Interview
Jordi Bosc:
“When there is an opportunity,
it is unethical not to help.”
Entrepreneur Jordi Bosc Masa is a well-known figure in Barcelona’s Russian-speaking business community. He dislikes social media and unnecessary publicity, and despite his extensive experience—as a migrant, businessman, and investor—he does not seek to put it on display. Most recently, Jordi served as chairman of the jury for the Impulse Awards for expats. We spoke with him about the prospects for migrants in Spain, differences in mentality, and pickled cucumbers.
Jordi Bosc. Photo by Karina Ri
— Jordi, you lived in Moscow for 11 years. How did you end up in Russia, and why did you return?
— My ex-wife is a Russian opera singer. In 2011, we moved together from Barcelona to Moscow so that, after a break, she could continue her career on the major stage. I, in turn, planned to work on an international cultural project, with a Saudi Arabian sheikh as the main investor. However, due to the events of the "Arab Spring," he decided not to provide funding. As a result, I found myself in a new country—although with my family and beloved cats, but without a job.
My ex-wife's family believed that I wouldn’t stay in Russia for long. I had a different approach: if I came here to live, I would integrate.
My Russian was not at a beginner level, but studying it was still difficult. In the end, I adapted fairly quickly and began working at a Russian IT company where, out of 250 employees, I was the only foreigner and only a few people spoke English. I took that job deliberately—I wanted to adapt to the new circumstances and understand a mentality that was unfamiliar to me.
— My ex-wife is a Russian opera singer. In 2011, we moved together from Barcelona to Moscow so that, after a break, she could continue her career on the major stage. I, in turn, planned to work on an international cultural project, with a Saudi Arabian sheikh as the main investor. However, due to the events of the "Arab Spring," he decided not to provide funding. As a result, I found myself in a new country—although with my family and beloved cats, but without a job.
My ex-wife's family believed that I wouldn’t stay in Russia for long. I had a different approach: if I came here to live, I would integrate.
My Russian was not at a beginner level, but studying it was still difficult. In the end, I adapted fairly quickly and began working at a Russian IT company where, out of 250 employees, I was the only foreigner and only a few people spoke English. I took that job deliberately—I wanted to adapt to the new circumstances and understand a mentality that was unfamiliar to me.
There is a kind of difficulty scale that shows how many hours of study are needed to reach an advanced level in a language. If English takes about 400 hours and Spanish around 500–600, then Russian requires about 1,200 hours.
I was planning to continue living in Russia even after the divorce, but in 2022 the war and mobilization began. So I decided to return to Barcelona with just one suitcase and a computer—after the divorce, all the property remained with my ex-wife. Once again, I had to start everything from scratch.
— In Moscow, you were not only an IT specialist but also a business ambassador of Catalonia. Can you explain what that is?
A business ambassador is an official but unpaid role as an intermediary for establishing business ties between Catalonia and other countries. It is a program of the government foreign trade agency ACCIÓ.
Business ambassadors hold senior positions in foreign companies and help Catalan entrepreneurs enter new markets in their countries of residence and, conversely, help foreign companies start businesses in Catalonia. They make introductions, connect the right people, and provide advice. There are currently 70 of them worldwide.
In practice, you can only be a business ambassador while living abroad. However, now we—former and current ambassadors—stay in touch and are thinking about how those of us who have returned home could apply our experience domestically.
For example, after my move, a Russian company approached me that had been importing raw materials for its products from Catalonia. When the conflict with Ukraine began, the Catalan side unilaterally decided to terminate the contract and stop supplies. I acted as a mediator between them, urging them not to discontinue the cooperation. After all, Russian entrepreneurs have nothing to do with the war and are also suffering because of it. In the end, we reached an agreement that was beneficial to everyone and did not damage anyone’s reputation.
— What else are you doing in Barcelona now?
I work as a consultant and help develop early-stage startups. For example, I helped a subsidiary of a clinical hospital define its product, technical architecture, and build a team similar to the one I had in a comparable project in Moscow.
In Russia, I worked with Around Capital by Daily Challenge, a venture studio founded by Andrey Taburinsky, one of the co-founders of Yandex.Market. I learned a great deal there and now apply that experience in the startups I collaborate with.
A year ago, the international venture investor community VNTR invited me to lead their Barcelona chapter. Once a month, we host events with strictly investors-only attendance. When there are no people coming to seek funding, investors can relax and talk among themselves about their needs and challenges, and discuss the state of the market. By the way, one-third of the community members in Barcelona are Russian-speaking migrants.
Most recently, I became the CEO of a new fund, Pirineus SCR, which is attracting investment into the Pyrenees region. I have high expectations for this new opportunity.
Jordi Bosc. Photo by Slava Timoshenko
— Why is it important for you to help the Russian-speaking community?
First of all, out of a sense of solidarity: I did not accept the war, just like they didn’t, and I did not plan to live in Spain again. If I had a choice, I would have stayed in Russia to be able to see my daughter regularly.
Besides, it is unethical not to help someone when you have the opportunity. I have extensive professional experience and many useful contacts that can benefit entrepreneurs who have relocated.
A few months ago, I met some guys from Russia who were having difficulties with their project—they had a poor understanding of how business in their industry works here. I arranged a meeting for them with a friend of mine, the director of a large Spanish corporation, so she could share her expertise. Fifteen days later, I ran into one of them, and he told me: "Jordi, thank you so much. My hypothesis didn’t hold up, and you saved me two years of my life and a lot of money."
— Is Catalan business in general interested in Russian-speaking migrants?
Absolutely. In Russia, the level of digital transformation is much higher than in Spain. Products are more sophisticated, and the digital mindset is more advanced. This is experience worth adopting. Russian-speaking professionals have always been very strong in IT development, and if they don’t forget what they learned back home, they have a bright future in Spain.
For example, Spanish IT companies have not had the position of business analyst for many years. Yet in Russia, the United States, Japan, India, and many other countries where I have worked, this is a standard role. As a result, the people who create a product—developers or project managers—are the same ones who accept and evaluate its functionality. This significantly undermines software quality control.
In addition, IT teams in Russia are highly experienced, very well structured, and there are strong emotional bonds between colleagues. People retain those bonds when they relocate. For any project, having a ready-made, cohesive team represents a major leap in quality.
In the post-Soviet space in general, there are very strong networks of solidarity—at work, among friends and relatives. I think this helps people stay afloat in conditions of high instability. Today you help someone, and tomorrow they help you. For Spaniards, this is somewhat foreign.
First of all, out of a sense of solidarity: I did not accept the war, just like they didn’t, and I did not plan to live in Spain again. If I had a choice, I would have stayed in Russia to be able to see my daughter regularly.
Besides, it is unethical not to help someone when you have the opportunity. I have extensive professional experience and many useful contacts that can benefit entrepreneurs who have relocated.
A few months ago, I met some guys from Russia who were having difficulties with their project—they had a poor understanding of how business in their industry works here. I arranged a meeting for them with a friend of mine, the director of a large Spanish corporation, so she could share her expertise. Fifteen days later, I ran into one of them, and he told me: "Jordi, thank you so much. My hypothesis didn’t hold up, and you saved me two years of my life and a lot of money."
— Is Catalan business in general interested in Russian-speaking migrants?
Absolutely. In Russia, the level of digital transformation is much higher than in Spain. Products are more sophisticated, and the digital mindset is more advanced. This is experience worth adopting. Russian-speaking professionals have always been very strong in IT development, and if they don’t forget what they learned back home, they have a bright future in Spain.
For example, Spanish IT companies have not had the position of business analyst for many years. Yet in Russia, the United States, Japan, India, and many other countries where I have worked, this is a standard role. As a result, the people who create a product—developers or project managers—are the same ones who accept and evaluate its functionality. This significantly undermines software quality control.
In addition, IT teams in Russia are highly experienced, very well structured, and there are strong emotional bonds between colleagues. People retain those bonds when they relocate. For any project, having a ready-made, cohesive team represents a major leap in quality.
In the post-Soviet space in general, there are very strong networks of solidarity—at work, among friends and relatives. I think this helps people stay afloat in conditions of high instability. Today you help someone, and tomorrow they help you. For Spaniards, this is somewhat foreign.
— What other differences in mentality are useful to know about?
Entrepreneurs need to be prepared for a large number of rules and regulations. Catalonia is a hyper-regulated place. For example, to start an agribusiness here, you need to comply with more than 60 regulations. And if you plan to raise livestock, you will have to manually fill out forms every month on the websites of three different government agencies—because their databases are not synchronized with one another. Another thing is that in Catalonia people like to discuss business matters in person, especially if they live in the same city. A face-to-face meeting reduces the level of mistrust, which is fairly high due to fraud and abuses that are not uncommon here.
An important nuance is that Russian speakers and Spaniards have different attitudes toward displaying status. In Russia, it is very important to maintain the image of success. For example, a person may live in a modest 25-square-meter apartment with just a bed, a toilet, and a small kitchen, yet dress expensively, drive a respectable car, and give flashy gifts. And at work, of course, they dress in full compliance with all formalities.
Entrepreneurs need to be prepared for a large number of rules and regulations. Catalonia is a hyper-regulated place. For example, to start an agribusiness here, you need to comply with more than 60 regulations. And if you plan to raise livestock, you will have to manually fill out forms every month on the websites of three different government agencies—because their databases are not synchronized with one another. Another thing is that in Catalonia people like to discuss business matters in person, especially if they live in the same city. A face-to-face meeting reduces the level of mistrust, which is fairly high due to fraud and abuses that are not uncommon here.
An important nuance is that Russian speakers and Spaniards have different attitudes toward displaying status. In Russia, it is very important to maintain the image of success. For example, a person may live in a modest 25-square-meter apartment with just a bed, a toilet, and a small kitchen, yet dress expensively, drive a respectable car, and give flashy gifts. And at work, of course, they dress in full compliance with all formalities.
Catalans are generally modest. Showing off or putting oneself on display is not customary. In Spain, even for business meetings people tend to dress as casually as possible—sometimes even without a shirt, just a T-shirt and a blazer.
Jordi Bosc. Photo by Karina Ri
— Do you yourself avoid public life and building a personal brand out of Catalan modesty?
A personal brand is needed to get work and gain status. But I already have all of that. After my wedding and move to Russia, I became part of a very well-known family, and people started digging into my private life. At that point, I closed my social media accounts and stopped running them publicly.
Now I have a private Instagram account with a small number of followers. I post something there occasionally, but not regularly. I don’t understand why one would do it all the time: crossed the street with your dog—story; ate a pastelito—story; farted—story. Like many people, I live a normal life, work a lot, and don’t see the point in constantly showcasing what I do in my free time.
— What do you usually do in your free time? How do you relax?
I have my own little house in the mountains, 15 kilometers from the border with Andorra. It used to be a family hotel run by my grandfather. We closed it when he passed away. I live and work there during the warm season, go hiking in the mountains, and have my own vegetable garden—I grow vegetables and even make my own pickles. From the former hotel, the house still has a bar where we gather with friends, and guest rooms where they can stay.
All Catalans are very attached to nature, and I’m no exception. In Russia, this seems less important, especially for residents of large cities. There is a dacha culture, but interest in it usually emerges after the age of 40. By the way, in Moscow I went out for barbecues every weekend for seven years. It was a very strong family tradition.
But overall, I am working almost all the time and rarely stay in one place for long—I move around the world. I hope that when the war ends, I will be able to visit Russia regularly to see my daughter.
A personal brand is needed to get work and gain status. But I already have all of that. After my wedding and move to Russia, I became part of a very well-known family, and people started digging into my private life. At that point, I closed my social media accounts and stopped running them publicly.
Now I have a private Instagram account with a small number of followers. I post something there occasionally, but not regularly. I don’t understand why one would do it all the time: crossed the street with your dog—story; ate a pastelito—story; farted—story. Like many people, I live a normal life, work a lot, and don’t see the point in constantly showcasing what I do in my free time.
— What do you usually do in your free time? How do you relax?
I have my own little house in the mountains, 15 kilometers from the border with Andorra. It used to be a family hotel run by my grandfather. We closed it when he passed away. I live and work there during the warm season, go hiking in the mountains, and have my own vegetable garden—I grow vegetables and even make my own pickles. From the former hotel, the house still has a bar where we gather with friends, and guest rooms where they can stay.
All Catalans are very attached to nature, and I’m no exception. In Russia, this seems less important, especially for residents of large cities. There is a dacha culture, but interest in it usually emerges after the age of 40. By the way, in Moscow I went out for barbecues every weekend for seven years. It was a very strong family tradition.
But overall, I am working almost all the time and rarely stay in one place for long—I move around the world. I hope that when the war ends, I will be able to visit Russia regularly to see my daughter.