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

In this episode of Venture Ahead, Joe Haslam talks with Ed Soo Hoo, Lenovo's WW CTO for Global Accounts, about building resilient companies through uncertain times. Ed introduces his "three Ns" framework - Now, New, Next - and explains why innovation flourishes when you pair fresh eyes with wise eyes. They discuss optimizing for return on experience over ROI, and creating cultures where unexpected leaders can emerge. The conversation swerves into a memorable Japan boardroom negotiation involving samurai swords, and why not everyone needs to charge the hill; there is always a place for operators.

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

https://www.lenovo.com/

https://www.southsummit.io/leader/ed-soo-hoo/

https://www.ie.edu/university/about/faculty/joe-haslam/

https://www.southsummit.io/brazil/

In this episode of Venture Ahead, Joe Haslam talks with Alex Henning, Oscar-winning visual effects artist and co-founder of Magnopus, about using immersive technology to reconnect digital information with physical reality. Alex traces his path from winning an Academy Award for Hugo to building XR experiences at Magnopus. They discuss leadership principles including promoting talent quickly while providing support, making crunch time the exception not the rule, and why passion for the work matters.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-henning-80a0674/

https://www.magnopus.com/

https://www.ie.edu/university/about/faculty/joe-haslam/

https://www.southsummit.io/brazil/

In this episode of Venture Ahead, Professor Joe Haslam talks with global venture capitalist and author Alexandre Lazarow about how high-performing startups outside Silicon Valley succeed with different playbooks. Drawing on his book "Out-Innovate," Alex contrasts blitzscaling with resilient camel startup strategies that prioritize capital efficiency and staged growth. They explore why startups in smaller markets like Estonia and Singapore are born global from day one, how fintech evolved differently across regions and why innovation is increasingly polycentric.

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

https://alexlazarow.com/

https://fluentventures.com/

https://www.ie.edu/university/about/faculty/joe-haslam/

https://www.southsummit.io/brazil/

In this episode of Venture Ahead, host Joe Haslam talks with Bruno Loiola, cofounder of Pluggy and IE University alum, about his journey from the Venture Lab to building fintech infrastructure in Brazil. They discuss Brazil's remarkable transformation from a cash-based to digital-first economy, driven by innovations like Pix instant payments and Open Finance regulations. Bruno explains Pluggy's role as the bridge connecting bank accounts to apps, and how Central Bank policies have brought 70 million Brazilians into the financial system.

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

https://www.pluggy.ai/

https://www.ie.edu/university/about/faculty/joe-haslam/

https://www.southsummit.io/brazil/

https://www.ycombinator.com/

In this episode of Venture Ahead, Professor Joe Haslam chats with Chris Roe, an actor turned public-speaking coach who helps entrepreneurs, CEOs and other business professionals around the world understand the value of confident, authentic communication.

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

https://chrisroe.co/

https://www.southsummit.io/brazil/

In this episode of Venture Ahead, recorded at South Summit Brazil in Porto Alegre, IE Business School professor Joe Haslam sits down with Orkut Buyukkokten, creator of the pioneering social network Orkut.com, to explore the power of connection and the lessons learned from building a global online community.

Buyukkokten shares his journey from a multicultural childhood in Turkey, Germany and the US to becoming a Silicon Valley engineer at Google, where he developed Orkut as a side project that went on to capture the hearts of millions—especially in Brazil. He reflects on the challenges of scaling rapidly, navigating company politics and the cultural factors that shaped the platform’s success.

The conversation explores what makes communities thrive, the role of technology in fostering belonging and why social networks need their own identity separate from enterprise tools. Buyukkokten offers candid insights into innovation, resilience and the human need to connect.

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