress’ huge said a lot. It spoke in the name of all the hugs that took place, so many time, over the course of 6000 minutes.

The pressure and stress that one would think might break up most teams, ended up leading to a state of mind in which emotions fl owed easily.

At Imagine Express, gestures, hugs, looks…have spoken. More than a lot.

1 1 6

Values that ride along the rails for 6000 minutesAt the start of the trip, at Sants train station, while we waited for the train that would take Imagine along the rails of creativity, the two coaches that accompanied the dreamer expedition gave them ten cards with values written on them. They had to choose the three values that would defi ne their team. Each member chose one. .

Today there was a special moment when three dreamers, after receiving an award, surprised the coaches by taking out the cards from the fi rst day. They had chosen humility, communication and enthusiasm.

The fact that they had kept the cards in their pockets and carried them with them all along wasn’t the only surprise. One of the dreamers explained that before the London Eye presentation, he’d encouraged his group by telling them “I completely trust my team. I know that all three of us will humbly communicate our enthusiasm.”

Are any other words needed to describe the moment?

1 1 7

Yellow-wearing generosityToday’s winner was to be selected from among yesterday’s winners, which meant that all four of today’s candidates had already had a taste of victory the day before.

One of the dreamers was feeling uncomfortable about being at the Mobile World Congress today. “I feel bad. I’ve already won. I would like to share and be generous to the rest. In all humility, I would like everyone to be able to win a little.”

Everyone has already won a little From the very start.

1 1 9

Today was diff erent. After the yesterday’s intense three-city vortex, it was wonderful to wake up in Barcelona, asking yourself where you are and if you have to catch a train, plane or bus.

It’s strange but I missed the dreamers. It was the fi rst time in thousands of minutes that I wasn’t with them. The Imagine staff told me that they’d noticed that after the one-month stays they organize in Silicon Valley, the dreamers appeared to feel somewhat like orphans…and that they were now looking for and working on formulas to strengthen camaraderie after the experience.

They wondered whether that same feeling could arise in only 6000 minutes. We’ll just have to see, in a few days, how

the dreamers are feeling and how the lot of us come back to reality after this intense, condensed experience”

Here’s a small indication that might be able to provide a few clues: today the dreamers were already organizing a dinner party for Friday evening, right after the fi nal Imagine Express event concluded at mid-day. Any further doubts on the kind of companionship the yellow community creates?

1 2 5

I have reached the end of this adventure. I’ve gone through practically all of the last 1000 minutes without the Imagine Express dreamers. No whatsapp or moments with the dreamers. But I don’t want to fi nish this challenge without a summary of what this trip has been. Refl ections, open questions and personal feelings and experiences are the note the Imagine Daily Express should be concluded on.

—Working with the yellow team these last few days, I have seen how much talent Spain has to offer It stimulates and motivates me to look for ways to bring it to light, to direct and strengthen the belief that, with effort, conviction, commitment and companionship, it is possible to meet challenges that can help change our world. The Imagine Express has been a way to test new methodologies and to prove that in order to innovate, the methods we use to do so also need to be innovative.

—Attitude is an idea that is often brought up in relation to entrepreneurial

processes. There is no need to get into pointless debates as to whether an entrepreneur is born an entrepreneur or becomes one along the way, but it’s worth keeping in mind that, as far as this country’s future is concerned, we ought to begin teaching – the sooner the better – youths attitudes and values that allow them to be entrepreneurial, if that’s what they choose, and to do so with conviction, courage and optimism.

Schools, universities and teachers in general should continue betting on innovation in teaching methodologies, so as to create the necessary tools to be able to guide all kinds of professional activity. For this to happen, the teachers themselves need to be more passionate about this new orientation.

—Although people are often afraid of pressure, when it’s well-guided and applied to achieving goals, it generates results with added value. With the right balance and support, entrepreneurs get

more out of themselves than they would ever have imagined.

—This stereotype of seeing opportunities in obstacles is actually true when the environment generates positive feedback that helps to change the attitudinal barriers that lead to fear and insecurity.

Setting personal and collective challenges that may seem impossible from a conventional point of view is a very powerful, transformational experience that opens up previously unknown possibilities in oneself.

Whether it is called Imagine Express or something else, experiences that help change the world, that bring solutions to real problems must be sought. The talent is here, we only have to go from looking at it, to actually seeing it.

1 2 9

One minute to ask myselfwhat happened in the other 5999

minutes.

I don’t want a sentence. I want automatic words to go “cling!”, as they’d say at

Imagine!

Dream, thanks, grow, fl y, feel, progress, go for it, evolve, objective, team,

dreamer...

Is anyone still wondering what entrepreneuring is?

ATTITUDE!!

The true protagonists of this experience are the dreamers, those who, according to Imagine’s defi nition, not only have dreams but struggle to achieve them.

Neither the experience nor the book would have made sense without them. For this reason I wanted to show you who they are on a single page, to show the incredible diversity of the entrepreneurial profi les that have mixed together and to represent their evolution through emotions.

During the trip, I asked them to describe, every day, the “emotion of the day”. You will see their daily emotions listed from top to bottom. In a way, the change shows the emotional changes that an entrepreneur undergoes as they go through the diff erent stages of their project. On the other hand, bearing in mind that Imagine Express is not only the development of a project but also an important life experience, I wanted to know whether they believed that this experience had changed them and what it provided them with.

In 36 pages and with the eyes of 36 dreamers a gallery of the entrepreneurial and emotional patterns linked to this process has been created.

1 3 5

BUSINESS

M AT E O P E R E I R A

Age: 28

From: Argentina

Origen: EADA

Occupation: industrial engineer

Twitter: @MateoPereira

Link: https://mailtrack.io/trace/link/4ae-83c18f65843bd0db08382ea29ee4a0b-966b8e

EXCITEMENT

FATIGUE

HAPPINESS

FATIGUE

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT WILL CHANGE MYVIEW OF HOW TO BEGIN ASTARTUP AND SELL IT TOSOMEONE ELSE. I HAVELEARNED TO SEE THINGSFROM ANOTHER ANGLE”

1 3 6

DEVELOPER

O S C A R C A R D O N A

Age: 39

From: Barcelona

Origen: Entrepreneur

Occupation: iOS Developer at Ofertia, cofounder de TocTocSoft

Twitter: @okardona

Link: http://es.linkedin.com/pub/os-car-cardona/13/194/768

NERVOUSNESS

NERVOUSNESS

EUPHORIA

SATISFACTION

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT’S AN INCREDIBLEEXPERIENCE FOR MEETINGPEOPLE, FOR NETWORKING”

1 3 7

DEVELOPER

B R A I S G A B I N

Age: 26

From: Barcelona

Origen: InQBarna

Occupation: Android Developer

Twitter: @inqbarna

EXCITEMENT

HAPPINESS

EMOTIONAL TURMOIL

MOTIVATION

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I’T’S ALREADY CHANGINGME WITHOUT ME EVEN BEINGAWARE OF IT. I AM SEEINGTHE BRILLIANCE THAT WELEARN FROM EVERYTHING ANDEVERYONE”

1 3 8

CREATIve

FÁT I M A M U L E R O

Age: 21

From: Mérida

Origen: Universidad de Deusto

Occupation: Studying Primary Education, Special Educational Needs

Twitter: @Fatima_Mulero

Link: http://es.linkedin.com/pub/fati-ma-mulero/58/334/590

MAGNIFICENT HOPE

UNCERTAINTY

MOTIVATION

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT HAS MADE ME GROWPERSONALLY AS WELL ASPROFESSIONALLY. I WASN’TEXPECTING IT TO BE SOINTENSE, NOR THAT I’D LEARNSO MUCH FROM IT ALL”

1 3 9

creative

G L Ò R I A M O L I N S

Age: 30

From: Barcelona

Origen: Trip4Real

Occupation: Founder at Trip4Real and #Miber

Twitter: @molinsg

Link: http://es.linkedin.com/in/gloriamolins

EXCITEMENT

FATIGUE

JOY

EXCITEMENT

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT IS THE FIRST TIMEIN MY LIFE THAT I’VEDONE SOMETHING LIKETHIS…IT CONFIRMED THEIDEA THAT IF YOU CANDREAM IT, YOU CAN DOIT”

140

creative

J O S E P M A R I A M I R Ó

Age: 51

From: Vilafranca del Penedès

Origen: Social innovator

Occupation: Social Innovation Projects Director, Barcelona City Council

Twitter: @josepmiro

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/josep-maria-mir%C3%B3-i-pascual/12/a65/7b6

SPEED

ACCOMPLISHMENT

SATISFACTION

CONSOLIDATION

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“YOU OPEN YOUR MIND…IT LETS YOU SEE OTHER PROPOSALS…”

1 4 1

BUSINESS

J O R D I P I C A S

Age: 47

From: Barcelona

Origen: Suara

Occupation: Director, Automation Department. Suara Cooperative

Twitter: @jordipicasv

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jor-di-picas-vil%C3%AO/62/920/179

EXPECTATION

SATISFACTION

HAPPINESS

CALM

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT HAS TAUGHT ME TO BECONSCIOUS OF EVERYTHINGTHAT CAN BE DONE INTHE SOCIAL ARENA, BYAPPLYING TECHONOLOGYAND BUSINESS MODELS”

1 4 2

DEVELOPER

PA B L O N I Ñ O L E S

Age: 22

From: Alicante

Origen: Freelance

Occupation: iOS developer

Twitter: @pniaz

Link: http://es.linkedin.com/in/pniaz

EXPECTATION

ACHIEVEMENT

HOPE

CALM

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I WISH THIS WERE MYJOB. I HAD SUCH A GOODTIME THAT IT’S LIKE IFOUND A GREAT JOB”

1 4 3

creative

PAT R I C I A B A R R A G Á N

From: Barcelona

Origen: Complot Escuela de Creativos

Occupation: Copywriter a McCann Worldgroup

Twitter: @Trizias

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/in/patri-ciabarragan

NERVOUSNESS

UNEASINESS

NERVOUS

MOTIVATION

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT IS ALLOWING ME TO MEET PEOPLEIN VERY DIFFERENT AREAS. IT OPENEDMY MIND AND HELP ME INTEGRATE IDEASFROM OTHER INDUSTRIES THAT I DIDN’TTHINK WERE CREATIVE, AND I FOUND OUTTHAT ALL OF THEM ARE CREATIVE AND CANCONTRIBUTE A LOT. IT CHANGED ME IN THESENSE OF THE MOTIVATION AND ENERGY ITGAVE ME.”

144

BUSINESS

B L A N C A D E L E R A

Age: 25

Origen: Everis

Occupation: EverisDigital consultant innovation department

Twitter: @blancadelera

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/profi le/view?id=155698430&trk=nav_respon-sive_tab_profi le

HOPE

EXCITEMENT

NERVOUS

HOPE

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT’S INCREASED MYDESIRE TO BEENTREPRENEURIAL”

1 4 5

developer

O R I O L B L A N C

Age: 29

From: Barcelona

Origen: Topic

Occupation: CTO i Co-Founder a Topic /Co-Founder Crows&Dogs

Twitter: @oriolblanc

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/in/oriolblanc

CREATION

MOTIVATION

NERVOUS

HOPE

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I’VE LEARNED A METHODOLOGY.I’VE LAUNCHED MANY PRODUCTSBUT NEVER IN A STRUCTUREDWAY. THE IMAGINE METHODOLOGYTAUGHT ME A LOT: IT CHANGEDTHE WAY I LEARN”

1 4 6

DEVELOPER

M A R C M AT E U

Age: 22

From: Barcelona

Origen: Col·legis Majors Penyafort-Montserrat-Llull

Occupation: Intern at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

Twitter: @mateumateusm

Link: http://es.linkedin.com/pub/marc-mateu-mateus/5b/255/31a

NERVOUSNESS

EXCITEMENT

WORRIED

INCREDULOUS

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT HAS CHANGED THE WAYI THINK ABOUT THINGS,HOW TO ORGANIZE MYSELFINTERNALLY”

1 4 7

CREATIVE

I G N A C I O L Ó P E Z

Age: 32

From: Zaragoza

Origen: Init

Occupation: Web designer at Web&Web Diseño y Comunicación S.L.

Twitter: @ilopezlacalle

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ignacio-lopez-lacalle/51/24/190

EXPECTATION

STRESS

ACCOMPLISHED

SATURATED

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT CHANGED ME IN TERMS OFEFFORT.IT TAUGHT ME THAT ICAN ALWAYS GIVE A LITTLEMORE OF MYSELF. I LEARNEDTO EVALUATE WHERE MY LIMITIS AND STRETCH IT A BITFURTHER”

1 4 8

BUSINESS

N ATÀ L I A D O M Í N G U E Z

Age: 39

From: Barcelona

Origen: Banc Sabadell

Occupation: Head of Equity Investments Sabadell Inversión, Banc Sabadell

Twitter: @dominguez_nat

Link: http://es.linkedin.com/in/domingueznatalia

ACTIVITY

EXPECTATION

SATISFACTION

EXCEEDED

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT TAUGHT ME TO DOTHINGS DIFFERENTLY”

1 4 9

BUSINESS

M A R C R A M Í R E Z

Age: 24

From: Barcelona

Origen: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

Occupation: Founder of Movement Movement, Motivation and Brain. Social & Technology Entrepreneur

Twitter: @marc_raminv

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/marc-ram%C3%ADrez-invern%C3%B3n/26/1a7/958link/4ae83c18f65843bd0db08382ea29ee4a0b966b8e

PASSION

LEARNING

PEACE

UNCERTAIN

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I LEARNED HOW TO WORK UNDERPRESSURE, WITH INCREDIBLYTOUGH DEADLINES AND WITHTEAMS YOU DON’T KNOW. I ALSOLEARNED, HOW TO QUICKLY FINDSYNERGIES”

1 5 0

CREATIVE

N I C K O N O G U É S

Age: 34

From: México DF

Origen: Miracle

Occupation: Founder and creative activist offi cer a Miracle

Twitter: @nickonogues

http://mx.linkedin.com/in/nicknogues

FATIGUE

HOPE

LONG DAY

ENTHUSIASM

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IN BELIEVING ONCEAGAIN THAT IN OURCOUNTRY, CATALONIA,THINGS CAN BE DONE”

1 5 1

DEVELOPER

VA L E N T Í F R E I X A N E T

Age: 30

From: Vic

Origen: Biapum

Occupation: Founder & CEO Biapum

Twitter: @valentigoclimb

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/in/valenti-freixanet

UNEASE

ALL OUT

UNREAL

ENTHUSIASM

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I LIKE TO DO NEW THINGSBECAUSE FOR ME, HAPPINESSIS DOING THINGS THAT YOU’VENEVER DONE BEFORE. COMING HEREALLOWED ME TO DO A TON OFTHINGS THAT I LOVE”

1 5 2

CREATIVE

T O M Á S F E R R Á N D I Z

From: Barcelona

Origen: Tiempo BBDO

Occupation: Creative Director at Tiempo BBDO

Twitter: @Tomasferrandiz

Link: http://www.tomasferrandiz.com

NERVOUSNESS

EUPHORIA

FUTURE

LEARNING

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT HAS GIVEN ME WINGS.II’VE BEEN ABLE TO SEEHOW BIG THE WORLD IS,HOW MANY OPPORTUNITIESTHERE ARE OUT THERE ANDHOW MANY THINGS I HAVEYET TO DO!”

1 5 3

DEVELOPER

F E R N A N D O G A R C Í A

Age: 29

From: Málaga

Origen: Freelance

Occupation: Mobile Developer

Twitter: @fegabe

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/in/fegabe

EUPHORIA

SATURATION

SATISFACTION

ENJOY

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I LEARNED HOW TO EXPERIENCE ANADVENTURE: TO GET TOGETHER WITHPEOPLE I DIDN’T KNOW AND, ALL OF ASUDDEN, START TALKING WITH THEMABOUT HOW WE’LL CREATE OUR COMPANYWHEN IMAGINE IS OVER. IT’SINCREDIBLE!”

1 5 4

CREATIVE

R U G G E R O S G A R B I

Age: 28

From: Bologna

Origen: AirPlus International

Occupation: Business development manager at AirPlus International

Twitter: @ruggerO

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rsgarbi

DESORIENTATION

PRESSURE

EXCITED

SURPRISED

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I’VE LEARNED TOHAVE FUN AND BE MOREMINIMALISTIC”

1 5 5

DEVELOPER

J O U I C U M E R A S K H A N

Age: 19

From: Vic

Origen: Universitat de Vic

Occupation: : Student at the Universitat de Vic

Twitter: @itsjoui

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/joui-cu-meras-khan/87/661/a53

NERVOUSNESS

OPTIMISM

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I LEARNED A LOT OFTHINGS. I’VE LEARNED NEWWAYS OF LEARNING IN AREASTHAT I WASN’T FAMILIARWITH. AND ALSO TO WORK ASPART OF A TEAM”

1 5 6

DEVELOPER

E D U A R D O P A L E N Z U E L A

Age: 35

From: Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Origen: Parque Científi co y Tecnológico de Tenerife (PCTT)

Occupation: Developer at General de Software, S.A.U.

Twitter: @Kiliannet

ENCOURAGEMENT

STRESS

PROUD

CALM

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT MADE ME OVERCOME MYFEARS”

1 5 7

BUSINESS

J O A N V I L A D O M AT

Age: 30

From: Sabadell

Origen: Entrepreneur

Occupation: Founder and Business Development at Parkinghood

Twitter: @ViladomatJoan

Link: http://es.linkedin.com/pub/joan-viladomat-comerma/3a/404/912

HOPE

STRESS

PROUD

MOTIVATED

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I CAN ALREADY FEEL THETRANSFORMATION. HAVING FACED THISCRAZY EXPERIENCE WITH CAMERASAND THE WHOLE DEAL MADE ME FEELFOR CONFIDENT. IT ALSO MADE MEMORE CONFIDENT THAT I’D MADETHE RIGHT CHOICE BY BECOMING ANENTREPRENEUR”

1 5 8

creative

R A Q U E L R I O L

Age: 52

From: Madrid

Origen: Sanofi

Occupation: Market access manager a Sanofi

Twitter: @RiolRaquel

Link: http://es.linkedin.com/pub/raquel-riol/5/1a/959

EXPECTATION

OPTIMISM

EXCITEMENT

DISORIENTED

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“THIS WORLD IS SO DIFFERENTFROM MY OWN THAT I LEARNED ABIT OF EVERTHING, INCLUDING ANEW LANGUAGE. I’M CONVINCEDTHAT THE WORLD HAS A FUTUREAFTER SEEING THE TALENT ANDTHE YOUNG PEOPLE HERE”

1 5 9

BUSINESS

V I C E N Ç G A R C I A

Age: 35

From: Sant Celoni

Origen: Entrepreneur

Occupation: Marketing & Sales Consultant

Twitter: @VGGGs

Link: http://es.linkedin.com/in/vicencgarcia

HOPE

EXPECTATION

UNEASE

TIRED

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT CHANGED MY ATTITUDE. I’VE FELTTHAT THE ENTREPRENURIAL SPIRIT WAS APART OF ME FOR QUITE A WHILE, BUTDIDN’T PURSUE IT BECAUSE OF FEAR OFFAILURE. NOW I’M SURE THAT IWON’TREGRETTAKING THE RISK. I WOULD RATHERFAIL THAN NOT STOP FIGHTING FOR MYDREAMS BECAUSE OF FEAR”

160

DEVELOPER

À L E X C H I M E N O

Age: 33

From: Barcelona

Origen: Xalera Games

Occupation: Game developer at Xalera Games

Twitter: @achimeno

ENTHUSIASM

NERVOUSNESS HOPE

LIBERATED

CALM

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I HAVE ALWAYS WANTEDTO ENTREPRENEUR. NOWI AM CONVINCED THAT IWILL COME OUT OF HEREAS AN ENTREPRENEUR”

1 6 1

creative

X AV I E R PA L O M E R

Age: 31

From: Pallet

Origen: Phobious

Occupation: co-founder de Phobious

Twitter: @xavier_palomer

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/xavier-palomer-ripoll/5/2a4/3b9

ENTHUSIASM

NERVOUSNESS

INTENSE

TIRED

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT WAS A NEW WORKEXPERIENCE: HAVING FUNWHILE YOU WORK. THEENTHUSIASM AND GOODVIBES WERE AMAZING”

1 6 2

developer

D A N I E L J I M É N E Z

Age: 22

Origen: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Occupation: Software engineer student

Twitter: @dani_render

Link: http://es.linkedin.com/pub/dani-jimenez/51/993/755

OVERWHELMED

PRESSURE

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT WILL HELP ME TO BE MOREEMPATIC TOWARDS PEOPLE WHOTHINK ABOUT HOW TO CHANGE THEWORLD, AND TO VALUE THEEFFORT THAT COMING UP WITHIDEAS INVOLVES, NO MATTER HOWSMALL THEY ARE”

1 6 3

creative

B E R N AT S A U M E L L

Age: 26

From: Barcelona

Origen: Playtime

Occupation: Productor at Playtime Movies S.L.

Twitter: @BernatSaumell

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bernat-saumell-calaf/45/264/59b

CONFUSION

HAPPINESS

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I’VE REALIZED THAT BYOURSELVES WE ARE NOBODY,THAT WE NEED TO WORK ASA GROUP AND THAT CHANGEHAPPENS THROUGH MUTUALSUPPORT AND AVOIDINGINDIVIDUALISM”

1 6 4

BUSINESS

S A R A S A N D I N O

Age: 22

From: Capitolia, CA

Origen: Communication management

Occupation: Communication management expert

Twitter: @sandinosara

ENERGY

AGAINST THE CLOCK

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT MADE ME REALIZE THATYOU HAVE TO BE PATIENTIN ORDER TO BRINGDIFFERENT TEAM MEMBERS’TALENTS TOGETHER ANDMAKE THEM COMPLEMENTEACH OTHER”

1 6 5

creative

C A R M E C A N O

Age: 27

From: Palma de Mallorca

Origen: Sanofi

Occupation: Quality Assurance at Sanofi

Twitter: @CanoCarme

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/carme-cano-uguet/28/b7/aa9

EXCITEMENT

HYSTERIA

PRIDE

FATIGUE

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT TAUGHT ME TO INTERACT ANDQUICKLY CREATE EMPATHY. THEEXPERIENCE OF HAVING TO WORK ATA FAST PACE WITH A TEAM YOUDON’T KNOW TEACHES YOU TOINTERACT VERY, VERY QUICKLY”

1 6 6

BUSINESS

S A N A K H O U J A

Age: 26

From: Nador

Origen: Eada Business School

Occupation: MBA candidate at EADA

Twitter: @skhouja

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sanaklaout

EUPHORIA

ACHIEVEMENT

ROLLERCOASTER

COMMON SENSE

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I’VE ALWAYS BEENINSECURE. IMAGINEHELPED ME GET MY SELF-CONFIDENCE BACK”

1 6 7

BUSINESS

B L A I C A R A N D E L L

Age: 25

From: Barcelona

Origen: Musicotec

Occupation: Founder & CEO at Musicotec

Twitter: @blaicarandell

Link: http://es.linkedin.com/pub/blai-caran-dell-saladich/54/13a/987

UNEASE

ENTHUSIASM

ACCOMPLISHED

CONNECTED

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IT CHANGED ME. JUST THE FACTOF BEING A DREAMER MADE ME FEELPRIVILEDGED. I’D NEVER FELT THISKIND OF PRESSURE BEFORE. IT’SUNIQUE. IT TRANSFORMED ME BECAUSE IAM NOW ABLE TO HAVE MORE CONFIDENCEIN MYSELF, EVEN UNDER A GREAT DEALOF PRESSURE”

1 6 8

developer

M A R C E L A R B Ó

Age: 27

From: Barcelona

Origen: ameu8

Occupation: Senior Mobile Developer at ameu8

Twitter: @Mochytwins

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelarbo

VERY HAPPY

VERY HAPPY

SATISFACTION

DRAINED

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“THIS EXPERIENCE IS ONE OF A KIND.THE POSITIVITY AND GOOD VIBESBETWEEN THE STAFF AND THEPARTICIPANTS IS CONTAGIOUS ANDMAKES YOU FEEL DIFFERENT”

1 6 9

BUSINESS

J O R D I B O Z A

Age: 46

From: Barcelona

Origen: Entrepreneur

Occupation: CEO at IT Glass and wear technologies S.L.

Twitter: @JordiBoza

Link: http://es.linkedin.com/pub/jordi-boza/14/b1/522

EXCITEMENT

SATISFACTION

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“IMAGINE IS PROOFTHAT DREAMS CAN COMETRUE”

1 7 0

BUSINESS

E D G A R D O A D O R N O

Age: 29

From: United States

Origen: BLE

Occupation: CEO at Printsome.com

Twitter: @EdAdorno

Link: http://www.linkedin.com/in/eadorno

UNEASE

PRESSURE

OVERWHELMED

RELAXED

How do you think the Imagine experience will change you?

“I’D PARTICIPATED INHACKATHONS, BUT NEVERIN ANYTHING LIKE THIS…IT CONFIRMED THAT I CANWORK OUTSIDE OF MY CONFORTZONE AND FEEL JUST ASCOMFORTABLE.”

1 7 3

After the time had run out and we’d published the Imagine Daily Express, we decided that we couldn’t end this book without adding a graphic summary of what an #Expressmoment like this was

like:the end of the journey to the world

of dreams that returns in the form of solutions tucked inside smartphones.

Therefore, we’ve put together a collection of images of the fi nal Imagine Express event at the Barcelona Design

Hub.

M A I N PA R T N E R S

P A R T N E R S

C O L L A B O R AT O R S

Imagine Daily Express is the result of a challenge that was humbly accepted, of testing new ways of working on editorial communication: a team made up of a combination of professionals from diff erent fi elds working in on-train and off -train mode under the pressure of having exactly 6000 minutes to publish the project.

What we tried to capture in this publication was the Imagine Express experience, a project by the Imagine Creativity Center in San Francisco, promoted by the Catalan entrepreneur Xavier Verdaguer. Thirty-six strangers with diff erent backgrounds who face the challenge of working, in 6000 minutes, to design, develop and capture investors for a smartphone application that provides solutions to real problems in four categories: social, cultural, tourism, health and others.

The objective is threefold: to follow and narrate this absolutely innovative; to show the author’s feelings, in fi rst person, as she worked under the pressure of the countdown; and fi nally, to provide food for thought about entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial process, from the perspective of the thirty-six participants’ experience throughout this journey.