Rebeca Minguela is a Spanish entrepreneur and startup advisor. She was the founder and CEO of Blink Booking, now Blink by Groupon, an award-winning mobile app to book hotels last minute in Europe. When Blink was acquired by

Groupon Groupon is an American global e-commerce marketplace connecting subscribers with local merchants by offering activities, travel, goods and services in 13 countries. Based in Chicago, Groupon was launched there in November 2008, launching soon af ...

in September 2013, she joined Groupon. Minguela is co-founder of Global Impact Rating, a startup selected for the Harvard Innovation Labs - iLab (Harvard Business School Incubator) in 2015. She was selected

Young Global Leader Forum of Young Global Leaders, or Young Global Leaders (YGL), was created by Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum. The YGL, a non-profit organization managed from Geneva, Switzerland, is under the supervision of the Swiss government ...

of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

in March 2017.

Blink Booking

In 2011, Minguela started Blink Booking, a mobile travel app to book hotels last minute in Europe. Blink Booking was the first startup of a platform aimed at fostering entrepreneurship in Spain. She joined Blink as full-time CEO in March 2012 due to an issue with her co-founder and to be able to manage the rapid growth of the company (as stated in Harvard Business School case about Blink Booking). Blink Booking attracted investment from tech and travel investors (

SoftTech VC Uncork Capital (formerly known as SoftTech VC) is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, California, founded by Jeff Clavier. Considered one of the most active established seed funds in Silicon Valley, it has invested in companies such as ...

, ProFounders –

Brent Hoberman Brent Shawzin Hoberman (born 25 November 1968) is a British entrepreneur and investor. During the dot-com boom, he co-founded lastminute.com with Martha Lane Fox in 1998, where he was CEO from its inception, before selling the business to Sab ...

, Charles Petruccelli and American Express Travel (UVET Italy),

Radisson Hotels Radisson Hotels is an international hotel chain headquartered in the United States. A division of the Radisson Hotel Group, it operates the brands Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson Collection, Country Inn & Suites, and Park Inn by Rad ...

, Kibo Ventures and others). The Blink app was available in six languages, Android,

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

/ iPhone and HTML5 in eight different European countries. Blink Booking was advertised in Spanish and Italian TV, and the TV advert "The Lady in White" received the Sol de Bronce award in 2013 ( Festival Iberoamericano de Publicidad, FIAP). In September 2013, Blink Booking was acquired by

to strengthen its travel and mobile business. Blink Booking is now " Blink by Groupon", and Minguela started then working for Groupon.

Public speaking, press and awards

Minguela and Blink Booking (the company she started and managed) have been mentioned in the press in several countries, with features in publications including ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'', ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'', ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'', '' El País'', '' El Mundo'', '' Il Sole 24 Ore'', and many others. Minguela's entrepreneurship platform and Blink Booking are also the subject of a business case at Harvard Business School. Minguela has been a speaker at several events and conferences, including the Harvard European Conference 2015, sharing the panel with the Director General for the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

; Spain Tech Week Silicon Valley/ Seattle 2014''; Startup Spain 3.0; and Red Innova 2013. Blink has been a top-rated app by Apple Store and Google Play in several countries. It was awarded "Travel Pioneer of the Year 2012" (Travolution Awards, from '' Travel Weekly'') and "Travel App of the Week" by Female First, and it was a finalist of the fifth edition of the Open Talent Award 2013 to most innovative start-ups. Blink Booking TV advert "The Lady in White" was awarded the Sol de Bronce in 2013 ( Festival Iberoamericano de Publicidad, FIAP). Minguela was named female role model entrepreneur in Spain by ''El Referente'' in April 2016.

References

External links

* http://blinkbooking.com/ * http://www.blinkbygroupon.com/ * https://hbr.org/product/Blink-Booking/an/813121-PDF-ENG {{DEFAULTSORT:Minguela, Rebeca Spanish businesspeople Living people Harvard University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)