@ardensurquiola

Hola.

I was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on May 4, 1994. Since then, I always lived here in the capital.

I'm Founder and CEO at Val-u, a startup we teach financial skills to kids and teens in schools. We have + 3.500 students.

Sports, music and literature have always been my passions. I played soccer and baseball at a national and international level until I was 15. However, there is a time when you are a teenager when you have to decide whether you continue being an athlete or you just enjoy the final years of highschool chilling and partying with your friends. I decided the second one.

Then I fell in love with other discipline: working out at the gym. Since I was 16, I have been training constantly, taking it more seriously every time.

I'm always looking forward to learn new things and to discover new points of view. This is something you accomplish while traveling. I believe I prefer right now to have a good conversation than to be partying at the club, nevertheless I am looking forward to party and have a great time when I'm traveling.

If you read good stuff and listen to good music, I automatically like you.

Hasta luego.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

As you may know, because of the economic reality of Venezuela, is hard for us to have money enough to travel (I mean, seriously is incredibly expensive). So yes, economic issues is one of the reasons.

Moreover, a meet people that had good experiences using Couchsurfing when traveling and they recommend me to give it a try. So here I am, having a shoot to meet friends, have a great time and know the perspectives of the places I'm visiting from a local point of view.

Interests

• education
• music
• languages
• food
• phylosophy
• party
• gym
• meeting new people
• finance
• startups
• turism

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
My two favorite songs are:
Unwell - Matchbox Twenty
Runaway Train - Soul Asylum
Favorite artists:
Iron Maiden, Disturbed, The Killers, Gojira Linkin Park, Avenged Sevenfold, Metallica, Ruben Blades, Daddy Yankee.

Nevertheless, I listen to all kind of music (from Bob Marley to Madonna, from Sia to Eminem).

Movies:
V for Vendetta, The Dark Night, The Dark Night Rises, Warrior, The Machinist, The Prestige, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Along Came Polly, The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Books:
Fausto - Goethe
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Wilde
Discourse on the Method - Descartes
1984 - Orwell
Jekyll and Hyde - Stevenson
Thus spoke Zaratustra - Nietzsche

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've have grown our startup into +3.500 students and a team of 8 full time people with no funding.

I won Honorable Mention at Harvard Model of United Nations against 30p people of top universities (U Penn, Columbia? Yale, etc).

In 4 hours, I traveled more than 2000 meters (more than 6000 feet) into Caracas' highest point, which is located in the Avila, the symbolic mountain that is in my city. I could barely breath, but the satisfaction when you reach the top, and certainly the view was truthfully worth it. But I won't do it again haha.

Teach, Learn, Share

I would love to learn to play guitar. This is a pending task. Also, I'll love to practice my portuguese.

I love teaching, so everything I can help you with will be awesome.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Teaching everything related to startups, finance, education, dance salsa and Latin American history/politics.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Dominican Republic, Mexico, United States, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, Venezuela