When you land in a new city, do you really see it—or just the same five sights everyone else does?
Javier Martínez de Velasco wants to fix that. He’s the co-founder & COO of Artgonuts, a platform that connects travelers with authentic cultural institutions and the “invisible layers” of a place—through personalized, on-the-ground discovery.
We talked about the journey from creative agency to product startup, the pivot that defined the product, and why empathy (not hustle theater) is his founder superpower.
The spark: from agency briefs to a product with a mission
Javier and co-founder Javier Toral previously ran Spectre, a creative communications agency focused on tech-powered experiences. After years of client projects, they wanted leverage: something repeatable that could outlive any single campaign.
“We saw a gap: travel felt over-packaged and inauthentic. We wanted a local-first, culture-first way to explore—without waiting for a tour or a host.”
Artgonuts was born in 2023: a platform that matches visitors (and locals) with museums, workshops, ateliers, and lesser-known cultural spaces—built for spontaneous, independent exploration.
What Artgonuts actually does
Think hyper-personalized cultural itineraries you can generate on the fly:
Craft routes based on your “cultural DNA” (history nerd? contemporary art? food heritage?)
Balance time, energy, and content depth (audio/video/text/AR)
Discover authentic institutions beyond the obvious, with narrative connections between places
“It should feel like visiting a friend who knows your taste—and the city—really well.”
The tech edge (quietly powerful)
Artgonuts is multimedia (audio, video, text, AR), but the real edge is under the hood:
Graph-based knowledge base over a traditional relational DB
→ lets the app connect places by meaning, not just coordinates, and weave routes as stories
A mobile-first pivot (from an early “watch at home” concept) enabled geo-aware, in-the-moment discovery
Validation isn’t binary (but there
was
a tipping point)
“Our first big validation came from Real Fábrica de Tapices (Spain’s Royal Tapestry Factory). Once they saw value, doors opened with other institutions.”
Javier doesn’t frame PMF as a switch—it’s a slope. That first trusted logo in a conservative sector mattered.
The pivot that changed everything
Pre-COVID, the team considered a purely digital, at-home format. Coming out of lockdowns, they bet the opposite: travel would surge—and people would want personalized, on-site experiences.
They went mobile-first and redesigned the data model to support narrative, not just points on a map.
“Switching to a graph DB clashed with our MVP’s hexagonal architecture. It slowed us down, but the UX payoff was worth it.”
Lessons from the stack (and why a CTO matters)
Outsourcing can ship an MVP, but owning the core (even with a fractional CTO early) saves time later.
Technical debt is fine—until it own you. The team paused to refactor around the graph model.
AI-accelerated tooling is changing the math:
“What took five people three years ago might take two today.”
The travel trend most people underestimate
Overtourism has made “checklist travel” feel hollow—and many locals hostile.
“Travelers want deeper cultural connection and personalization. If we can route people to places that truly fit them, we can redistribute flows and reduce pressure on hotspots.”
The bet: personalization isn’t just better UX; it’s more sustainable urban tourism.
A founder’s day (and why rest is strategy)
Javier isn’t a 5am, ice-bath routine guy. He protects sleep, walks his dog, works out 3x/week, and caps “real work” around 7–8pm when possible.
“Take the quiet day when it comes. Next week might be chaos.”
What keeps him going
The team: “Match their effort—or exceed it.”
The mission: culture, heritage, identity
The users: designing transformative experiences beats “shipping features”
Success, defined
Personal: wake up motivated to do meaningful work
Company: help people connect more deeply with places, culture, and history
Investor-aligned: build a valuable business without losing the mission
Advice to his 22-year-old self
Stay humble. Listen widely, keep your eyes open.
Stay yourself. Don’t let humility erase conviction.
(And maybe) leave the film industry sooner. “It wasn’t compatible with the life I wanted.”
The underrated superpower: empathy
“Understand your counterpart’s needs—investor, teammate, client, co-founder—and communicate from there. It’s not fashionable, but it gets you further.”
Quick hits
If he could redo one thing: talk to more tech founders before building—skip the “burn your hand to find the fire” phase.
Message to customers: “Summer’s over—let’s build the next chapter together. There’s a lot coming.”
Message to investors: “To those in: thank you; we’re working to make every euro count. To those not yet: let’s grab coffee.”
Why this matters
Artgonuts sits at the intersection of culture, data, and civic health. If it works, it doesn’t just make trips better; it makes cities more livable—by spreading curiosity (and foot traffic) beyond the postcard.
🎧 Watch the full episode → YouTube: A New Era in Travel with Javier Martinez