Founders+ Operators, Turned Investors

Laura has spent her career building and scaling global tech ecosystems. One of Facebook’s early employees (2008), she led international growth across Europe and Latin America. Before that, she held leadership roles at eBay and Siemens and launched her first startup during the dot-com boom. At TheVentureCity, she backs bold founders shaping the next generation of technology.

Managing partner for Guggenheim Partners Latin America/LJ Partnerships, a leading independent, privately-held multi-family office with assets under management of $5 billion dollars. Guggenheim has branches in Miami.

Santiago builds companies the same way he’s helped scale TheVentureCity: with deep operational rigor and a global mindset. Before joining in 2017, he led international teams across Europe and the Americas as CEO and senior executive in the food industry, navigating launches, growth, and turnarounds. Earlier in his career, he advised global leaders at Booz Allen & Hamilton and started out auditing at Arthur Andersen. An IESE MBA and two-time founder, Santiago brings the perspective of both an operator and investor, with a passion for transforming ideas into scalable, enduring businesses.

Andrés bridges the worlds of founder and investor. Before joining TheVentureCity, he built and scaled his own fintech startup, iAhorro, turning it into one of Spain’s leading financial platforms. He also founded an edtech company earlier in his career, giving him firsthand experience of a founder’s journey. Since 2017, Andrés has been investing across Europe, the US, and LatAm, backing early-stage teams from first product to international scale. An active voice in the venture ecosystem, he brings hands-on experience, empathy for founders, and a deep belief in building enduring companies from the ground up.

Álvaro brings over a decade of experience as an investor, founder, and operator. Before joining TheVentureCity, he worked in venture capital at Faraday Venture Partners and founded Cropti, an agrotech startup. He later led the Global Rider Growth team at Cabify. An active angel investor, Álvaro has supported several early-stage companies across Europe. He holds a double degree in Law and Business from ICADE, where he now teaches in the Tech MBA program.

Elena has over six years of experience in investing and startup operations across Europe. She began her career in investment banking and private equity in London before joining Zapp, a quick-commerce startup, where she led international expansion and helped prepare its Series B. She later joined an early-stage fund in Berlin focused on Urban Tech. A graduate of ESADE, she combines analytical rigor with hands-on experience to identify and scale high-potential startups.

Stephane brings international experience across venture capital, investment banking, and technology. Before joining TheVentureCity, he was an Investment Analyst at Seaya and previously worked with Berenberg, S&P Global, GRECA, and Salesforce. Having operated across public and private markets, he understands what it takes for startups to scale. A graduate of IE University and Rotterdam School of Management, Stéphane has lived in six countries and speaks English, Dutch, French, and Spanish.

Ricardo has spent his career driving the growth of global technology companies across Latin America. He launched operations for Facebook and Pinterest in the region and previously helped shape Brazil’s mobile ecosystem as an executive at Claro and Vivo. An entrepreneur in the hospitality and food industries, Ricardo brings a deep understanding of scaling products, teams, and cultures across diverse markets.

Garoe is a Product Data Analyst that has been crunching data for the past 10 years. Expert in deriving insights from data to support startups with their business decisions. He has a PhD in Particle Physics and has supported the development of new products and services in the aviation industry.

Juan Pablo previously worked at Arca Continental analyzing Machine Learning models and deploying Business Intelligence solutions. He also has entrepreneurship experience, being a part of the founding team of an e-commerce company.

Ana has a +12 years experience in international automotive companies working in different areas as marketing & sales, operations and pricing. MBA holder from IE Business School. Speaks Spanish, English and German.

Carlos is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in the tech and industrial sectors. He has previously worked with well-known companies such as Siemens and IBM. Carlos is driven by his passion for assisting founders in building and nurturing their teams. He firmly believes in the power of talent and strives to guide businesses towards success by helping them take care of their most valuable asset - their people.

Currently in her third year of a degree in Business Administration and Business Analytics. She has previous experience in the financial industry, mainly through an internship as a financial advisor. Keen to deepen her understanding of the VC ecosystem and to work closely with startups.

Verónica holds a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Public Relations and recently completed her studies in Marketing and Commercial Management. Her background is in sales and marketing, with a focus on B2C sectors—particularly in subscriptions, customer acquisition, and retention.

David combines data science experience at Teva Pharmaceuticals with a prior career in consulting, software, and entrepreneurship. He has an MBA from Wharton and a BS in engineering from Rice, and organizes the Miami Data Science Meetup.

Marie is a 2x founder and angel investor, having built Kara, and enterprise SaaS platform with customers like and Beats by Dre and TikTok, which was acquired by a leading out-of-home adtech company in early 2021. This marks her second martech exit. She is also an active angel investor and startup mentor, founding member of Dreamers & Doers – a community for entrepreneurial women, and a member of several networks.

Multilingual Senior Executive with significant experience in strategy development, strategic investments, structured deals, sales and marketing, debt and equity capital markets, securities trading, hedging, risk management, and finance.

Ekaterina was singlehandedly responsible for growing Facebook penetration in Russia. She then joined the Instagram team on their internationalization and then later on WhatsApp’s integration and growth.

Computer Science Engineer with 18+ years experience developing Internet and Mobile products in emerging markets across LATAM, including Mobile Apps currently in use by millions of monthly active users and also pioneered Mobile Operator partnership Initiatives with Facebook (internet.org), Google, Deezer, and many others.

As the mascot of TheVentureCity, Iguanacorn reminds us all to work hard and chase our dreams. Resilient and relentless, Iguanacorns are always ready to surprise us with something new. Next time you’re in Miami, Madrid, SF or Sao Paulo, stop in and say hello to one!