Mind the Bridge is a seed fund and accelerator that supports Southern European entrepreneurs from distressed economies, with a focus on Spain, Italy, Greece, Israel. The program helps entrepreneurs set up headquarters, establish a network, and gain exposure for their product in the U.S.

“It used to be there wasn’t good communication and no good way of breaking down international barriers to get all the ideas coming from different parts of the world,” said storied venture capitalist Tim Draper, in an interview with VentureBeat. “Now, I see things from Italy and Southern Europe and they look just like things in Silicon Valley. With the spread of viral marketing and information, and the connection we’ve all got with each other, the ideas are generally based on the same information. These startups are competing head-to-head.”

Draper kicked off the demo event, which featured presentations from six startups. Each of the companies participated in Mind the Bridge’s three-month accelerator program and received coworking space and guidance from mentors who understand the unique position of foreign entrepreneurs. Founder Marco Marinucci advocates a “dual-company model,” whereby development stays in the home country, but headquarters are in Silicon Valley, where the market and the money is.

“These entrepreneurs have a strong sense of creativity that is generally more pronounced than locals and easier and cheaper access to talent,” he said in an interview after the pitches. “Our startups all have a product launched and proved in different geographies, but the bigger challenge is to make it in biggest costumer market in the world- the U.S.. The market here is incomparable. This way you can play the big game of the mass market and find funding here, while maintaining all the development abroad. This is the model that I see working.”

Each of the presenting startup have built consumer-facing startups that span a range of sectors. Italian Atooma is a smartphone app that lets you set up conditional events that automatically trigger simple actions based on things like time of day, location, and favorite apps. Myze is a Spanish-based service that helps consumers collect and maximize their credit card rewards to access discounts, promotions and deals. Bad Seed is a gaming company from Italy developing mobile games that achieve ‘the quality of console games.’ Weendy is a social ‘sports mate’ application where surfers, skiers, kite boarders etc… can share information on weather conditions. The founders are from Greece. Also hailing from Italy, Map2App is a web-based platform that lets travelers create custom mobile travel guides to access on-the-go, and in3Dgallery’s technology turns 2-dimensional content into dynamic 3D presentations.

In true European form, the presentations were punctuated with breaks for h’or dourves, pasta, coffee, and cookies, and the entrepreneurs all seemed remarkably at ease. The event did not have the same level of tension or anxiety that often pervades the room at demo days, and the founders seemed just as eager to chat with each other as with potential investors. Marinucci said European entrepreneurs often have a different attitude than locals, and the Mind the Bridge community is a supportive, rather than a competitive one. “

“There is a more social attitude, he said. “It takes an immigrant to understand an immigrant and the nitty-gritty of the challenges you face. Everyone has different nationalities, but they all have similar issues, and that makes them a tighter community.”

Mind the Bridge was founded in 2007 as a side project while Marinucci worked at Google. It was first conceived as a non-profit accelerator program dedicated to developing Italy’s startup ecosystem, but has grown to encompass a wider geographical scope and includes a seed fund and startup school. Today’s startups were the first to graduate from the accelerator program, but they won’t be the last. Marinucci plans to make between 12 to 15 seed investments a year of between $40,000 and $100, 000 and is raising a second fund. Read more on VentureBeat.  

Now more than 150 years later, BBVA has pooled together a $100 million fund to invest in startups that are developing technology for the financial services industry.

BBVA Ventures is an initiative to help this international banking conglomerate tap into the innovation happening in Silicon Valley. The team is establishing ties with entrepreneurs, startups, incubator and accelerator programs, and investors, and it will make strategic investments in both startups and other funds.

“Investing in startup companies committed to new business models enables BBVA to learn and anticipate the emerging challenges facing the financial services sector,” said executive director Jay Reinemann in a statement. “What’s more, entrepreneurs and co-investors can leverage BBVA’s extensive experience, brand, and global distribution network in the financial sector to accelerate their growth. This is an exchange of knowledge that significantly enhances the capabilities of the bank and the potential financial returns for our co-investors, while at the same time providing the entrepreneurs who lead the innovation processes access to BBVA’s valuable strategic resources.”

The goal is to improve internal awareness of new technologies and the opportunities therein. BBVA Ventures made its first investment in early 2012 in 500 Startups, a well-known incubator program led by Dave McClure. 500 Startups has made a number of investments in financial startups, including Simple, inDinero, PeerTransfer, and WePay. Ribbit Capital, which just yesterday announced a new $100 million investment fund for financial services startups, also received BBVA Ventures money, as did SaveUp is a startup that partners with financial institutions to apply gaming techniques to encourage savings, debt reduction and financial education.

BBVA is short for Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA. The multinational Spanish banking group is the largest financial institution in Mexico and has franchises in South America and the “Sunbelt” region of the United States. Read the press release.

The news lines up with earlier reports that the streaming video company would expand its reach into Europe, which came after the company announced plans to enter Latin American markets. Netflix currently only offers its streaming video service in the U.S. and Canada.

The news was confirmed by president of the local producers association (FAPAE) Pedro Perez, who claims that Netflix contacted several film studios in reference to the launch.

“Netflix has already broken into the U.S. market gaining 26 million subscribers so far, and they expect to have 30 million before the end of the year who are paying between 8 and 10 dollars a month,” says Perez in the report.

Top film distributors in Europe stated that Netflix recently closed deals to offer its service in both Spain and the United Kingdom, according to the report.

Netflix was unavailable for comment about entering into Europe. However, this wouldn’t be the first time it set up shop in another country. The company entered Canada in September 2010 and recently announced plans to enter 43 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean by the end of 2011.

None of the confirmed international markets will offer Netflix’s DVD/Blu-ray disc rental-by-mail subscriptions, which are available only to U.S. customers. While news of the company entering Europe hasn’t been confirmed, it’s likely the company will follow suit and only offer streaming plans.

Netflix probably chose Spain and the U.K. as its first two European markets to test the waters before launching its streaming service across the entire continent.

Spain is known for being a hotbed for digital piracy, which makes it a good candidate for Netflix. The company has often been referred to as an attractive alternative to illegal streaming and downloading because of its relatively low subscription cost and enormous library of content. Also, unlike illegal streaming websites, the company can offer a quality video stream with few service interruptions.

The UK is quite the opposite. The British government provides a free streaming video of public programming through the BBC iPlayer — meaning streaming video is popular among consumers. The iPlayer isn’t a true competitor to Netflix’s Watch Instantly streaming service, but there is no shortage of competition. If Netflix does enter the U.K. market, it will be going up against Amazon-owned LoveFilm and News Corp.’s BSkyB streaming service.

That said, Netflix’s current library of content (as well as partnerships between media companies who own the rights to that content) will translate much easier to a U.K. audience than it will in Spain. It’s unknown if the  licensing from the company’s U.S. and Canadian content library will carry over.

The news of Netflix entering Europe makes sense since the company wants to derive the majority of its revenue through streaming subscriptions. It’s also trying to transition the U.S. market away from the DVD-by-mail subscriptions, since shipping costs eat into profits.

Netflix is understandably slower to enter Europe because operating costs in those countries are likely to be far larger than in the America region. The move also jibes with past comments made by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.

“We think the international opportunities for us to build profitable businesses may be quite large, but the rapid expansion will lower global operating margins as long as there are additional markets in which we can wisely invest,” Hastings wrote in response to the company’s long-term future growth back in December 2010.

Click here to download the VentureBeat Windows 7 desktop app. The Intel AppUp developer program is the official launch sponsor.

Privalia, which already holds majority market share in Italy, Mexico, Brazil and Spain, says it intends to use the funding to tackle new markets after its sales jumped 158 percent over the first half of 2010.

The latest round of fund-raising far outpaces Privalia’s initial four rounds of funding, which had netted the company only $21 million over the last four years. The credit crunch and increasingly savvy fahionistas have given a boost to the site — as international shoppers turn to web retailers as a way to find the latest styles at the lowest prices.

Targeting the rapidly growing markets of Brazil, which ecommerce tracker eBit projects has 18 million online shoppers at the end of 2009, and Mexico, where Privalia saw sales leap 300 percent year-over-year, is a smart move for the 5-million member club.

Privalia said the money would now help it lock down its market leadership in Latin America, while simultaneously allowing it to grow through mergers and acquisition in the region. Founders Lucas Carné and José-Manuel Villanueva have long said they would be looking abroad when the group eventually expanded — presumably in Argentina and Colombia — and this considerable chunk of funding should certainly lend them the international cachet to do so.

Venture capital firms General Atlantic and Index Ventures joined current shareholders Highland Partners, Nauta Capital and Caixa Capital in backing the Barcelona-based fashion brand club. Highland currently has $3 billion invested in 200 companies and explained to VentureBeat earlier this week why VC in Europe is of particular interest right now.

Photo via Chris Willis