Founder Brief · April 2026

Málaga Art School

A two-founder art-history education business built for Costa del Sol expats, collectors, and cultural tourists — not for museum oposiciones.

The Thesis

Málaga has ~100K+ British-descent residents on the Costa del Sol, a museum cluster that punches above its weight, and no one teaching art history in English at a PhD level. Two founders with a British-art PhD and an art-economics thesis can own this niche before anyone else notices it exists.

01 · The Opportunity

A market that already exists — and is underserved

Costa del Sol's English-speaking resident base is large, wealthy, bored in February, and paying good money for anything cultural in their own language. The numbers back up the pitch.

British Residents

~100K+

In Málaga province alone (INE, Costa del Sol clusters: Mijas, Marbella, Estepona, Fuengirola).

Annual Cultural Tourists

13M

Málaga city receives ~13M visitors/yr, growing English-speaking share.

Museums in Málaga

30+

More museums per capita than almost any European city of its size.

PhD Art Historians

Teaching publicly in English in Málaga. This is the gap.

Audience segments

Not one audience — five, with very different willingness-to-pay and frequency. Designing product around this segmentation is the difference between a hobby and a business.

Segment 1 · Core

Retired British expats

WTP: €400–600 per 6-week course.
Frequency: 1–3 courses/year.
Where: Mijas, Fuengirola, Benalmádena, Málaga city.
Pain point: Winter boredom + cultural hunger + comfortable English preference. The foundation of the business.

Segment 2 · Premium

Nordic / Northern European collectors

WTP: €800–1,500 per weekend intensive.
Frequency: 1–2 per year.
Where: Marbella, Sotogrande, Estepona.
Pain point: Want to collect wisely, don't trust local galleries, don't read Spanish auction reports. Art-economics angle sells directly.

Segment 3 · Growth

Digital nomads

WTP: €80–200 for single workshops.
Frequency: One-off.
Where: Málaga Soho, Teatinos, co-working clusters.
Pain point: Curious, Instagrammable, short attention. Fits weekend workshop format, fills off-peak slots.

Segment 4 · B2B

Private-bank wealth desks

WTP: €2,000–5,000 per speaking event.
Frequency: 2–6 per year once the door opens.
Target firms: Banca March, Santander Private Banking, BBVA, international family offices. Highest revenue per hour.

Segment 5 · Volume

Cultural day-trippers

WTP: €40–80 per ticket.
Frequency: One-off.
Where: Cruise ships, hotel guests.
Caveat: Guide-license risk. Only engage via hotel-concierge "cultural talks" format, not street tours. Low-margin, use sparingly.

Segment 6 · Recurring

International schools & corporates

WTP: €500–1,500 per workshop.
Frequency: Annual / termly.
Target: SEK Catalunya, BSM, The British College La Cañada, corporate retreats at Marbella Club. Predictable calendar revenue.

02 · Product Architecture

Three tiers, one ladder

Same audience, progressive commitment. Free talks funnel into seminars; seminar graduates buy weekend intensives; power users commission private masterclasses. The ladder is the growth engine.

Flagship

The Seminar Series

€500 / student

Six-week evening seminars for 12–15 students. Two-hour classroom session per week + one 4-hour museum field day. Each cohort takes a single topic deeply. This is the recurring backbone of the business — predictable revenue, repeat buyers, alumni network.

Duration

6 weeks

Contact hours

16 hours

Per-hour rate

€31/hr

Cohort size

12–15

Revenue / cohort

€6,000–7,500

Cohorts / year

6–8

Intensive

Weekend Workshops

€400 / student

Two-day deep dives — Saturday classroom + Sunday guided museum visits. Targeted at collectors, second-home owners, and cultural-weekend tourists. Higher density, higher-energy product. Great entry point for people who won't commit six weeks.

Duration

2 days

Contact hours

12 hours

Per-hour rate

€33/hr

Cohort size

15–20

Revenue / workshop

€6,000–8,000

Workshops / year

4–6

Premium

Private Masterclasses

€2,000–5,000 / engagement

Bespoke sessions for private-bank client events, family offices, international schools, corporate retreats, hotel guest programming, or high-net-worth collectors. Half-day to full-day. The art-economics PhD credential is the entire sales pitch. This is where the economics work — highest margin, lowest hours, hardest door.

Duration

3–6 hours

Per-hour rate

€400–800/hr

Audience

10–30

Revenue / event

€2–5K flat

Events / year

2–8

Close rate goal

1 in 10 pitches

The ladder mechanic

Free public lecture → capture emails → sell seminar → upsell workshop to alumni → pitch masterclass to the wealthiest 10% of alumni's network. Each tier feeds the next. The seminar alumni list is the single most valuable asset the business builds.

03 · Curriculum

Six first-year seminars

The launch curriculum threads the founders' real expertise (British art, art economics) with Málaga's collections and the audience's interests. Each course can be taught 2–3 times before refresh is needed.

Course 01 · Signature

British Masters and Their Spanish Encounters

Turner in Spain, David Wilkie in Sevilla, Muirhead Bone's Málaga etchings, John Singer Sargent's Andalucía watercolours, David Hockney in Ronda. Local scenes through British eyes, and the reverse influence. Flagship course — unique in all Spain.

6 weeksField day: Thyssen Madrid tripAnchor tenant

Course 02 · High-ticket

How the Art Market Works

Auction dynamics, galleries vs secondary market, authentication, provenance, price discovery, the role of advisors, emerging-artist investing, warehousing in free ports. Demystifies a world the audience is curious about but priced out of understanding. Direct monetization of the art-economics thesis.

6 weeksField day: Setdart Madrid auctionCollector premium

Course 03 · Local anchor

Picasso Beyond the Postcard

Málaga-native Picasso seen through the museums he didn't fill: his Blue Period economics, the politics of Guernica's ownership, why the Málaga museum exists and what it excludes. Reframes familiar material with academic depth.

6 weeksField day: MPM + Casa NatalCruise-friendly

Course 04 · Intro-tier

Collecting for Beginners

What to buy, when, and why. Price ranges, reputable dealers, authentication checklists, how to read a provenance statement, insurance and estate planning for collections. Practical manual for new collectors. Weekend workshop format.

Weekend intensive15–20 seatsGateway product

Course 05 · Broad audience

Modern & Contemporary Spanish Art

Picasso → Miró → Tàpies → Barceló → contemporary Madrid scene. A roadmap for newcomers to understand the Spanish canon well enough to read any museum label in Málaga, Madrid, or Bilbao. Strong for cultural tourists and new residents.

6 weeksField day: CAC MálagaRepeatable

Course 06 · Travel-pack

Walking the Golden Age

Velázquez, Murillo, Zurbarán, Ribera — the 17th-century Spanish masters whose world is still walkable in Andalucía. Includes a 2-day Sevilla excursion (optional, priced separately). Highest-margin upsell.

6 weeks + tripExcursion optionPremium

04 · Legal Structure

Asociación · CB · SL — decide once, adjust rarely

Three structures, each with distinct tradeoffs. The right answer depends less on revenue than on how the founders want to pay themselves and how much liability protection they want.

Option A · Non-profit

Asociación Cultural

Pros: Zero startup cost, membership model, IVA-exempt by definition, strong fit for "education" framing, looks mission-driven to venues and museums.

Cons: Cannot distribute profits to founders. Everyone paid as employee or contractor with full payroll. Governance overhead (acta de constitución, junta directiva).

When to use: If the primary goal is cultural mission + modest income, or as a parallel vehicle for grant-eligible programming.

Option B · Default

Comunidad de Bienes

Pros: Cheapest to set up (~€100). Partners registered as autónomos — tarifa plana €80/mo Year 1. IRPF progressive = tax-efficient at this revenue level. Flexible profit split.

Cons: No liability shield. Both partners personally exposed. Splitting up is messy without a written pacto.

When to use: Years 1–2. Below €100K combined revenue. Recommended launch structure.

Option C · Upgrade

Sociedad Limitada

Pros: Liability shield. Corporate credibility for invoicing banks and schools. 15% corp tax first 2 profitable years. Transferable asset — can be sold. Clean partnership statutes.

Cons: €315/mo autónomo societario each, non-negotiable. ~€3K/yr extra gestor. Dividend double-tax. Setup ~€500–1,500.

When to use: After revenue crosses €100K, first corporate client lands, or liability risk escalates.

The recommended path by phase

Phase	Months	Revenue	Structure	Why
Launch	0–6	€0–20K	2 × Autónomo (no CB yet)	Test the market with minimum setup; tarifa plana €80/mo each
Formalise	6–12	€20–60K	Comunidad de Bienes	Add pacto regulador; still tarifa plana where eligible
Scale	12–24	€60–100K	Continue CB	Tax-advantaged vs SL at this revenue; reinvest in marketing
Professionalise	24+	€100K+	Upgrade to SL	Corporate credibility + liability shield worth the overhead

Detailed tax-burden comparison across structures — including dividends, IRPF marginal rates, and the autónomo-vs-societario minimum floors — is in the Career Map → Numbers section.

The "not a tour" legal framing

In Andalucía, guided visits inside museums for paying customers require a habilitado guía oficial de turismo licence. This is enforceable — museums do check, competitors do report. But "education" is a different legal category from "tourism." The product must live rigorously on the education side of that line.

Rules of engagement

✓ Safe: Classroom lectures. Museum visits where students enter individually with general admission. Post-visit discussion sessions. Courses marketed as "seminar", "academy", "course", "lecture series".

✗ Risky: Leading a group through a museum explaining artworks. Marketing with "tour" in the name. Hotel-concierge distribution that reads as tourism.

🛡️ Workarounds: Operate as an asociación cultural or academia. Give pre-visit lectures, then students visit individually with reading lists. Partner with a licensed guide for in-museum portions (split revenue). Let museums invite you as a lecturer — they can do that freely.

The other route — get one founder licensed

Instead of engineering around the guía oficial de turismo rule, the cleanest long-term solution is for one founder to hold the licence. That unlocks in-museum guided visits as a premium product tier and removes legal ambiguity permanently. As of 2024 Andalucía scrapped the aptitude exam — it's now a credentials-based application filed any time the requirements are met.

Requirement 1

Nationality or residency

EU/EEA citizenship, reciprocity-treaty country, or Spanish residency with work authorization. Post-Brexit UK citizens need a Spanish work permit first (self-employment visa or digital-nomad visa both qualify).

Requirement 2

Education — easy pass

A university degree in art history, tourism, geography, cultural heritage, or related field. A PhD in Art History clears this with room to spare. The 2-year FP vocational "Técnico Superior en Guía" also qualifies but isn't needed.

Requirement 3 · The gate

Three language certificates

Spanish B2 (DELE or SIELE) — the real gatekeeper.
Second language C1+ — English-native covers this trivially.
Third language B2+ — Dutch could work if pushed up from "a little" to B2 via CNaVT certification.

Bonus route

Cross-community reciprocity

A licence from any other Spanish autonomous community is auto-recognized in Andalucía — no paperwork, no fee. If a different region has lighter requirements or an easier exam path, qualifying elsewhere first is a legitimate shortcut.

Realistic timeline — the Spanish B2 reality

Spanish "a little" → B2 = 600–800 study hours over 12–18 months with serious immersion. DELE exam fee ~€200. Quality instruction: €200–400/month (Instituto Cervantes, private tutor, or intensive programs). Dutch B2 cert adds €150 and another few months of focused study. Door-to-carnet: 18–24 months from today if one founder commits to weekly study from day one.

The parallel path — launch now, license later

Waiting 18–24 months to start the business is the wrong answer. The three tracks run simultaneously from month zero:

1Launch the school in education-only framing (months 0–24). Classroom + individual museum admission. This is the core revenue engine regardless of licensing outcome.
2One founder commits to Spanish B2 track (months 0–18). Instituto Cervantes or private tutor, 8–10 hrs/week. Target DELE B2 exam month 15, certificate arrives month 18.
3Hire a licensed guide on revenue-share for premium weekend workshops (months 3–24). €150–250 per session pays for in-museum portions. Unlocks the "expert-led museum experience" format without either founder needing the licence yet. Legal, clean, and operationally simple.

What changes when the licence arrives

Around Month 18–24, once one founder holds the carnet: (1) the guide-fee line item disappears from P&L (saves ~€4–6K/yr at scale); (2) a new premium tier becomes sellable — "PhD-led museum day" at €150–200/person — significantly higher margin than current workshop pricing; (3) the guía-oficial risk category zeroes out; (4) marketing materials can say "guided museum experience" legally, expanding the addressable audience to cruise-ship and hotel-concierge channels that currently flag as risky.

IVA exemption — confirmed fit

Article 20.1.9° of the Ley del IVA exempts "enseñanza" — teaching / education — from IVA. Art-history courses structured as formal education qualify. Consequences: (1) No IVA charged to students — cleaner pricing, higher take-home; (2) No IVA recovery on expenses — a minor disadvantage for a low-capex business; (3) Must keep course structure documented (syllabus, hours, outcomes) to withstand any inspection. A gestor confirms this once; operational impact is near-zero afterwards.

05 · Go-to-Market

Where the first 200 students come from

Six channels, ranked by cost-to-acquire and conversion quality. The mix changes by year — Year 1 is hand-to-hand, Year 3 runs on alumni + referrals.

Channel 1 · Primary

Free public lectures

One 90-minute free talk every 6 weeks. 40–80 attendees. Capture emails at the door. Convert 15–25% to first paid seminar. This is the single best CAC channel because the lecture itself demonstrates the product. Venues: La Térmica, Cervantes Theatre, co-working lobbies, hotels on quiet nights.

Channel 2 · Press

SUR in English + Costa del Sol News

Regional English-language press has lonely cultural sections and welcomes expert-written columns. Pitch a monthly column, get editorial credibility, link every piece back to upcoming courses. Ask: not paid advertising — bylined columns. Cost: free. Value: positioning as the expert in the region.

Channel 3 · Community

Expat Facebook / WhatsApp groups

"British Expats in Spain", "Málaga Expats", Marbella & Estepona community groups. Post free lecture announcements (not sales). Respond to "any good classes in English?" threads. The unglamorous channel that actually fills seats. Owner engagement > one-off ads.

Channel 4 · Partnership

Hotel concierge programs

Target premium hotels with English-speaking guests: Gran Hotel Miramar, AC Málaga Palacio, Vincci Selección Posada del Patio, Marbella Club, Hotel Puente Romano. Offer "cultural enrichment" programming for hotel guests as lectures (not tours). Revenue split: 70/30 in your favour, hotel keeps 30% as concierge commission.

Channel 5 · B2B

Private-bank cold outreach

Direct pitch to: Banca March Marbella office, Santander Private Banking Costa del Sol, BBVA Banca Privada. Offer: "Art-market masterclass for your clients, we bring the content, you bring the room." They pay speaker fee + deliver qualified audience + you keep alumni list. Single-digit close rate but one win = 3–6 events/year.

Channel 6 · Long-tail

Alumni + referral

Every satisfied student is a lead multiplier. Build a "bring a friend gets both 20% off" mechanic from cohort 1. Alumni-only events (free wine & cheese with a short talk) retain engagement. By Year 2, referrals should be 40%+ of new signups — the cheapest channel by far.

The funnel, by the numbers

Stage	Volume	Conversion	Notes
Free lecture attendee	60	—	Fill via 4 channels above
Email captured	45	75%	Simple signup sheet at door
Email list active	36	80%	Monthly newsletter, 20% unsubscribe over 6mo
Course signup	9	25%	~1 cohort filled per 2 free lectures
Repeat student	4	45%	Across 12 months
Refers a friend	2	25%	Year 1; grows to 45% by Year 2

Planning estimates. Measure and revise after 2 lectures. If conversion < 15%, the issue is almost always the free-lecture topic, not the pricing.

06 · Operations

The minimum viable operation

Resist the temptation to over-build. The first year is two people, a laptop, a venue relationship, and a Stripe account. Add infrastructure only when pain appears.

Venue strategy

Don't sign a lease. Venues come in three flavours: pay-per-session (most flexible, first choice), partnership (you bring audience, they provide space), sponsored (eventually). Cultivate 3 venue relationships from day one so no single venue can hold you hostage.

Tier 1 · Evening seminars

La Térmica (Diputación)

Cultural centre with a mission fit. May programme you in exchange for co-branded public talks. Strong aesthetic match, central Málaga.

Tier 2 · Weekend workshops

Co-working spaces

Innovation Málaga, La Cosmopolita, Workfrom spaces in Soho. €15–40/hr room rental. Book by the session. Great for 15–20 person weekend workshops.

Tier 3 · Hotel partnerships

Premium hotel lounges

AC Málaga Palacio, Gran Hotel Miramar, Vincci Posada del Patio. Often free if their guests are filling seats. Premium aesthetic signals price ceiling.

Tech stack — lean

Need	Tool	Monthly cost	Why this one
Landing page + signups	Squarespace or Cargo	€18	Zero-dev, beautiful templates, booking built in
Email list	MailerLite or ConvertKit	€0–15	Free tier covers first 1,000 subscribers
Payment processing	Stripe	1.4% + €0.25	Handles SEPA + card. No setup fee.
Scheduling	Calendly or Cal.com	€8–12	Private-masterclass bookings + gestor appointments
Invoicing (ES-compliant)	Holded or Quaderno	€15–30	Generates facturas, syncs with gestor's software
Classroom tech	iPad + Apple Pencil + AnyCast	—	One-time €700. Annotate slides live, mirror to projector.

Insurance — don't skip this

Two policies, together ~€400–600/year for the business's scale:

1Responsabilidad civil profesional — professional liability. Covers claims arising from teaching or advice. €250–400/yr. Mandatory in the eyes of international schools and banks before they'll contract you.
2Responsabilidad civil general + accidentes — covers injuries during field-day museum visits. €150–250/yr. Verify venues' own cover but don't assume it extends to your participants.

Providers to quote: Hiscox España, AXA, Mapfre, Línea Directa business lines.

07 · Brand

Name options, with reasoning

The name has three jobs: legible in English and Spanish, signals "school" (not "tour"), and leaves room to grow beyond Málaga.

Strongest candidates

Academia del Arte Málagainstitutional, bilingual-friendly

The Málaga School of Art Historyminimalist, extensible

Costa Arte Instituteregional, premium-leaning

Andalucía Art Circlecommunity-minded

Cátedra MálagaSpanish-first, scholarly

The Picture Studiowarm, distinctive

Criteria to weigh

Name	EN/ES legible	Signals "education"	Scales beyond Málaga	Domain available*
Academia del Arte Málaga	✓	✓	—	Check
The Málaga School	✓	✓	—	Likely taken
Costa Arte Institute	✓	✓	✓	Check
Andalucía Art Circle	✓	∼	✓	Check
Cátedra Málaga	∼	✓✓	—	Likely available

*Verify domain availability + check conflicts in the Registro Mercantil before committing.

The recommendation

Costa Arte Institute if the intention is to eventually expand along the coast (Marbella, Sotogrande). Academia del Arte Málaga if Málaga-local is the permanent identity. The Spanish "Academia" framing reads as serious education in both languages and is the cheapest insurance against the guía-oficial grey area.

08 · 12-Month Launch Plan

What happens each month

The pace is intentional. The first three months are infrastructure-heavy but revenue-light. Cohort revenue ramps from month 4. By month 12, the ladder is in place and the founders are choosing what to expand.

Month 1 · Foundation

Legal setup, gestor, insurance, domain

Register both partners as autónomos on tarifa plana. Book gestor, confirm IVA exemption, buy liability insurance, register domain + name, set up Stripe and email list. Revenue target: €0.

Month 2 · Product design

First seminar syllabus written, landing page live

Write full syllabus for Course 1 (British Masters). Build landing page with about, course description, pricing, dates, email capture. Confirm venue for public lecture 3 and seminar start 5. Pitch monthly column to SUR in English.

Month 3 · First free lecture

Public launch event, first 50 emails captured

Host free 90-minute public lecture. Target 50+ attendees, 35+ email captures. Convert to seminar waitlist. Post clips to Instagram + expat FB groups. First column published in SUR in English.

Month 4 · First paid cohort

Cohort 1 of Course 1 begins

12–15 students, €500 each = €6–7.5K revenue. Run 6 weeks of evening sessions + 1 museum field day. Capture testimonials and a photo reel. Revenue to date: ~€6K.

Month 5 · Second lecture + cohort 2 enrollment

Growth mechanic kicks in

Second free lecture (different topic — Course 2 preview). Open enrollment for Cohort 2. Alumni "bring-a-friend" mechanic goes live. Pitch first masterclass to a private bank (likely rejection but the door is open).

Month 6 · Cohort 1 finishes, cohort 2 starts

First graduates, first repeat buyers

Host a graduation wine & cheese (costs €200, creates referral engine). Cohort 2 begins with 15 students, several from alumni referrals. Revenue to date: ~€15K.

Month 7 · First weekend workshop

"Collecting for Beginners" intensive

2-day workshop, 15 seats, €400 each = €6K. Different audience mix from seminar — attracts short-stay residents and second-home owners. Test whether the premium product hypothesis holds.

Month 8 · Formalise as CB

Comunidad de Bienes + written pacto

With proven revenue, formalise the partnership. Gestor drafts pacto regulador (equity, roles, exit clauses). Still autónomo tax-wise; just a legal cleanup.

Month 9 · Cohort 3 + first masterclass

B2B door opens

Cohort 3 enrolled (mostly referrals). First paid private masterclass booked — €2–5K. Likely via hotel concierge or international school connection rather than bank (banks take longer).

Month 10 · Second workshop + fall season ramp

September/October expat return drives demand

Snowbirds return from summer. Peak enrollment season. Run cohort 4 + second workshop. Hire a part-time administrative assistant (~€800/mo) to handle bookings.

Month 11 · First bank masterclass

Art-economics door opens

Ideally close the first private-banking masterclass. If that doesn't hit, close a second hotel masterclass or a corporate retreat. Revenue to date: ~€55K.

Month 12 · Cohort 5 + Year 2 planning

Stabilise, plan, decide on SL

Finish the year with 5 cohorts + 2 workshops + 2 masterclasses delivered. Revenue: ~€75K. Review whether to upgrade to SL now or let Year 2 ramp first. Plan summer intensive + online component for Year 2.

09 · Financial Model

Three years, line by line

Base-case projection. Year 1 is CB with tarifa plana. Year 2 still CB but full rates. Year 3 upgrades to SL. All figures in euros, rounded to nearest hundred.

Revenue build

Line	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Seminar cohorts (cohorts × seats × price)	5 × 14 × €500 = €35,000	7 × 15 × €500 = €52,500	8 × 16 × €550 = €70,400
Weekend workshops	2 × 15 × €400 = €12,000	4 × 17 × €425 = €28,900	6 × 18 × €450 = €48,600
Private masterclasses	2 × €3,500 = €7,000	4 × €3,800 = €15,200	6 × €4,200 = €25,200
International-school workshops	—	3 × €1,200 = €3,600	5 × €1,500 = €7,500
Summer intensive (introduced Y2)	—	1 × €8,000	1 × €10,000
Online / digital product	—	€2,000	€6,000
Total revenue	€54,000	€110,200	€167,700

Costs

Line	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3 (SL)
Venue rental (per-session)	€2,400	€4,800	€6,800
Marketing (ads, print, launch events)	€3,500	€5,500	€7,500
Museum entries (cohort field days)	€1,400	€2,400	€3,500
Gestor / accountant	€1,200	€1,400	€3,200
Insurance (pro liability + general)	€500	€550	€650
Software (site, email, Stripe, invoicing)	€700	€900	€1,200
Printing, materials, travel	€1,200	€1,800	€2,500
Part-time assistant (starts M10 Y1)	€2,400	€12,000	€15,000
Partner speaker fees (guest lecturers)	€500	€1,500	€3,000
Legal / SL setup (Y3 one-time)	—	€300	€1,500
Total costs	€13,800	€31,150	€44,850

Take-home — per partner, combined

Line	Year 1 (CB, tarifa plana)	Year 2 (CB, full cuotas)	Year 3 (SL)
Revenue	€54,000	€110,200	€167,700
Business costs	(€13,800)	(€31,150)	(€44,850)
Pre-tax profit / SL salary pool	€40,200	€79,050	€122,850
SS — both partners (SL: societario)	(€1,920)	(€9,360)	(€7,560)
Corp tax (SL only, 15% on retained)	—	—	(€9,200)
IRPF — combined across partners	(€5,200)	(€14,000)	(€18,400)
Dividend tax (SL only)	—	—	(€8,600)
Combined take-home	€33,080	€55,690	€78,890

Planning estimates. The detailed structure-vs-structure comparison (and the underlying 2026 Spanish tax rates) is in the Career Map → Autónomo vs SL section.

Per-partner earnings curve

Year 1: ~€16.5K each (real part-time income, tarifa plana cushions the ramp).
Year 2: ~€27.8K each (livable full-time income, low stress).
Year 3: ~€39.5K each (professional-grade salary, SL structure unlocks further scale).

Year 3 is the inflection point. If Year 2 tracks to plan, the business is strictly self-sustaining. If Year 3 hits, it funds expansion: second venue, sister course in Barcelona or Madrid, online product.

10 · Risks & Mitigations

What could break this — and what to do

Ranked by probability × impact. The top three deserve explicit plans; the lower ones are watch-and-respond.

Risk	Probability	Impact	Mitigation
Guía-oficial complaint	Medium	High	Strict "education" framing. No in-museum group guiding. Register name with "Academia" or "Instituto". Keep syllabus documentation ready for inspection.
Seasonality gap Jan–Mar	High	Medium	Move Q1 product online. Run a January-only "virtual winter course" streamed to expats visiting UK/Northern Europe for holidays. Price it lower.
Free lecture fails to fill	Medium	High	Co-host with La Térmica or a hotel so venue is free and partner drives some audience. Fallback: paid Facebook ads targeting "British expats in Málaga" for €200 → 30 attendees.
Competitor appears (English-speaking academic)	Low-medium	Medium	Cement alumni network early. Publish in SUR in English. Differentiate via art-economics niche (hard to copy) and PhD credential.
Partnership breakdown	Low	High	Written pacto regulador at month 8 — equity split, exit clauses, IP ownership, non-compete radius. Don't launch without it.
IVA interpretation dispute	Low	Medium	Binding consultation (consulta vinculante) to Agencia Tributaria early. ~€0 cost, documented answer. Gestor handles.
Currency risk (GBP payers)	Medium	Low	Invoice in EUR only. Let students handle conversion via their own bank.
Founder burnout	Medium	High	Cap at 6 cohorts/year per founder in Year 1. Hire PT admin at month 10. Build clear teaching-vs-admin split between partners.
Venue loss (La Térmica closes / changes policy)	Low	Medium	Always have 3 venue relationships active. Never let any single venue host >40% of sessions.

11 · Week 1 Checklist

What to do Monday morning

The concrete list. Cross off one per day and the business exists by Friday.

1Book a gestor consultation in Málaga (~€80) — confirm IVA exemption fit, autónomo tarifa-plana eligibility for both partners, recommended CB timing.
2Register two autónomos — alta en el RETA via importass.seg-social.gob.es + IAE alta at Agencia Tributaria (epígrafe 826 "personal docente enseñanzas diversas" is the likely fit — confirm with gestor).
3Decide the name — check Registro Mercantil and domain availability. Register the .com + .es. ~€20/yr.
4Write the first syllabus — full 6-week breakdown for Course 1 ("British Masters and Their Spanish Encounters"). This is the anchor product.
5Draft the one-page pitch for private-bank masterclasses. Title, bio, problem statement, format, price. Email it to Banca March Marbella + Santander Costa del Sol week 2.
6Reach out to La Térmica about hosting a public lecture in 6 weeks. Offer to co-brand and drive attendance through expat channels.
7Build a single-page site — Squarespace or Cargo. Hero, about, first course, dates, price, email signup. Stripe-powered checkout. Go live within 10 days.
8Set up the stack — MailerLite (free), Stripe account, Holded for invoicing, Calendly for masterclass bookings.
9Quote insurance — Hiscox España + Mapfre for professional liability + general business. Target €400/yr total.
10Pitch the column to SUR in English and Costa del Sol News. 800 words monthly, bylined. Free editorial credibility and a recurring promo channel.
11Start the Spanish B2 track — one founder books a placement test at Instituto Cervantes Málaga or a private tutor. 8–10 hrs/week study cadence. Target DELE B2 exam Month 15, carnet filing Month 18. Why this matters →

Budget for week 1

~€350 all-in: €80 gestor · €20 domain · €20 site template · €60 autónomo SS first month (each on tarifa plana) · €100 printed postcards for launch · €70 buffer. The leanest possible founding cost for a viable education business in Spain.