Rebeca Minguela is a Spanish entrepreneur and startup advisor. She was the founder and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

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, Inc. 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 ...

in September 2013, she joined Groupon. Minguela is co-founder of Global Impact Rating, a startup selected for the

Harvard Innovation Labs Harvard Innovation Labs (i-Lab) is an institution which aims to promote team-based and entrepreneurial activities among Harvard students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and members of the Allston and Greater Boston communities. The i-Lab has incubated ...

- iLab (Harvard Business School Incubator) in 2015. She was selected

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of the

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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

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 Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

case about Blink Booking). Blink Booking attracted investment from tech and travel investors ( SoftTech VC, ProFounders – Brent Hoberman, Charles Petruccelli and

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

Travel (UVET Italy),

Radisson Hotels Radisson Hotels is a multi-brand hotel chain with a worldwide presence. Its brands include several using the Radisson name, as well as other brands like Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts and Country Inn & Suites. In June 2022, Radisson Hotel Grou ...

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

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

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 founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'', ''

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'', ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'', '' El Mundo'', ''

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'', 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 primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

; ''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 A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success serves as a model to be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compa ...

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)