CIRQUEL’s November Milestones: Innovation, Academic Dialogue & Global Recognition.

November has been one of CIRQUEL’s most defining months to date - a period where our mission resonated across academic institutions, innovation ecosystems, and global sustainability platforms. With three meaningful milestones unfolding across Barcelona and beyond, CIRQUEL strengthened its visibility, sharpened its message, and validated the growing relevance of reverse logistics and circularity across multiple sectors.

Milestones of CIRQUEL in November 2025

On 11 November, CIRQUEL proudly presented at the Esade eWorks Demo Day, the final showcase of Esade's highly competitive acceleration programme. At the beginning of the programme, close to 150 startups applied and participated in early stages. Only 25 were selected to exhibit at Demo Day and CIRQUEL was ranked among the top 11. This achievement underscores both our rapid progress and the strong market validation of our technology.

Anna Warchalowska and Carlos Blanco presenting CIRQUEL at their booth at ESADE Demo Day

From our booth at Estrelladamm in Barcelona, Co-founders: Anna Warchalowska (CEO) and Carlos Blanco (CTO) engaged with venture capital firms, business angels, corporate innovators, and leaders from Esade’s extensive entrepreneurial network. Demo Day proved to be an invaluable platform to demonstrate how CIRQUEL is redefining the post-purchase journey through AI-powered anomaly detection, quality forecasting, and circular orchestration, helping brands transform textile returns from an operational burden into a new source of value. Conversations throughout the event reinforced a clear market shift: reverse logistics is no longer a backstage process, but a strategic pillar for profitability, sustainability, and regulatory readiness.

eWorks by ESADE Demo Day

Only a few days later, on 17 November, CIRQUEL returned to the academic stage at IESE Business School’s EIC Day 2025. For the second time this year, Anna was invited as a panelist to present CIRQUEL’s case study during the workshop “From Ideas to Impact - The Art of Persuasion.” The session explored how founders, policymakers and innovators communicate complex ideas to multiple stakeholders - investors, customers, teams and institutions - without losing sight of mission or truth.

Anna shared CIRQUEL’s experience of navigating stakeholder alignment across logistics partners, brands, sustainability teams, and regulatory pressures. The dialogue among founders and experts demonstrated how persuasion in entrepreneurship is rooted in clarity, empathy, and evidence - the ability to articulate why circularity matters now, how it solves industry pain points, and what future it enables. CIRQUEL is grateful to IESE for fostering such a rich environment of reflection, challenge and collaboration, and we look forward to continuing this dialogue.

The most transformative moment of the month, however, was CIRQUEL’s pre-selection as a Nominee for the 2025 Global Change Award in the category of Mindful Consumption. Created by the H&M Foundation, in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the Global Change Award is one of the most influential challenges accelerating circularity in textiles worldwide. Each year, innovators are selected from thousands of submissions and share a €2 million grant along with access to a world-class accelerator programme run together with Accenture, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global circularity network.

Past winners include Rubi Laboratories, Fairbrics and Phycom - pioneers in carbon recycling, regenerative materials and biotechnology. Their success demonstrates the award’s ability to elevate early-stage ideas into globally recognised transformation engines. The Mindful Consumption category acknowledges business models that extend textile lifecycles, influence purchasing behaviours, and reduce waste.

CIRQUEL’s nomination reflects the growing understanding that circular reverse logistics, supported by intelligence and localised orchestration, is an essential part of solving the industry’s overproduction and waste crisis. And while the award is rooted in fashion, CIRQUEL’s impact already extends far beyond it. Textiles play a critical role not only in apparel but also in home décor, bedding, furniture, upholstery and automotive interiors - all verticals where returns, waste, and lack of traceability create both financial losses and environmental burdens.

Our technology ensures that every textile item, regardless of industry, has a second-life pathway - whether through recommerce, refurbishment, repurposing, or responsible material recovery.

As November concludes, CIRQUEL moves forward with gratitude and purpose. The visibility gained at Esade, the academic engagement at IESE, and the global recognition from the H&M Foundation reinforce that what CIRQUEL is building is not only timely - it is necessary. The world is shifting toward a circular future, fuelled by regulatory momentum, ESG accountability, and consumer awareness. The post-purchase journey, once a logistical afterthought, is becoming a strategic touchpoint where value, sustainability and innovation converge.

CIRQUEL is proud to help lead that transition, and we look forward to expanding our collaborations and impact in the months ahead.