Nomads Connect: Decoding the Ecosystem Playbook

🌞 Living in Valencia as a digital nomad, expat freelancer or international professional?

Then this is for YOU 👇

Join us for Nomads Connect: Decoding the Ecosystem Playbook — an evening created to help internationals already living in Valencia better understand, navigate and connect with the city's innovation ecosystem.

Because building a life abroad goes beyond finding good weather and coworkings ☀️

It's about:🤝 Meeting the right people🚀 Discovering local opportunities🌍 Understanding how the cultura and ecosystem works💡 Connecting with communities already shaping the city

We're bringing together founders, community builders, creatives and ecosystem leaders to share practical insights, real experiences and honest conversations about living and building in Valencia.

Whether you arrived recently or have already spent some time in Valencia, this is an opportunity to meet others navigating the same journey and become part of the community around you.

📅 Date: 10th June

🕒 Time: 18:00 – 20:30

📍 Place: Sala Multiusos, La Harinera - Valencia

🌍 Content

18:05 – 18:20 (15 min) | Sandbox: Opportunities & Regulation
Laura López

Laura Lópezez García works in R&D and Innovation at València Innovation Capital, the innovation hub of the Valencia City Council. With a background in project management focused on sports-tech and immersive experiences, she currently serves as the technical lead for initiatives such as the Valencia Urban Sandbox and the GSIC Testing Lab València Center, helping connect innovation, technology and urban development in the city.

18:20 – 18:50 (35 min) | Pannel 1: How to Navigate the Innovation Ecosystem
Moderator: Startup Valencia (Vladislav Busko) / Panel: CDTM (Adrián Villanueva Martínez) / Lanzadera (Carmen Durán) / Parque Cientifico (Kristin Suleng Furió)

Vladislav Busko is Partnerships Manager at Startup Valencia, where he focuses on building strategic connections between startups, corporations and key players within Valencia’s innovation ecosystem. His work supports the growth of the local entrepreneurial community while strengthening Valencia’s position as an international innovation hub.

Adrián Villanueva Martínez is Head of Strategic Partnerships at the Center for Digital Technology & Management (CDTM) in Valencia, an interuniversity innovation and entrepreneurship hub originally founded in Munich in 1998. At CDTM, he leads collaborations with companies and institutions to connect top university talent with real-world innovation challenges, helping strengthen Valencia’s growing tech and startup ecosystem.

Carmen Durán Hernández is Account Manager of Corporates at Lanzadera, where she specializes in building strategic relationships between corporations, startups, and innovation ecosystems. With more than five years of experience in startup acceleration, she focuses on turning corporate partnerships into high-impact projects, applied innovation initiatives, and long-term strategic collaboration opportunities.

Kristin Suleng Furió is Head of Communication and Marketing at the Fundació Parc Científic Universitat de València (FPCUV), where she leads strategies connecting science, innovation and entrepreneurship with society. A journalist specialized in technology, health and environmental communication, she focuses on making complex topics such as artificial intelligence and digital transformation accessible through impactful storytelling.

18:50 – 19:10 (20 min) | Financial Empowerment
Giovanna González

Giovanna “Gigi” Gonzalez is a Financial Educator, author, and influencer, as well as the founder of The First Gen Mentor, LLC, where she empowers first-generation professionals through accessible and culturally relevant personal finance education. A 3x award-winning author, she was recognized by Bankrate in 2025 as the Best Personal Finance Influencer for Racial Equity. Her book, Cultura & Cash, was named by Forbes as a “must-read money book for women’s financial growth in 2026.” Giovanna has been featured in leading publications including Nasdaq, CNBC Make It, and The Wall Street Journal, and currently lives in Valencia after originally growing up in California.

19:10 – 19:50 (40 min) | Mini Workshop: IA for Nomads and Solopreneurs
Jean François Gutierrez

Jean-François Gutierrez is CTO at My Tech Plan and leads the development of agentic AI systems and the technology behind GenAI Summit EU, one of Europe’s leading applied AI conferences. With extensive hands-on experience integrating AI across diverse industries and use cases, he focuses on building practical, scalable solutions at the intersection of innovation, automation and emerging technologies.

See you there 😎