The Final Pitch’s John Aguilar on why ‘where’ matters as much as ‘what’ for startups

Building a transformative startup takes more than a breakthrough idea or a compelling pitch. It demands the right conditions, a space where ambition can breathe, connections ignite and momentum takes root.

Increasingly, it’s the surrounding environment – the networks, the narratives, and support systems, that defines the scale and speed of a founder’s journey.  

Entrepreneurial success rarely stems from talent alone. Behind every bold idea lies a web of invisible forces – cultural cues, access to capital, proximity to mentors and openness to risk – all of which shape the founder’s path. Yet these forces are often overshadowed by tales of individual brilliance.

In reality, innovation is not just born; it is cultivated – influenced by the setting in which it is imagined, validated and brought to life.  

How entrepreneurial hubs are evolving

Gradually, a quiet shift is underway. New entreneurial hubs are no longer defined solely by location, but by their ability to merge purpose, policy, and possibility.

From repurposed industrial zones to remagined urban centres, cities now compete not just to host startups – but to earn their belief. 

Cities like Singapore and Berlin exemplify this shift, blending infrastructure with intent and community with capital. 

 The UAE is part of this global momentum. With national strategies focused on innovation, economic diversification and ease of doing business, the country has become a magnet for both founders and investors.  

Dubai, for instance was recently ranked among the world’s top 10 emerging ecosystems by Startup Genome – a sign of how policy, ambition and entrepreneurial energy are converging to create fertile ground for innovation.

This momentum is underpinned by tangible enablers – with 100 per cent foreign ownershop options, simplified company setup processes and a regulatory environment designed to attract high-growth ventures, Dubai continues to lower barriers for founders to launch and scale.  

What founders of startups are looking for today

Founders today want ecosystems that move with them – that recognise the urgency of their ideas, the fragility of early-stage ventures and the value of visibility. The most effective startup environments act as amplifiers: connecting ambition to opportunity, and vision to the systems that can sustain it.

At a micro level, places like Station F in Paris – one of the world’s largest startup campuses – provide curated access to mentorship, corporate partnerships and community support that accelerate early growth. Zooming out, at the macro level, the broader ecosystem effect is undeniable: according to Startup Genome, Silicon Valley alone contributes 59 per centof the total ecosystem value among the top five global hubs – a clear sign of how world-leading environments concentrate capital, credibility and catalytic networks. These places have evolved beyond locations – they are launchpads for entirely new economies. 

Nowhere is this evolution more visible than in places rethinking their role in the founder journey. Expo City Dubai, once the site of a global exposition, is one such case. As the production site for the Dubai edition of The Final Pitch, it offers a timely lens into how physical spaces can transform into platforms for entrepreneurship.

Filming in Expo City has underscored the value of environments where sustainability, mobility and innovation aren’t just themes – but embedded systems that enable founders to build with pace and purpose. It’s a reminder that the infrastructure of entrepreneurship extends beyond accelerators and capital. It’s about the full context that surrounds and supports the journey.

A similar example is London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, originally built for the 2012 Games, now home to innovation clusters and creative industries. 

Spending time with founders on the ground has made one thing clear: today’s entrepreneurs aren’t just building companies – they’re navigating systems. Many of the founders featured on The Final Pitch are immigrants and expats. For them, the challenge wasn’t just capital or product-market fit, but finding a community they could belong to.

It’s much about narrative as it is about numbers

In many ways, the startup journey is as much about narrative as it is about numbers. A founder’s ability to communicate vision – not just to investors, but to entire ecosystems – can dictate the pace of progress. This is where the ‘stage’ becomes more than metaphor. Whether it’s a pitch floor, a public forum, or a screen, the environment in which ideas are revealed plays a powerful role in how they’re received.

As the global map of entrepreneurship continues to redraw itself, one thing is clear: the next wave of founders won’t be searching for capital, they’ll be seeking context. The ecosystems that rise to meet them will be those that go beyond co-working spaces and funding rounds, and start designing for belief, momentum and meaning. The future of entrepreneurship will belong not only to those who build – but to those who build in the right place, at the right time, with the right story behind them. 

The writer is the creator and host of The Final Pitch.