Hugo Arévalo (ThePower Business School): "VDS is a major magnet for attracting talent, leaders and investors"

Hugo Arévalo, Founder and President of ThePower Business School and one of the most recognized investors in the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem, shares his vision of Valencia’s role as a growing tech hub and its potential to lead the next decade of European growth. Drawing on his experience in fostering talent and entrepreneurial education, Hugo Arévalo highlights how training, ecosystem collaboration, and international events like VDS have become key drivers in attracting talent, investment, and technological innovation to the region.

 

What do you think sets Valencia apart from other tech hubs in Spain or Europe?

I think that in the last ten years, Valencia has undergone a radical transformation driven by institutions, organizations, and cultural change.

Valencia brings together qualities that other cities in Spain and Europe don’t have, such as warmth, welcoming people, and its seaside location. Then there’s VDS, which in just eight editions has managed to attract more than 12,000 people from over 120 countries.

To that effort, we must add the strong pull of talent, innovation, and startups. In this sense, initiatives like Lanzadera are also an important boost.

All these factors create “the perfect storm” that has shaped the Valencia we have today — and there is still a long way to go.

 

Hugo Arévalo, what role do you think education plays in the future of entrepreneurship and the tech ecosystem?

I think it’s fundamental. In the end, what education does is shorten the learning curve and, above all, help ensure fewer mistakes are made than those we made twenty years ago, when the ecosystem was not yet mature.

 

How does an international tech event like VDS influence this space?

VDS is a huge magnet for attraction. The speakers, leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs who visit thanks to VDS offer incredibly valuable knowledge for those who are just starting out and launching new projects.

 

What impact do you think VDS has on the tech ecosystem?

As I mentioned, the attraction capacity that VDS has — and the figures that back it up — have a very positive influence on the growth of the Valencian tech ecosystem. But it doesn’t stop there; it also has an impact on a national level. For the past five years, VDS has shown great relevance and influence.