In this episode of Venture Ahead, our host, Victoria Pérez Jiménez, welcomes Juan Moliner, the co-founder of InvoPop. InvoPop is a Y Combinator-backed startup revolutionizing how companies handle invoicing across borders. Juan shares his journey from management consulting at Boston Consulting Group to building a company that helps businesses navigate complex tax systems across multiple countries.

The conversation explores the challenges and rewards of running a startup, and how different consulting and founding a company are. Juan speaks about his experience developing the business at Y Combinator, winning South Summit's top prize and earning a spot on Forbes's 30 under 30 list. He also offers insights on how to deal with imposter syndrome and what aspiring entrepreneurs should know when pitching their ideas.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-moliner/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/invopop/

https://www.invopop.com/

https://www.ycombinator.com/

https://www.southsummit.io/e/madrid/en

entrepreneurship, Y Combinator, electronic invoicing, tax compliance, fintech, SaaS, imposter syndrome, founder journey, InvoPop, Juan Moliner, career transitions, #VentureAhead

In this episode of Venture Ahead, we sit down with Marci Zaroff, founder and CEO of ECOfashion Corp and a pioneer of the global eco-fashion movement. From lemonade stands and business cards at age 11 to redefining sustainability in fashion, Marci shares her 35-year journey building businesses that are a force for good.

Together, we explore how conscious leadership, circular design and regenerative supply chains can transform one of the world’s most polluting industries. Marci challenges the idea that sustainability requires sacrifice, introduces her “yes, and...” mindset, and explains why style, quality and ethics must go hand-in-hand.

The conversation also touches on self-care, purpose-driven work, women in leadership, micro-trends, fast fashion and why making sustainability cool is essential for real change. An inspiring episode for founders, creatives and anyone interested in building win-win business models for people, planet and profit.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marci-zaroff-b5990a3/

https://www.ecofashioncorp.com/

https://www.integrativenutrition.com/

https://www.amazon.com/ECOrenaissance-Lifestyle-Cocreating-Stylish-Sustainable-ebook/dp/B074ZJC7WZ

sustainable fashion, circular fashion, entrepreneurship, slow fashion, ethical fashion, soil health, wellness, #VentureAhead

In this episode of Venture Ahead, our host, Victoria Pérez Jiménez, welcomes Eric Sim, former investment banker at UBS, educator and author of "Small Actions." Eric reflects on his journey from selling street food to working at the highest levels of global finance, and on the small, consistent steps that shaped his career.

The conversation explores key career skills including confidence, social skills and the power of sharing knowledge publicly. Drawing on his experience building a global audience on LinkedIn, Eric discusses consistency, authenticity and how documenting what you know can open up unexpected opportunities. The episode offers practical insights for anyone looking to build a meaningful and sustainable career.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simeric/

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59741508-small-actions

people skills, career readiness, #employability, soft skills, business relationships, rags to riches, Small Actions, Eric Sim, investment banking, #VentureAhead

In the new edition of Venture Ahead, Mikayel Vardanyan Co-founder & COO at Picsart, Advisor & Investor joins Ainhoa Valencia to talk AI, creativity and the reality of the challenges facing entrepreneurs. Mikayel is honest in his assessment of the daily challenges, but says it's important to remain positive in confronting them. There are, he says, always more opportunities if you have the right mindset.

He also addresses the elephant in the room when it comes to creativity: can AI replace human designers? In Mikayel's experience, human input is still valued, and he sees Picsart as a tool to enable human creativity. But he knows that things may change in the future. Tune in to hear the thoughts of someone who's been in entrepreneurship since his university days.

https://picsart.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikayelvardanyan/

#AI, #creativity, #humandesign, #entrepreneurship, #entrepreneurshipchallenges #VentureAhead

In this episode of Venture Ahead, our new host, Victoria Pérez Jiménez, IE Business School International MBA student, welcomes Paris de L’Etraz, managing director of IE Venture Lab, and Ana Tasić, International MBA alum.
Paris and Ana explore how AI is shaping the world today, focusing on the positive and negative impacts that it is having on students. They share their concerns around the consequences of over-reliance on AI for cognitive work, including the effects it can have on students’ self-confidence and mental health.
The discussion examines the importance of using your brain every day and delves into the deeper topic of what brings meaning to people’s lives. It also reflects on the potential capabilities of AI 50 years from now. Paris and Ana offer valuable perspectives as professor and student, encouraging listeners to think critically about their learning and their purpose.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paris-de-l-etraz-phd-99917a6/?originalSubdomain=es

https://www.ie.edu/university/about/faculty/paris/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-tasic/?originalSubdomain=ca

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAfdoDc7_5o

https://ieconnects.ie.edu/ieeic/venture-lab/

#AI #ChatGPT #cognitive #offloading #students #TEDx #Entrepreneurship #IEVentureLab

In this episode of Venture Ahead we speak to AI entrepreneur Iwo Szapar, cofounder of AI Maturity Index. Iwo discusses where we are in the ongoing AI revolution, and offers a stark vision of its implications for the future labor economy. But he also has plenty of room for optimism, seeing AI as a tool that humanity will use to solve real-world problems, helping us and the planet in the process. One day soon, he predicts, we'll all have AI agents assisting us, both in our professional and personal lives.
Listen in as Iwo joins Ainhoa Valencia with some fascinating insight into a world that's already changed beyond recognition, and where that change is only accelerating.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/iwoszapar

#AI #remote #work #hybrid #post-labor #economy #productizing #entrepreneurship #assistants #robots

In this episode of Venture Ahead, IE Business School's International MBA student Victoria Pérez Jiménez is joined by healthcare entrepreneur and lifelong learner Aline Gómez-Acebo Finat. In a wide-ranging discussion, Victoria and Aline discuss the real meaning of sustainability, framed against the traditional entrepreneurial imperative to pursue constant growth.
Aline, CEO of healthtech firm Eniax, challenges us to reconsider whether scaling is always the right way forward in the early days of a startup, pointing out the importance of maintaining focus on the here and now. She also shares, after completing six degrees and now teaching at IE University, what advice she'd offer to her younger self, including accepting that you can't always have complete control.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alinegomezacebo/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/eniax-spa/

https://eniax.care/en/

#sustainability #entrepreneurship #scalability #lifelong #learning

In this first episode of the third season of Venture Ahead, host Ainhoa Valencia talks to serial entrepreneur Folajimi Daodu about his career and his businesses, Vault Hill and Saifra Events. Folajimi describes his path to entrepreneurship, from growing up in Nigeria to studying a master’s in the UK that changed the trajectory of his career. He explains how his businesses came about and the genuine problems that they were aiming to solve.
Folajimi also talks about his current efforts to bridge gaps between Africa and the Middle East, allowing him to give back to his African roots and help bring value to the region he currently calls home. He also shares his perspective on the technologies that he thinks will be making a big impact in the coming years. Listen in for a broad and insightful discussion.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/folajimi-daodu-46918734/?originalSubdomain=sa

https://vaulthill.ai/

https://safiraevents.com/

#entrepreneurship #bridginggaps #africa #middleeast #solutions #SaudiArabia