
Judit, your childhood in Torredembarra and your relationship with nature seem to have had a great impact on your professional career. How did these experiences influence your decision to focus on sun protection and the founding of Roka Furadada ?
It's true, my childhood in Torredembarra and my connection with nature had a significant impact on my professional career. When I was little, during the summers we went to a very special place: the Roca Foradada; it was a rock that gave you an entrance to the sea. This aspect of being open to the sea, and also the fact of being able to enjoy protected nature, connects with the photoprotection project. In addition, I have always been interested in environmental conservation: the generation of waste, pollution and the impact we have on the planet. Therefore, I saw in sun protection an opportunity to unite my passion for nature with my vocation for health. I wanted to create sustainable products that would minimize the environmental impact and at the same time protect people's skin.
Roka Furadada, founded in Barcelona in 2019, has accumulated several accolades in a short time, including the DeepTech award for the most disruptive technological innovation; the Women in Tech Start-Up Award worldwide; the Catalonia Exponential Leaders 2023 recognized by ACCIÓ- Agency for Business Competitiveness of the Generalitat of Catalonia , and the recent selection as one of the hundred best emerging companies ( start-ups) in the State's science and technology parks spanish Faced with this panorama of successes, what do these awards represent for you and the Roka Furadada team?
The recognition, that is the first. We are a start-up , and our day to day is very demanding, we work with limited resources and with a very high level of demand, but with great aspirations. The fact that we are recognized is a great boost, because it allows us to stop and reflect on the positive impact we are having. But it also allows us to celebrate our successes as a team.
On a personal level, I understand that too?
Yes, without a doubt! The Women in Tech Start-Up Award, in particular, was a very exciting experience. The Secretariat of Digital Policies encouraged me and other Catalans to apply, and I traveled to Amsterdam for the awards ceremony without knowing whether I would win or not. In the end, it was a great honor to be recognized as the European winner of the best technology start-up led by a woman. I was then selected to represent Europe at the world finals in Dubai, where I received the award again. It was an incredible experience to be able to share space with female entrepreneurs from all over the world and learn about their projects.
In addition to personal recognition, these awards are important because they give visibility to women in the technology sector and encourage diversity. They are an incentive to continue working hard and to inspire other women to pursue their dreams.

"These awards are important because they give visibility to women in the technology sector and promote diversity"
Judit Camargo, CEO of Roka Foradada
How does Roka Furadada manage to create effective and at the same time sustainable sunscreens?
Sustainability is one of our fundamental pillars. For this reason, from the beginning of the design of the products, we take into account both the effectiveness and the environmental impact it could have. For example, when we develop different products, we use a rigorous selection process, in which, before further development, we do a whole series of in silico (“computer-made” or “via computational simulation”) analyses. in order to see what the toxicological and environmental impact will be. And from here, then, we select the candidate products that we take forward.
In addition, we believe that efficiency and sustainability go hand in hand, one cannot exist without the other. A more effective product requires less to get the same result, so it reduces the environmental impact because you use fewer raw materials. Therefore, our products not only offer high sun protection, but are also respectful of the environment and marine ecosystems.
Roka Furadada can boast of having four Industrial Doctorate projects . Do these projects share goals?
The truth is that they all share the same goal, but they do it from different branches. I'll give you an example: the first molecule we launched on the market, the one we're now selling, had a diversity of perspectives that was crucial to achieving a high-quality final product. Each industrial doctorate project, with each of the people who have been finishing their theses, has contributed their discipline to be able to obtain these results.
In short, although each PhD student works on a specific aspect of the product with their specialty, they all have a common goal: the launch of a molecule on the market.
What added value does research within the company bring to Roka Furadada within the framework of the Industrial Doctorate Plan?
We are a very complete company that, except in the case of manufacturing, which we subcontract, we transfer everything: research is indispensable for us, because it allows us to develop unique and innovative products that would not be possible without this task.
At Roka Furadada we carry out "pure and hard" research to develop a unique technology that allows us to evaluate several candidate products. In this regard, I think industrial PhDs are interested for two reasons. First, we are a small company with limited resources, and when we started we were allowed to have different PhD students in different labs. And second, there is a part that is very important within the industrial doctorate, which is the support you receive from the academy. That is to say, we have been able to collaborate with very experienced research staff and make use of their knowledge, this has helped us to move forward with this project. In fact, they are the tutors of the theses of the various industrial doctorate projects.
For now, it is very interesting for us to access this valuable focused and applied knowledge, with the aim of solving problems we are encountering or learning more about subjects we are using.

"Research is indispensable for us, because it allows us to develop unique and innovative products that would not be possible without this task"
Judit Camargo
What are the main challenges you face in the development of Industrial Doctorate projects?
At the beginning, one of the biggest challenges we had was being able to build a team by having people in different spaces: someone in the offices, another person in the pharmacy faculty, another in the chemistry department, another in the Autonomous … There comes a time when you say: How can I integrate all these people into the same team? First we managed it with coaching, a system we have been using for three years with two coaches who accompany the team members creating cohesion, getting to know each other, etc. It's a method called Agile, and it consists of seeing the whole team every day, even if it's online, we tell each other a little about what we have for the day, what we need, and that way everyone is on the same page .
Secondly, another challenge is to coordinate with the thesis director of the project and align a little with the work that needs to be done. I think the truth is that we have done quite well in this regard, because there is a lot of cooperation from the university.
Based on your experience as an entrepreneur, what has been the most valuable lesson you have learned and how has it influenced the way you lead Roka Furadada?
When you start is when you realize that no matter how much you know a lot about your product, the market or the sector, you need a lot of things that you have no idea about and that you have to ask for help.
And the other thing that is also very important, for me, is the team, the people. In other words, in order to achieve objectives, the whole team must be aligned; and if it is like in our case, we carefully select the professional profiles necessary for the specific tasks involved in the project. Dedication to the team and people is essential.
How important do you think female leadership is in the science and technology industry, especially in innovative areas like yours?
Although there is a notable presence of women in certain fields such as chemistry, biotechnology or biology, the reality is that it is difficult for us to reach positions of responsibility. I believe that increasing the presence of women in these positions is crucial, as this will naturally facilitate the promotion of more women in the future.
In addition, I think that women bring a different vision of leadership, a more holistic and global perspective that perfectly complements the more specific approach of men. The combination of both visions is crucial to success in any industry.
Therefore, we need more and more women to occupy leadership positions. This will not only benefit women, but society as a whole.

"When you start you realize that no matter how much you know a lot about your product, the market or the sector, you need a lot of things that you have no idea about and that you have to ask for help."
Judit Camargo
What are Roka Furadada's long-term goals? Is there a new area you would like to innovate in?
In the short term, Roka Furadada is focused on the commercialization of its two current products and the launch of four more in the coming years. As for the lines of research, we are very focused on cosmetics, but we are interested in exploring applications in the field of materials; to do this, we are now collaborating with the materials cluster and looking for alliances with companies in the sector. And, on the other hand, apart from cosmetics, we are exploring the possibility of working with more therapeutic actions.
Is that why you are collaborating with Hospital del Mar?
Exactly, in fact I am a researcher at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute - IMIM. It is from this connection that they propose us to collaborate on a project in their ICUs. For us, it is a very interesting initiative, the aim of which is that patients can enjoy the outside, taking advantage of the location of the Hospital in front of the sea, with our protection product, avoiding parasols , etc.
How does Roka Furadada face the challenges of constant innovation in the cosmetics and sun protection sector?
I think we're a brave company, we're very clear about what we want to do and to stay at that level we need good research staff and obviously resources, and we need staff to be very good in all the areas that we we work Good human capital is not only needed in R+D+I, but also in other areas.
Most of the company's 21 members are doctors, with a high level of experience in various fields. In other words, the level of excellence and knowledge is very high. And that's why I think we can continue to innovate, because the talent we have is very good.
And industrial doctorates, do they stay in the company?
In some cases yes, if the skill acquired during the doctorate has continuity within the company. The Industrial Doctorates program allows the company to get to know the work and the way the PhD student works in depth, and this facilitates their integration into the team.