Silicon Valley continues to be a global hub for technology, talent, and breakthrough innovation. Many founders know this is where they want to build, but questions around timing, access, and momentum often slow the leap from intention to action.
In this webinar, we will explored what it means to build in Silicon Valley today. We discussed when founders choose to make the move, what they gain from being embedded in the ecosystem, and how proximity to world-class networks, capital, and AI innovation can help accelerate company building. This session is designed to help founders better understand the Silicon Valley ecosystem and the paths founders often explore when they are ready to go all in.
- How to think about the right time to build in Silicon Valley
- What being in Silicon Valley unlocks for company and product growth
- Success stories from 500 Global portfolio companies
- How network effects in Silicon Valley can accelerate talent, partnerships, and distribution
- Why Silicon Valley continues to anchor the AI supercycle—and how founders can engage with its research, capital, and infrastructure networks
- Founders who believe Silicon Valley is the best place to build
- Startup leaders looking for clarity and confidence before making the move
- Companies considering expansion or deeper engagement with the Silicon Valley ecosystem
- Founders exploring accelerator programs and pathways to build in Silicon Valley
Santiago Zavala is Global Managing Partner at 500 Global. He leads the thematic fund from 500 Global that invests in Spanish speaking Latin America. Santiago also leads our internal tech team, which includes data, product and IT.
As part of 500 Global, since 2011, Santiago has participated in the more than 300 investments they have done in the region. His portfolio includes companies like Clip, 99 Minutos, Konfio, Baubap, Conekta, etc.
This companies have raised over $1B usd from downstream investors and have produced over 18000 jobs.
Santiago is also involved in our Silicon Valley Takeover initiate, which is a bridge for all of 500 Global activities with Silicon Valley.
He is also part of the investment committee of multiple corporate venture capital funds and is part of the advisory board of private and government institutions.
Before joining 500 Global, Santiago co-founded [Mexican.vc](http://mexican.vc/), had a software development career and participated in multiple software development communities. He continues to write code every week(now, with support of Claude Code and other tools of course).
Leonard is the Head of the Global Accelerator program at 500 Global (formerly 500 Startups). 500 Global has $2.3B assets under management and over 35 Unicorns in its portfolio including Canva, Twilio, Talkdesk, Sakana AI, Sendgrid, Intercom, Credit Karma, Udemy, Gitlab, Grab, Solana and others. He runs the accelerator program and sits on the investment team that partners with startups from first check to last.
Previously, he co-founded Dispatchr, an enterprise SaaS startup backed by Mike Maples at Floodgate (early investor in Lyft, Twitter, Twitch, Okta etc). He also went through 500’s accelerator program as a founder.
He’s an adjunct lecturer in entrepreneurship at Northwestern University where he studied engineering.
Back in 2010, 500 Global (formerly 500 Startups) pioneered an accelerator program and shaped how venture capital fostered early-stage startups. Today, 500 Global continues to invest in founders, offering $150,000 in investment, founder-focused programming, growth and development curriculum, and tailored support. Our four-month in-person program is hosted in Silicon Valley, dedicated to scaling startups to new heights.
LEGAL NOTICE: THIS PROGRAM IS OPERATED BY 500 STARTUPS INCUBATOR, L.L.C (TOGETHER WITH ITS AFFILIATES, “500 GLOBAL”). ALL CONTENT PROVIDED IN THIS WEBINAR IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL OR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD ANY CONTENT PROVIDED THEREIN BE CONSTRUED AS INVESTMENT, LEGAL, TAX OR ACCOUNTING ADVICE BY 500 STARTUPS MANAGEMENT COMPANY, L.L.C. OR ITS AFFILIATES (“500 GLOBAL”). UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THIS INVITATION OR ANY INFORMATION OR CONTENT IN THE WEBINAR BE CONSIDERED AS AN OFFER TO SELL OR SOLICITATION OF INTEREST TO PURCHASE ANY SECURITIES. FURTHER, NO CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS INVITATION OR WEBINAR IS OR IS INTENDED AS AN OFFER TO PROVIDE ANY INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICE OR FINANCIAL ADVICE BY 500 GLOBAL. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD ANYTHING HEREIN BE CONSTRUED AS FUND MARKETING MATERIALS BY PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS CONSIDERING AN INVESTMENT INTO ANY 500 GLOBAL INVESTMENT FUND.APPLYING TO THE PROGRAM DOES NOT GUARANTEE AN INVESTMENT FROM 500 GLOBAL, OR ITS RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES.
