IESE’s Summer Entrepreneurship Experience (SEE) is in full swing, having launched on May 14 with 45 MBA students representing 18 nationalities. Over 10 weeks, participants are validating startup ideas through hands-on, team-based projects guided by IESE’s Mathieu Carenzo and Mauricio Prieto. Applying first-year MBA insights, students are working on value propositions, customer analysis, and revenue models. Check out this video to get a real flavor of the experience.  The SEE continues to provide a dynamic, real-world entrepreneurial pathway—equipping students with practical skills and exposure to startup-building on and off campus.

The IESE MBA Startup & Entrepreneurship Club kicks off a new chapter with its dynamic leadership team for the 2025-2026 academic year. Committed to promoting entrepreneurship as a viable MBA career path, the team will organize networking events, speaker series, and ecosystem engagement activities. Whether you're launching a venture, joining a scaleup, or exploring innovation, the Club aims to connect students with the tools and people that matter. Reach out if you’d like to collaborate, mentor, or partner!

Carlos Costa (MBA’86) reflects on a career bridging consulting and executive leadership—from BCG to supporting Isak Andic during Mango’s generational transition and strategic transformation. IESE, he notes, was foundational in shaping his global outlook and people-first leadership. Now a mentor with WeGrow, he supports startups and scaleups across sectors, drawn by a passion to empower the next generation. As AI reshapes the entrepreneurial landscape, he urges aspiring founders to align passion with solid planning—and to never underestimate the power of experience and purpose-driven growth. Read the full interview in IESE's Entrepreneurship blog. 

IESE’s Foundations of Scaling program equips venture founders to lead the leap from startup to scale-up over a 9 month blended journey starting October 17, 2025, across Barcelona, Madrid, Munich, and online. Combining interactive theory, peer councils, and leadership sprints, it accelerates growth in five dimensions: People, strategy, finance, operations, and markets. Designed for mission-driven companies with a proven model and at least 30 employees, the program supports founders developing visionary, resilient leadership. Part of IESE’s School of Founders, this year’s edition also offers select scholarships. Find out more!

IESE recently joined SpainCap and Deloitte in celebrating the 18th Private Equity Awards, recognizing outstanding contributions to Spain’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The event honored firms across categories including ESG, capital expansion, impact, and venture capital—spotlighting their role in driving innovation, employment, and market growth among Spanish SMEs. As a proud academic partner, IESE supports initiatives promoting businesses in the start-up and expansion phase. Congratulations to all the winners! Find out who they are.  

The EU-LAC Digital Accelerator’s open call is live through October 31, 2025, inviting startups and SMEs to co-develop digital solutions with corporates across Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. As an academic partner, IESE supports this EU-funded initiative, which focuses on building validated, scalable innovations through structured collaboration. With over 30 partnerships already launched, the program helps ventures navigate corporate-startup dynamics to deliver real impact. Does your organization want to boost digital transformation through open innovation? Learn more about this Call.

Great ventures don’t just ride waves — they anticipate them. Two megatrends deserve close attention. First, the silver economy: with more than 2 billion people projected to be over 60 by 2050, there’s vast potential for innovations in healthcare, housing, and tech solutions tailored to aging populations. Second, digital entertainment is reshaping habits—streaming, gaming, and social media now influence consumption patterns, including a notable decline in alcohol use among youth. Entrepreneurs must stay ahead of these shifts to build ventures that endure. Find out more.

What happens when disruption stems from firms operating outside the law? Professor Yuliya Snihur and her co-author Tom Neuhauser introduce informal disruption—where entrepreneurs innovate by leveraging technology while avoiding regulation. Their model shows how institutional voids and incongruence enable these firms to scale, while incumbents respond with lobbying or consumer education. The study reframes disruptive innovation by highlighting how informal and formal institutions shape competitive dynamics, offering fresh insights for researchers and policymakers navigating increasingly complex entrepreneurial environments.