Everything we go through prepares us for what’s next. 🇻🇪 Last night, Maria Ter
By Anitamarturet · October 31, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Everything we go through prepares us for what’s next. 🇻🇪
Last night, Maria Teresa Arnal (investor, entrepreneur, and former leader at Google, Microsoft, Stripe, and Twitter) shared her personal journey of growing up in an environment where she repeatedly heard things like:
“You can’t do all of this.”
“You have to choose between having a family or a career in tech.”
“You’ll end up all alone.”
But she went on to do it all.
She built a career, a family, and a life on her own terms, even when the expectations around her suggested she couldn't have it all.
She spoke about how, after moving away from Venezuela 20 years ago and building a family and career abroad, she gradually lost some of her connection to our home country, even adopting a Mexican accent.
But a few years ago, she reconnected with her 15-year-old self and started believing in Venezuela again, inspired by what she has seen Venezuelans achieve around the world, even after leaving everything behind.
Esteban Torbar, longtime entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Startup Venezuela Summit, shares that same conviction. He and his team are betting on Venezuelan talent and the country's potential.
Listening to him made me reflect on something bigger: how much our hardest experiences shape us, and how that resilience is exactly what we need today to rebuild our country, wherever we are.
Esteban also recognized the impact of founders like Santiago at DualEntry and Victor at Slash, who are building abroad and contributing to that bigger picture.
I can't express how proud I am of them, and of my friends Daniel Bernardez, CEO of Crabi, and Orlando Osorio, Founder of Meaningful | Growth Marketing, for bringing these kinds of events to life.
#MexicoTechWeek