Zaryn Dentzel ( Santa Barbara, California, born 1983) is an American computer scientist and entrepreneur. He founded

Tuenti Tuenti Technologies, S.L.U is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that operates with the Tuenti brand owned by Telefónica. It is a Spain-based tech company that focuses on providing a cloud-based services through its own application and ...

in 2006. There was attempt to steal millions in

Bitcoins Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto. Use o ...

in 2021. Dentzel was born in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

in 1983. He moved to Spain in the 1990s.

Biography

In 1998, Zaryn landed in Spain on a student exchange. He left California to learn Spanish and immerse himself in Spanish culture in the town of Cabeza del Buey in

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

. This powerful experience was to influence his future activities. After a year of study in Spain, he returned to the United States, where he completed his high school education and began his college studies. He studied international relations and Spanish literature at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

and Occidental College. It was there that he developed an interest in social networking, while keeping in touch with his friends in Spain and the idea that they could create a social network. In 2006, he returned to Spain and, together with Félix Ruiz, Joaquín and Kenny, started to build

, initially a social network for teenagers. Dentzel also created a phone company that was launched in 2012 under the Tuenti Móvil brand. In 2013 he published the book "El futuro lo decides tú" which tells the story of Tuenti. Since January 2015, he has also been Strategic Advisor for

Telefónica , S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company with registered office and headquarters located in two different places, both in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the ...

Digital Transformation. In 2016, Telefónica, the company that owns Tuenti, definitively closed down all the functionalities related to the former social network, which currently remains a virtual telephone operator after having spent 70 million euros to buy it.

References

American computer scientists 21st-century American businesspeople American emigrants to Spain People from Santa Barbara, California Businesspeople from California 1983 births Living people {{US-business-bio-1980s-stub