• Karim Rebeiz (18), an IE University student, was awarded first place of the first edition of the MEC with his project F925, a clothes brand inspired by entrepreneurship, which already has a TikTok account with a community of more than 250,000 followers. The prize included 3000 euros in seed funding and 6 months of mentorship with Tech2Impact.

• Jonas Tellander (cofounder of Storytel), Linda Höglund (CFO Job&Talent, ex-Goldman Sachs and Klarna), and Andreas Mihalovits (Global Super Angels Club, 180+ startup investments) evaluated the projects with the same judgment that they would apply in a real investment round

• Based on references such as Shark Tank, Junior Achievement, and DECA of EE.UU, The Pool of Talents is unique in the Spanish business-education landscape: an ecosystem founded by and for students that connects the classroom and the business world with international standards.

MARBELLA, 11th of April 2026- What until now has only existed in Silicon Valley, Boston, and New York has just touched down in the Costa del Sol. The Pool of Talents, the first student-led initiative that connects young people from Marbella with the real business world, celebrated its official launch this Saturday with the first edition of the Marbella Youth Entrepreneurship Cup (MEC), an unprecedented entrepreneurship competition in Spain that puts students aged 16 to 21 in front of real investors to defend their business projects in three minutes.

The event, held in The Pool Marbella- located on the first floor of El Corte Inglés El Capricho- brought together more than a hundred attendees, including entrepreneurs, representatives from the education sector, international investors, and families. The event also featured the presence of Vanessa Ortiz de Zárate Galeras, councillor for the Nueva Andalucía district in the Marbella City Council, who has supported the initiative since its early stages.

A MODEL THAT COMES FROM AMERICA

The Pool of Talents draws directly from the Anglo-Saxon entrepreneurial culture. Its format combines the philosophy of the popular TV show Shark Tank- adapted in Spain as Diners- with the youth talent acceleration model promoted by organisations such as Junior Achievement, DECA, and Y Combinator in the United States. In this context, the competition is not just a contest: it is a high-demand environment in which participants receive real mentorship, face tough questions, and present before a panel of investors that makes no concessions. 

The initiative was born in February 2024, by two students in Marbella, Carlota Pulido and Yuval Arbel, who, when trying to find internships in their area, encountered a complete lack of opportunities for young people despite the more than 24 international schools present in the area. Their response was to create an ecosystem that did not exist. 

“We are creating opportunities so that students are able to step out of the classroom and enter the real world where they can find their feet. Conventional education is no longer designed for the speed and complexity of today’s world. The Pool of Talents is the answer to this gap”, said Shahrzad Rostamian, CEO of The Pool of Talents.

THE GRAND FINAL: EIGHT TEAMS, THREE MINUTES, ONE WINNER

After weeks of mentoring and preparation, eight finalist teams took to the Pool Marbella stage to present their business projects before a demanding jury of three figures of international reference:

• Jonas Tellander, co-founder of Storytel, the main audiobook platform in Europe with more than 2.5 million subscribers and available in more than 40 languages.
• Linda Höglund, CFO of Job&Talent, with experience at Goldman Sachs, Klarna, and Electronic Arts.
• Andreas Mihalovits, co-founder of Global Super Angels Club and founder of Marbella Tech Angels, with more than 180 startup investments in his portfolio. 

Each team was given exactly three minutes to present their idea, followed by a tough round of questions from the jury. The evaluation criteria (innovations, market potential, team capability, and ability to respond under pressure) replicated the standards of any real investment process. 

Karim Rebeiz (18), IE University student, was awarded first place of the first edition of the MEC, which included 3000 euros of seed funding and six months of mentorship through the Tech2Impact Edge program, an accelerator with a global network of more than 1000 innovators present across 60 countries. His project, F925, a fashion brand inspired by entrepreneurship, also stands out for its digital traction, with a community of more than 250,000 followers on TikTok.

Second place went to StyleBot, developed by Naiya Belén, Tedde Van Den Berg y Ainara Miqueo Olavarría (17), Atlas American School of Malaga students. Their proposal: an AI-powered styling app that allows users to optimize their wardrobes using clothes they already own, aligning with new, more sustainable, and more efficient consumption trends.

MORE THAN A COMPETITION: THE LAUNCH OF AN ECOSYSTEM

While the MEC marked the official launch of The Pool of Talents as an organisation, the initiative has in fact been active in Marbella for over a year with a model that goes far beyond one-off events. The platform is built on three pillars: potential, preparation, and opportunity. It offers both public programs open to all students – such as workshops, case competitions, and the MEC – as well as exclusive opportunities for partner schools, including internships, company visits, mentorship access, and a yearly schedule of activities.

Their academic partners include IE University and Marbella International University Centre (MIUC), as well as leading schools such as The British International School of Marbella and EiC. On the corporate side, the event was supported by Cuatrecasas, a leading law firm with more than 100 years of history, Saboris, a catering company committed to healthy nutrition in educational and corporate settings, and The Pool Marbella, which provided both the venue and access to its entrepreneurial community. 

“The Pool of Talents is the infrastructure that Marbella needs to connect young talent with the real world. We have built a model that works because it is designed by students and for students, with the rigor and standards that today’s market demands,” said Carlos Bazaco Cruces, COO of The Pool of Talents, during the event. 

FIRST IN SPAIN, A BENCHMARK IN EUROPE

The Pool of Talents positions itself as the first non-profit community-based initiative of these characteristics in Spain: an ecosystem that develops young talent founded by students with an association-based structure that integrates the logic of the American business world- pitching before investors, acceleration mentorship, multi-sector exposure- within the educational environment of the Costa del Sol.

With more than 24 international schools in Marbella and a high-income community with a global profile, the city offers unique conditions for this model to scale. The founders are already working on expanding their programs for the next academic year, with new university and corporate partnerships on the horizon.

ABOUT THE POOL OF TALENTS

The Pool of Talents is an association founded in February 2024 by students Carlota Pulido and Yuval Arbel with the aim of connecting young people between the ages of 16 and 21 with real corporate experience. It operates as a non-profit organisation and collaborates with universities, international schools, and business leaders in the region to offer internships, competitions, inspirational talks, and specialised mentoring. Their mission: to prepare high-potential young people for a world that conventional education is not designed to address. 

www.thepooloftalents.com

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La entrada Marbella promotes youth entrepreneurship with an American-style approach with the launch of The Pool of Talents se publicó primero en MN Comunicación.