Alberto Arenaza is a venture capital investor at Transcend Network who lived and studied across six countries as part of Minerva University's inaugural class, an experience that shaped his belief that learning and work are becoming truly global. He runs Transcend as both an investing platform and research engine, using a formal Open Thesis framework of eight global trends to categorize founders and building what he describes as a global community of founders rather than operating as a traditional VC.

• Supports selling directly to schools and pushes back against common advice that founders should pivot to direct-to-consumer models. He argues that difficulties in this sector usually stem from a lack of product-market fit or trying to sell to late adopters rather than an inherent flaw in the school sales model. For example, he noted that he saw multiple companies cross the million-dollar revenue mark recently by focusing specifically on early-adopter schools rather than trying to sell to everyone.
• Interest in Artificial Intelligence specifically applied to pedagogy and inquiry-based learning rather than just information delivery. He looks for tools that act as skilled tutors or turn static curriculum into interactive experiences. For instance, he highlighted a preference for AI that moves beyond simple knowledge optimization and identified teacher copilots and literacy practice tools as current high-activity areas in the sector.
• Strong emphasis on in-person community building and global networking within the education technology space. He actively organizes and attends gatherings to connect founders with investors and peers. For example, he frequently arranges casual meetups and coffee sessions for founders in cities like Berlin, London, and Buenos Aires alongside major industry conferences like SXSWedu and Bett.
• Prioritizes business fundamentals and realistic growth strategies over hype, specifically distinguishing between the user of a product and the buyer. He is candid about the challenges of the current fundraising environment. For example, he discussed the importance of balancing product fit for students versus administrators and questioned why seed valuations remain high in major hubs despite a drop in companies successfully moving to the next funding stage.