If you are reading this post you have probably seen our manifesto… but what is all this whole thing about and who is behind it?
Lets start by where we are. Tetuan is a neighborhood located in the north of central Madrid between Plaza Castilla, Cuatro Caminos and La Vaguada (the valley). It is only a few hundred metres away from the financial district in Castellana, but seems lightyears behind as not so long ago it evolved from farmland to a launchpad for inmigrants, first from other areas of Spain and now mainly from South America, and a natural location for small manufacturing businesses and warehouses. Some areas look a bit like the outskirts of San Fierro and are definitely dangerous, but it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see how the never ending construction works are going to evolve into a cosmopolitan and vibrant part of town. I have seen how buildings and highways almost appear overnight in Beijing, but believe this transformation ofTetuan Valley can be faster.
So what are our objectives and how are we going to accomplish them? Is this an underground movement, an NGO or a viral campaign for Okuri Ventures? Why have we been rambling on Twitter for weeks about something that didn’t even have an elevator pitch? To sum it up, Its mainly about how Tetuan can promote entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship can promote Tetuan. We will announce many activities over the next weeks, including a photo walk to document the current state of the valley and the first edition of Startup school, but are unashamed to share that we have no clue where this initiative will take us.
Our Story
This is where we come from
If you are reading this post you have probably seen our manifesto… but what is all this whole thing about and who is behind it?
Lets start by where we are. Tetuan is a neighborhood located in the north of central Madrid between Plaza Castilla, Cuatro Caminos and La Vaguada (the valley). It is only a few hundred metres away from the financial district in Castellana, but seems lightyears behind as not so long ago it evolved from farmland to a launchpad for inmigrants, first from other areas of Spain and now mainly from South America, and a natural location for small manufacturing businesses and warehouses. Some areas look a bit like the outskirts of San Fierro and are definitely dangerous, but it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see how the never ending construction works are going to evolve into a cosmopolitan and vibrant part of town. I have seen how buildings and highways almost appear overnight in Beijing, but believe this transformation ofTetuan Valley can be faster.
So what are our objectives and how are we going to accomplish them? Is this an underground movement, an NGO or a viral campaign for Okuri Ventures? Why have we been rambling on Twitter for weeks about something that didn’t even have an elevator pitch? To sum it up, Its mainly about how Tetuan can promote entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship can promote Tetuan. We will announce many activities over the next weeks, including a photo walk to document the current state of the valley and the first edition of Startup school, but are unashamed to share that we have no clue where this initiative will take us.
Tetuan Valley, July 16th 2009
@luisriverag