Bernat Ripoll and Javi Fondevila are now known as the founders and leaders of Holded, a company valued at 190 million euros. But their path to success was built without connections or seed capital. It all began with Bernat, who was obsessed with snowboarding, living on the edge and not thinking about money. He could sleep anywhere — on the floor, in a car, even in a McDonald’s. Comfort and stability didn’t matter to him; his only concern was living each day and getting out on the snowboard.
In the US, Bernat didn’t look for hotels—he simply survived, sleeping wherever he could. His motto, “I’ll manage on my own,” became the cornerstone of his future success. Money was never the goal; it was just a means to keep doing what he loved. Even when he enrolled in computer science, it was more out of duty than passion. Everything changed after he took part in a hackathon and unexpectedly landed a high-paying job offer. That was the first time Bernat really asked himself: why is he even studying?
First steps
The idea for Holded wasn’t born out of a desire to get rich, but out of frustration. Bernat was fed up with paperwork, invoices, and taxes. One day, stranded in Austria by heavy snowfall, he decided to create a program to automate his invoicing. He bought a domain right at a gas station, put together a basic version in a few weeks, and posted it on Facebook. At that point, no one believed the project would take off—not even the founders themselves were sure it was worth continuing.
Javi saw potential and invested 5,000 euros, purchasing half the company. Together, they began developing the project, even though they initially received neither support nor funding. There were many doubts and thoughts of shutting down, but their enthusiasm and persistence prevailed. They harbored no illusions—if it didn’t work out, then it wasn’t meant to be. But they never planned to give up.
Motivation and Mistakes
Bernat is convinced: if your only goal is to stop working, nothing will come of it. He criticizes the popular idea of ‘drop everything and become an entrepreneur for freedom.’ In his view, this approach is doomed to fail. True drive comes only when you are passionate about your work, not when you dream of an easy life. Money is a byproduct, not the end goal.
In the first months working on Holded, they faced constant challenges. They had no investors, no clients, no security for the future. But this is precisely what forged the team’s resilience. Every new challenge was seen as an opportunity to learn something new. They weren’t afraid to make mistakes, because they weren’t risking everything just for a dream of wealth.
Spanish Experience
The story of Holded is not just about business—it’s also about Spanish character. Here, what’s important is not only courage, but the ability to improvise, adapt to change, and not get caught up in material things. Bernat and Javi didn’t make grand plans or look for shortcuts to success. They simply did what they believed was necessary and weren’t afraid to go against the grain.
Today, their company serves as an example for many young entrepreneurs in Spain. But the founders themselves insist: if they had chased money from the start, nothing would have worked out. Their story is a reminder that passion and persistence matter more than any financial goal.
