Before being COO at Milo, a consumer internet startup eBay acquired in 2010, Wenyi was a consultant with McKinsey & Company in the Middle East, Africa, & South Asia. Today she is the CEO and co-founder of Polymath, a venture studio that builds digital platforms to empower the middle class in Latin America. Wenyi and I talked about her passion and reasons for developing companies specifically for the middle class in Latam and Polymath's model based on co-building with corporate partners.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Ten years ago, the entrepreneur and lawyer Cristobal Perdomo decided to "take a risk on those who risk it all." That's when he became the co-founder and general partner of Wollef. The Latin American VC firm has invested in over 30 companies since 2013. Five unicorns came out of this portfolio: Jeeves, Kavak, Konfio, Loft, and Nubank.Today, Cristobal and I talked about:His entrepreneurial mindset since the age of 17. How he moved from business development to VC. Great insights on how to pick the right company and founder to invest in. The importance of teamwork. Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Ryan Bloomer founded the venture capital firm K50 six years ago, after building two companies, an accelerator, a venture studio, and a founder community. With K50, Ryan had an ambitious goal in mind: betting on startups building a better future for the 99% in the US and in Latin America.Since then, K50 has invested in no less than 180 startups, with pre-Seed and Seed rounds in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and future of work. Fintual, Frubana, Osana, and Tul are some examples of K50's thesis in action.Today, Ryan and I talk about:His trajectory up to K50 Ventures, and on what startups and founders the firm bets inside the early-stage space;Why Ryan started a founder community back in 2008, how it followed a decentralized support model, and the thesis of investing in diverse geographies;Ryan's vision on valuations for early-stage startups, the drive for solving huge problems and creating a legacy, and the one investment that exemplifies K50's thesis.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Latin America is a giant. It's a market worth over 5 trillion dollars. A population of over six hundred million people. And a territory that stretches from Tijuana to Tierra del Fuego.These big numbers also come with big challenges. You might be thinking that they are barriers we can't overcome. But we've seen time and time again that it works much like the opposite.Startup founders are diving head-first into opportunities that are as vast as The Amazon River. And some of them have yet to be seized.We've launched the first edition of The LatAm Tech Report (https://www.latitud.com/en/reports/the-latam-tech-report-2022) to provide new coordinates for your opportunity map. We took a deep dive into seven industries dear to Latin America – B2C Fintech, B2B Fintech, E-commerce, SaaS, Proptech, Healthtech, and Climate Tech. There, you can find all the data and interviews with industry experts to know the past, present, and future of each sector.We also wanted you to hear directly from the founders thriving in these seven industries and in Latin America. So, in this episode of the Latitud Podcast, the creators of Pomelo, Addi, Bitso, Morado, Nuvemshop, Xepelin, Clivi, Sami, and SuperPlants shared with us what insights startup founders in their industries can't miss.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Federico Antoni had an extensive career in marketing, working for retail and e-commerce companies like Mercado Libre. But he found his calling in the venture capital world.Over a decade ago, Federico founded ALLVP, a Mexican venture capital fund focused on solving the hardest problems in Spanish-speaking Latin America. ALLVP now has a portfolio of over 40 startups. Their emblematic portfolio company is Cornershop, sold to Uber.Now, ALLVP's preparing its fourth fund, and Federico divides his time between ALLVP, boards of multiple startups, and lectures at Stanford.Today, Federico and I talk about:His leap from retail and teaching to the startup and venture capital segments, and what was the Mexican startup ecosystem like when ALLVP started;What gaps have been filled since then, and how the firm faces the macroeconomic uncertainty in Latin America as a feature, and not as a bug;What does ALLVP mean by team-market fit, its plans for a fourth fund, and Federico's view on the current market landscape and the development of a startup culture in Latin America.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Every startup founder needs to know what their superpower is. Oso Trava knows pretty well which one is his – connecting people and helping them become the best they can be.That realization came with years of creating startups and being an advisor and angel to other founders. Now, Oso's a general partner at Cracks Fund, a firm that's investing in early-stage tech disruptors in Latin America.Today, Oso and I talk about:What exactly is a "crack"; why and how did Oso enter the startup world; and what lessons Oso took from his endeavors to his role as an investor;If founders should build their personal brand, and if it can or should be dissociated from their startups' brand; the growing presence of celebrities in the venture capital world, and the pros and cons of having them as investors in your startup;Oso's transition to general partner at Cracks Fund; how to go from virtual to real-life impact, and the importance of DMS, or doing meaningful shit.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Canary has its eyes on promising startup founders even if they still don't have an idea or a company name. That's how the early-stage venture capital firm has invested in more than a hundred startups throughout Latin America. And that's how it raised US$ 100M for its third fund at the end of 2021.Marcos Toledo is a co-founder and managing partner at Canary, together with Loft's Florian Hagenbuch and Mate Pencz, and Peixe Urbano's Julio Vasconcellos. Izabel Gallera is also a partner at Canary.Today, Marcos, Izabel, and I talk about:The trajectory Marcos and Izabel traced up to Canary's foundation; how the LatAm startup ecosystem has evolved since then; and what will the next years look like for tech companies in the region.What's Canary's investment thesis; how the firm tracks the success of its portfolio and supports founders in various sectors; and the impacts of remote work on helping these portfolio companies hire talent;Canary's investment process, the strategy the firm followed in its third fund, and how Marcos and Izabel see the changes in startup valuations during the last months.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Stori became the ninth unicorn of Mexico this year, after raising a US$ 150 million equity and debt round last July. And, with it, the credit card fintech got a valuation of 1.2 billion dollars. That's another proof of the impressive strength fintechs are showing in Latin America, even considering the slowdown in relation to 2021.Stori aims to offer credit card access to 100 million underserved Latin Americans – and about one million and a half Mexicans are already Stori's customers. One of its co-founders is Marlene Garayzar, who has almost 20 years of previous experience in financial services.Today, Marlene and I talk about:What it's like being the newest Mexican unicorn and growing a startup while growing your own family, and Marlene's trajectory in the financial sector up to Stori;The scenario of credit access in Mexico, and how Stori started, divided roles between founders, built trust with its first customers, convinced funds to invest, and then gained traction;The challenges the fintech faces daily, such as preventing frauds and educating customers, and what's next for Stori and the fintech sector in Latin America.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Simon Baker is passionate about big ambitions and high growth – and he has built a portfolio with companies from all around the world to see that first-hand.Simon is not only an Australian serial investor and an expert in the global proptech industry. He's also the chairman of the CAV Investment Group, a private investment fund that invested in Viva Real when I was running it.The fund focuses on startups with a global mindset, but still in their early stages. And Simon makes it clear that his team wants to be hands-on, adding value to the business as it goes, from funding to human resources and strategic guidance.Today, Simon and I talk about:How you should approach investors, and how should angel investors create value for the founders they invest in;What common mistakes Simon sees early-stage founders make, and the importance of clarity, simplicity, and doubling down on what you're doing well in product and sales;Why you should reach out and have tough conversations with mentors and advisors, and how to keep one role, one focus as a CEO and in your startup's team while testing out new initiatives.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Back in 2005, Alejandro Diez Barroso had the idea of building a venture capital fund to support the development of Latin America. He was a Mexican entrepreneur himself and saw the lack of capital for startup founders.His fund finally took flight in 2012. During this last decade, DILA Capital has raised four funds and invested in dozens of early-stage startups, including two that are now unicorns: Incode, from Mexico, and Kushki, from Ecuador.Today, Alejandro and I talk about:How did DILA Capital start, how being an entrepreneur shaped the way Alejandro invests, and what he looks for when selecting a startup;The differences between building a startup portfolio in Latin America and the rest of the world, what's DILA value proposition to LatAm founders, and how to go from local to global trust from startup investors;How does Alejandro deals with missed investment opportunities, how venture capital firms should go about bringing value to founders, and what's Alejandro's vision for the future of startups in Latin America.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Prominent global venture capital funds already have startups from Latin America on their radar, and founders should be prepared to attract these VCs. I know that first-hand, with Andreessen Horowitz being one of Latitud's investors.To become closer to global firms, it's essential to understand their decision-making process. That's why we invited Gabby Cazeau, from Harlem Capital; Gabriel Vasquez, from a16z; and Matias Van Thienen, from Founders Fund, to talk about their investment strategies.We'll share right now the chat these VCs had with Fernanda Caloi, director of Special Projects at Latitud. During the Vamos Latam Summit, our connections and knowledge flagship event, they talked about:The one piece of their personalities that allows these VCs to be great startup investors, and how to invest globally and specifically in Latin America;What factor makes these VCs pay more attention to a startup, and what are some examples of outlier founders in their portfolios;How the current market environment impacts their investment strategy, and what they expect from the Latin American startup ecosystem in the next decade.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Venture capital is not about driving a car, but flying a spaceship. It's all about the long-term mission. Latin America has laid the groundwork in the last years in terms of talent, capital, and market adoption. Even so, we're still in the early stage of our space exploration campaign, both in terms of what technology can do and in terms of startup exits.These are some of the reflections shared by three partners at venture capital firms. These firms invest heavily in Latin America. Izabel Gallera, from Canary; Marcelo Lima, from Monashees; and Santiago Fossatti, from Kaszek, were all at Vamos Latam Summit, our connections and knowledge flagship event.We'll share right now the chat these VCs had with Tomi Roggio, head of Ventures at Latitud. They talked about:What has changed for founders and investors in Latin America during the last decade, and how startups should deal with current market conditions;What Canary, Monashees, and Kaszek really value when selecting startups;And what trends and verticals these VCs are excited about for the next years.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Building a community is a powerful tool for any startup – but it's not an easy task to create a gathering that becomes a reference. There might be a few names that come to your mind when talking about founder communities, maybe Techstars, Endeavor, Google for Startups, and Latitud itself.Ian Hathaway, Camilla Junqueira, and André Barrence shared their best practices for building founder communities with Virginia Campo, Latitud's Director of Programs and Community, during the Vamos Latam Summit.In our connections and knowledge flagship event, they talked about:What defines a community, and why giving back and fostering engagement are so important;What metrics are used to assess the quality of a founder community, and how to keep the community's essence even when it grows;And what is the role of in-real-life events to sustain a stronger founder community.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

You've probably heard from our friends at a16z that every company will become a fintech. Latin America's one of the most fertile grounds for the providers of new financial products and services. There are over a thousand fintechs in the region.In this fierce competition, the ones that flourished were fintechs offering powerful solutions to huge pain points. By enabling cross-border payments, dLocal became the first unicorn from Uruguay and went public. And by attacking high-interest loans, Creditas became another Brazilian fintech unicorn.Sergio Fogel and Sergio Furio, founders of dLocal and Creditas, reflected on the fintech revolution in the region during Vamos Latam Summit, our connections and knowledge flagship event. We'll share right now the chat the two Sergios had, moderated by Miguel Armaza, from Gilgamesh Ventures. They talked about:- How to provide new products and services to consumers that either don't know or know really well what they want, and how to be a wartime or a peacetime CEO in Latin America;- How to deal with challenges like international expansion, currency fluctuations, and going public;- And what makes fintech in Latin America unique in relation to the rest of the world.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Being a startup founder comes with a big ambition. To conquer your dreams, however, you should learn the best practices for launching your business, fundraising, and hiring talent.Taking advice from founders who have either exited or transformed their startups into unicorns will shorten that learning journey. Andres Bilbao from Rappi, Dileep Thazhmon from Jeeves, and Ingrid Barth from Linker showed how to think big from day zero at Vamos Latam Summit, our connections and knowledge flagship event.We'll share right now the chat they had, moderated by Rosa Jimenez, from Jeeves. Andres, Dileep, and Ingrid talked about:- When founders are really ready to launch their startups and raise money from investors;- If founders can actually achieve work-life balance, and how important the first hires in a startup are;- What would they change if they could start over as entrepreneurs, and the one piece of advice Andres, Dileep, and Ingrid would each give to startup founders.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Not many people know or believe that Instagram has a Brazilian as a co-founder. Mike Krieger was not only that – he was also the sole developer for Instagram during its early stages.Between the ideation of a mobile check-in app called Burbn and Instagram becoming one of the most heavily used apps of our days, there's a lot to be shared.At Vamos Latam Summit, our connections and knowledge flagship event, Mike recounted his journey with Gina Gotthilf – who co-founded Latitud with me and Yuri, and is also a former VP of Growth at the education app Duolingo.Gina and Mike talked about:The main lessons Mike learned during his journey as Instagram's co-founder;How to maintain a good relationship between cofounders and deal with the expansion of your startup to other countries;What growth levers helped Instagram pick up in its early days, and how to not lose sight of product and people when developing new technologies.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

We've talked with Pete Flint before. He's a brit deeply immersed in Silicon Valley startup culture and someone who has ushered in two unicorn companies – one of which, Trulia, was the inspiration behind my business, Viva Real. He's now helping entrepreneurs leverage connections, experience, and capital as a partner at the venture firm NFX.Focused on seed funding, NFX has been investing in Latin America for quite some time. But Pete has taken the relationship with the region to the next level. He joined us at our first Vamos Latam Summit, our connections and knowledge flagship event.We'll share right now the chat we had at VLS. Pete and I talked about:NFX's thesis and why it has a growing interest in Latin American startups;What non-obvious pieces of advice Pete would give to early-stage startup founders on fundraising and hiring;And how can founders scale their roles as they exit their businesses the right way.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

After more than two years of a global pandemic, some habits are here to stay. In Latin America, even more so. The boom in tech adoption has held up more in the region when comparing it to the US. But even with this growth, the potential for tech creation is still huge in LatAm.This is just one of the insights from the newest Digital Transformation Report, which is being published today by the venture capital fund Atlantico. Julio Vasconcellos is Atlantico's managing partner and was also the founder of the Brazilian e-commerce Peixe Urbano. Ana Martins is a VC investor at Atlantico.Today, Julio, Ana and I talk about:Why tech adoption in LatAm presents a bigger opportunity in comparison to other regions of the world;How startups are dealing right now with boom and bust cycles and recruiting talent, and how they should deal with these challenges;And the three segments in which LatAm can become a global leader.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Alfonso De Los Ríos is 23 years old, but his startup experience goes way beyond what you'd imagine for his age. He's the co-founder of Nowports, a startup that is bringing tech to the international supply chain and helping companies move their containers more efficiently.Nowports rode the logistics startups boom during the pandemic. The company raised its Series A one year into the pandemic – and then raised round after round at a breakneck pace. The last one was a Series C, led by SoftBank, which valued the Mexican startup at over a billion dollars and transformed it into a unicorn.Today, Alfonso and I talk about:Alfonso's journey of cofounding Nowports, raising round after round, and managing its global growth;His take on the changes brought by the pandemic and the current market downturn, and his strategy of going on the offensive;How to scale a startup without losing its culture and values, and Alfonso's sources for learning about leadership.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

James Currier is an expert in a key ingredient behind the success of companies like Meta, Uber, and Amazon. The key ingredient? Network effects. They happen when a company's product or service becomes more valuable as its usage increases.James has not only seen the growth of digital businesses but also created four successful venture-backed startups himself in the past couple of decades. Those endeavors were sold to companies like Monster and PayPal. His fifth company is the early-stage venture capital fund NFX (you got it: network effects). He's currently a general partner there. Today, James advises top startups about how to build strong network effects to win – and win big.Today, James and I talk about:His journey as an entrepreneur and as an angel investor up to NFX;The discovery and the importance of network effects;And James' lessons for entrepreneurs looking at network effects when creating and scaling their startups.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Jimena Pardo started her startup journey after having a chat with the venture capital fund ALLVP. The Mexican venture capital fund focused on solving the hardest problems in Spanish-speaking Latin America and eventually wrote a check for Jimena's car-sharing startup.Ten years later, Jimena is on the other side of the table. After also spending some years as a product manager at Facebook, she became ALLVP's newest partner. Jimena joins a fund that manages more than US$ 350 million and has a portfolio of over 40 startups. Their emblematic portfolio company is Cornershop, sold to Uber.‍Today, Jimena and I talk about:What the Mexican ecosystem for startups was like a decade ago, and how it has evolved;Her journey as a founder and a tech executive, and how that made her a better investor;ALLVP’s current thesis, its plans for the following years, and its view on the current investment climate and on the opportunities for LatAm startupsBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Jonathan Gheller went from selling tequeños, or fried cheese breadsticks, to being a founder of companies sold to Facebook and Google. In a world where unit economics became the new king for startups, Gheller is a long-term preacher about building businesses that are scalable and profitable.Now, the Venezuelan entrepreneur not only advises early-stage startups. He also connects Latin American talents to Silicon Valley companies through Matilda Explorations.Today, Jonathan and I talk about:His first endeavors, and how to build scalable and profitable businesses;Advice for early-stage startups and just-exited founders;Reflections about remote work, being an efficient manager, and a new standard for salaries and hiring in techBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Out of the billions of VC dollars that poured into Latin America in 2021, only 4% were allocated in seed and pre-seed rounds. For the investors at 17Sigma, that's where the biggest opportunity to find the next big thing lies – and LatAm is the perfect place to find it.17Sigma was created almost a year ago and is investing US$ 30 million in entrepreneurs and projects in the early stages. It already has over 10 startups in its portfolio and plans to reach up to 40 in the next few years. The fund is based in Argentina and led by Bianca Sassoon, who was previously at Kaszek and has become the first woman in Spanish-speaking LatAm to lead a VC fund.Today Bianca and I talk about:What she's looking for when evaluating a new startupThe 17Sigma strategy to help founders cross the death valleyHer outlook on the current investment climateBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

When it comes to communicating in Latin America, WhatsApp is king: people use it every day, all the time. But how many times did you sign a contract or had your ID checked via WhatsApp? That's a US$ 3.5 billion potential addressable market according to Truora, a Colombian startup that offers businesses tailored digital authentication solutions like background checks and identity validation.Back in April, that sort of pitch got it US$ 15 million in a Series A round led by Propel Ventures and Accel on a ​​US$ 75 million valuation. And full disclosure here: I have also invested in it, along with many other founders who see potential in the idea.Truora was founded in 2018 and it's now active in 9 LatAm countries. One of its founders is Maite Muniz, who wears many hats and is responsible for managing product strategy, research & development, and customer relationships. She's been an entrepreneur for pretty much her entire professional life and has learned on the job how to deal with some of Latin America's most challenging issues.Today Maite and I talk about:How Truora mapped growth opportunities in Latin AmericaThe challenges involved in scaling authentication solutions How to work intentionally to level the playing field for women in techBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Pretty much everyone knows Endeavor, which is a thriving global community for high-impact entrepreneurs. What you might not know is that Endeavor also has a co-investment arm called Endeavor Catalyst, which has over US$ 500 million in assets under management and has participated in rounds alongside General Atlantic, a16z and Softbank, among others.Endeavor Catalyst has been active since 2012 and works with a long-term view in emerging markets. So far, it has seen 49 of its investees reach unicorn status – including Rappi in Colombia and Careem in Dubai – and it has just announced its 4th fund, closed at almost US$ 300 million.Having been managing director for about a decade, Allen Taylor has been with Endeavor since 2006 and has a lot to share about entrepreneurship in developing countries.Today Allen and I talk about:How recent changes in financial markets can impact investments in Latin AmericaWhat's different about having founders invest in other foundersWhat Endeavor Catalyst plans for its new US$ 292 million fundBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Alex Szapiro is a veteran when it comes to working with tech in Brazil. He was part of the early Submarino team and served as the country manager for Palm, Apple and Amazon, where he helped bring its operation to the country and stayed for over 8 years of incredible growth.In April 2021, he left Amazon for Softbank, where he's now Head of Brazil and an Operating Partner. And it's an intense time for that position too, because Softbank is investing heavily in Latin America and especially in Brazil: the Softbank LATAM fund began with US$ 5 billion in 2019 and added another US$ 3 billion to it two years later.Softbank is now investing in early stage, growth and digital transformation in the region and has many unicorns in its 60+ company portfolio, like Rappi, Quinto Andar, Gympass, Loft and MadeiraMadeira.Alex and I talk about:How startup investing has changed in Latin America over the years;The importance of talent management;How Softbank makes choices now while thinking in the (very) long term.Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

As a founder, you likely go out to raise money a handful of times during your journey. Investors, on the other hand, live and breathe pitches and term sheets everyday. Leveraging your position in the face of asymmetry is not an easy task – but it can be done.Tomi Roggio has over a decade of experience in consulting and investing. He joined Latitud as a founding member, launched our rolling fund and, as Head of Ventures, leads the team that invested in over 80 companies in less than a year and a half.Today, we share with all of you a bit of what we constantly share with Latitud fellows and portfolio companies, about the science behind fueling your company. In what our community started calling the Latitud Fundraising Playbook, you can learn the tactics to structure your process and increase your odds of being successful.Stick around to uncover:How the current economy affects fundraising and your valuationThe main paths you can take and how to plan aheadHow to prepare and approach investorsAnd the clear DOs and DON'Ts of speaking to VCsBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

You might have heard on the news a while back that Latitud raised a $13M seed round co-led by a16z and NfX.Today, we are going to do something a bit different: to celebrate our podcast's 100th episode, I'm going to tell you how we raised said round. I decided to provide an open and candid reflection about the process.Think of it as our on "how I built this" – except we're very early.Find the full article at latitud.com/seedBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

It was early 2019 when Softbank's official landing in Latin America marked the largest-ever technology fund focused exclusively in the region. LatAm was breaking its own records in terms capital injection, and the firm had already tested the waters with a few juicy checks. So Softbank committed US$ 5 billion to the new Latin American Fund – about the same as all of the region’s venture investments in 2017 and 2018 combined.One of the people leading it was Paulo Passoni. But after three years as Softbank's Managing Partner in Latin America, he felt it was time to move towards different ambitions. In April 2022, Paulo announced he was leaving Softbank with Shu Nyatta, Softbank's other LATAM Managing Partner, and together they would do their own thing.All in all, Paulo has a solid 15-year experience investing in all business stages in Latin America. While on garden leave and building the next steps, he's remains active on the board of companies like VTEX, QuintoAndar, Creditas and Loggi.On today's episode, Paulo and Brian talk about:His plans for the future (at least what he can share for now)Softbank's effect on the overall LATAM ecosystemWhat he learned from brilliant foundersBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Communicating safely and practically is something that interests everyone, from government agencies and big banks to small businesses and communities. That's the concept behind Rocket.Chat, an open source communication platform that began in Brazil in 2015 and now has over 12 million users in 150 countries.Besides being highly customizable, Rocket.Chat offers two server options: you can use their cloud or run it on your own server. It's that unique data protection layer that has attracted the likes of the US Department of Defense and the US Navy, besides the 30,000 new companies that become customers every month.Back in February 2021, Rocket.Chat raised a US$ 19 million Series A round. It remains based in Porto Alegre, a city in the south of Brazil where the co-founder and CEO Gabriel Engel was born, and it's still very much an open source project at heart.Stick around to find out:Why Gabriel chose Brazil as the headquarters for a global businessThe challenges and opportunities of an open source companyThe importance of keeping the community engaged to make the product betterBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

What if Twitch, AngelList and Shark Tank had a baby?That's the question Ali Moiz decided to address as a business opportunity, and the baby is none other than Stonks.Ali is a self-identified Meme Dealer with two multimillion-dollar company exits, over 75 investments as an angel and solid experience in the live streaming space, so I guess you could say he knew a thing or two about what he was getting himself into.Stonks is an online platform for startup demo days set out to democratize access to investment opportunities. Founders from all over the world can apply to raise funds through their platform, and things can get pretty intense: founders get to watch as investment commitments pour in mid-pitch, and investors in the community aren't afraid to put their money where their mouth is.Having founded Stonks in early 2021, Ali and the team raised an impressive $15 million dollar Seed round led by a16z last January – after less than a year of operations.On today's episode, Ali and Brian talk about:The rationale for giving the fundraising process a makeoverWhat he's learned from watching so many pitchesAnd why good sense of humor has a place in all of thisBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

I think we can call it: Miami has established itself as one of the most important tech hubs not just in the US, but for all countries south of it. As much as the recent boom seems sudden though, the concentration of LatAm startups and opportunities in the area has been on the rise for years.Ana Paula González moved there in 2016, where she launched the Miami operation of 500 Startups. Originally from Guadalajara, she made her career as an investor with a special focus on supporting Latin American founders.In April 2021, Ana Paula became the director of the Miami Initiative at SoftBank, which aims to invest around 250 million dollars in Miami-based companies.In this episode, Ana Paula and Brian talk about:The impact a Miami hub can have for LATAM startupsHow international investors see LATAM opportunities now, after 40+ unicornsWhat makes for a vibrant startup ecosystem and how to get thereBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Bolivian entrepreneur Martin Escobari went from growing up in a small town to graduating from Harvard. Upon moving to Brazil, he co-founded one of LatAm’s first startup IPOs in 2005: e-commerce platform Submarino became a huge industry player and went on to merge with local giant Americanas.com.As an investor at General Atlantic since 2012, he now lives between New York and São Paulo and wears the hat of Co-president and Head of Latin America. General Atlantic specializes in a form of investment called growth equity, which sits somewhere between traditional venture capital and buyout firms, focusing on companies in that middle tier that can have their growth accelerated.Since its beginnings in the 1980s, General Atlantic has invested in over 400 companies, with a jaw-dropping $84 billion dollars in managed assets. Its portfolio includes names like XP Investimentos, Hotmart, Quinto Andar and Gympass.Today, Martin and Brian talk about:What he calls the "magic of chaos" and why it mattersThe opportunities and challenges a LatAm investor is better equipped to seeAnd the red flags and the green flags he looks for when making an investment decisionBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Santiago Suarez is the Co-Founder and CEO of the “Buy Now Pay Later” solution, Addi. Through Addi’s rapid ascent, Santi has been a central figure in the boom in online sales and e-commerce since the COVID-19 pandemic, securing over 500,000 customers and 1,000 retailers with his company.Addi raised USD 340 million last year, having already secured some lucrative clients such as Nike, Puma, Apple, and Claro. The organization also recently opened offices in Brazil and Mexico, and they are looking to expand throughout the LATAM region.In this podcast, Santi offers insights on topics like:The crucial tips and tricks he picked up while working at JP MorganThe gaping holes in the payment solutions market in South AmericaHow fintech companies can differentiate themselves to ride the waves of opportunityThe key lessons any founder can take on board to be a better CEOBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Matias Woloski is the CTO and co-founder at Auth0, a developer-first identity platform born in 2013 that became Argentina's 5th unicorn in 2019. With clients in over 70 countries, it grew to become a global leader in the Identity-as-a-Service arena, and was recently acquired by Okta for US$ 6.5 billion in early 2021.Auth0 has over 2 thousand enterprise customers and handles around 42 million logins every day. That demands a lot of tech working just right, and a lot of top-notch tech support to fix the issues that may come up.That's all part of Matias' job as he oversees people in over 30 countries, most of them working remotely, as well as in headquarters in Buenos Aires, London, Seattle, Sidney, Tokyo and Singapore.Today, Matias and I talk about:What new challenges for cybersecurity are on his mindThe importance of timing for a product fit (and can it be crafted or is it just luck?)How Auth0 made its first connections with Silicon Valley investorsAnd what Matias himself looks for when investing in startups as an angel investorBuilding something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Mercado Libre began in a Buenos Aires garage in 1999, when online shopping was pretty much all about eBay auctions. Now the biggest company in Latin America, Meli is valued at over 50 billion dollars and active in 18 countries in the region.Brazil is one of the main markets, with around 1.5 million packages delivered everyday, big investments in logistics, machine learning, hiring, and in its own fintech, Mercado Pago.One of Meli's co-founders and our guest today is a Brazilian himself. Stelleo Tolda dedicated 22 years to the company, from those early days in Argentina to his 10 years as General Manager and then President of Commerce in Brazil. He recently left the day-to-day operations to become an advisor.This episode is going to sound a bit different: it was recorded live as a session with our community of Latitud fellows.In this session, Stelleo and I talk about:How tech has changed in the last two decadesThe vital turning points for the businessHow Mercado Libre seized new opportunities during the pandemicBuilding something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

What would you do if you had $1.2M in funding and suddenly realized you need to kill the business? In 2018, Deepak Chhugani had a YC-backed startup in the HR space that wasn't going anywhere. He went back to the drawing board and decided it was time to follow his dad's footsteps into the world of logistics and supply chain. But before pivoting, he offered the money back to each of his investors.Most of them stayed. And to make up for the ones who backed out, they also put in a little bit more to get Deepak back to $1.2M. A few months later, Nuvocargo was born.Nuvocargo is simplifying the highly complex process of transporting goods between borders, by centralizing it under one software-powered roof – starting with US and Mexico. Elected as one of YC’s Top Companies in 2022, they're also backed by over $40M from Tiger Global Management, QED Investors, NFX, and the founders of several unicorns.In this episode, Deepak and I talk about:Getting out of the limbo stageThe balance between hype and substanceDeciding what not to doAnd hiring relentlessly resourceful people – globally.Building something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Jose Jair Bonilla co-founder and CEO of Chiper, the leading B2B e-commerce platform for independent corner stores in Latin America.He co-founded and led software studio imaginamos in Colombia and served clients in 10+ countries, pioneering the implementation of digital transformation processes across the region and accumulating over 15 years of development experience in the process. He was a part of building Rappi from the ground up, but has been deeply ingrained in the LatAm startup ecosystem long before that.His latest challenge is solving problems for the retail industry with Chiper through their presence in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil. Chiper raised a $53 million Series B led by Tiger Global and Nosara Capital to grow their customer network to over 100.000 corner stores.On this episode, Jose covers:Opportunities for disruption in the retail industryThe digital transformation landscape in Latin AmericaAnd the key components of a good go-to-market strategyBuilding something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

If you told 13-year-old Miguel Santos with his first Apple device that he'd grow up to build his own billion-dollar tech company, he might have had a hard time believing you.When Miguel started Technisys over 20 years ago, he and his co-founders set up office in a living room with a piano for a desk just as the internet started to become an integral part of everyday life.Their digital banking solution came about 10 years ahead of its market, long before venture capital had turned to Latin America for investment opportunities, and there was no shortage of additional challenges along the way.Miguel survived the Argentine crisis of 2001 and went on to become an Endeavor entrepreneur, expand his company to 15 markets serving over 200 million end users, and raise money from big-name VCs like KASZEK and Riverwood Capital.Technisys was recently acquired by SoFi in a $1.1 billion all-stock transaction.Miguel and I will be having a chat about:Overcoming bureaucracy and inefficient regulations in developing countriesBuilding and scaling products in traditional sectorsAnd the key factors in pulling off a billion-dollar exitBuilding something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Colombian-born Santiago Molina got his degree in business administration and finance from Houston Baptist University on a soccer scholarship, and moved back to his home country after his MBA to start his entrepreneurial journey.   Santi is second-time founder focused on promoting financial inclusion, and is now on a quest to create an innovative solution to democratize access to capital in Latin America.He and his co-founders Andres Ferrer and Tomas Shuk came together to start Finkargo, LatAm's first import financing platform. They're enabling small and medium-sized importers to finance their international purchases, and have just raised a $7.5 million Seed Round from co-led by Quona Capital and MAYA Capital to propel their vision.Building something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

By 2030, the UN predicts that 3 billion people will be living without shelter. Today's guest is doing something to combat that.Brett Hagler is a Y Combinator graduate, a published author and cancer survivor, but you may know him best for his non-profit New Story and for his impactful key note speaking.Brett started New Story at 25 years old. In the years since they have funded over 2,300 homes, built 16 communities and raised over $25M, so it's no wonder they were named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in the World four different times.Having been featured in Forbes' 30 Under 30 and named one of the Top 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs, Brett is passionate about speaking on leadership and social entrepreneurship.Today, Brett and I are talking about:Building a venture-backed non-profitIncorporating startup principles in impact entrepreneurshipAnd taking innovation to those who need itBuilding something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Angela Strange is a multiple marathon winner and once achieved 7th place in Canada's distance running national ranking, but you may know her best as an investor on behalf of Andreessen Horowitz.Before joining the world of venture capital, Angela launched and scaled up Chrome for Android and Chrome for iOS during her time at Google, and her previous experiences have uniquely positioned her as an investor that's been in the trenches and knows what it's like to build something from scratch.As a General Partner at a16z, Angela focuses on financial services such as financial infrastructure, insurance and real estate, and she's taken special interest in Latin America after witnessing the transformation in its fintech space in the last 5 years.In this episode, Angela and I went over:Her thesis that every company will be a fintech companyNurturing relationships between investors and foundersAnd why she chose to invest in LatitudBuilding something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Francisco Larraín's professional journey tells a story of coming full circle.It all started as a founding team member for advertisement network Tapjoy. Having gotten a taste for the world of startups, he went on to found payment technology solution Zappedy and to have a $30 million exit to Groupon, where he stayed as Head of Local Engineering for 3 years.It wasn't long before Francisco got back on the saddle and founded Maxxa, the largest insurtech company in Chile, and he scaled it up to over 25,000 SMB customers before looking for a new challenge.When he felt ready to tackle the next big thing, Francisco decided to go back to his beginnings in the monetization space: he and co-founder Regina Ye started auction-based advertisement solution Topsort in 2021 hoping to bring innovation to marketplace advertisement.Having just raised a $8 million dollar Seed Round at a $110 million valuation from names like Pear Ventures, Quiet Capital and FJLabs, I'd say they're well on the way to accomplishing their goals.Today, Francisco and I are going over:His successful exit strategy for ZappedyThe challenges of tech leadership rolesTopsort's journey from idea to Product-Market fitBuilding something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Pierre Schurmann has never shied away from great adventure: he and his family left Brazil when he was 15 with the goal of sailing around the world, and after 4 years of traveling with them, he disembarked in the US to obtain a degree in Business Administration.Since then, Pierre has become an accomplished multi-time founder and an established investor through VC firm Bossa Nova, which he founded under the premise of "entrepreneurs backing entrepreneurs".nuvini, his latest venture, is a B2B SaaS platform in Brazil servicing end-to-end business needs. They're making waves with their acquisitions as a strategy, and aiming for an IPO in Nasdaq in the not-so-distant future.In this episode, we talk about:The early days of LatAm tech startupsThe importance of experienced players in an entrepreneurial ecosystemAnd the future of founder liquidityBuilding something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Lolita Taub has made it her mission to create generational wealth in community.As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant family, providing underestimated founders and funders with resources is at the core of what Lolita has set out to do. With 15 years working in the Silicon Valley ecosystem, she's made +90 investments as an angel and VC at Backstage Capital and The Community Fund.Lolita also co-founded the Startup-Investor Matching Tool in 2020, which has since made over +3K intros and helped founders raise $6 million. Now working on building her own fund Ganas Ventures as a General Partner, Lolita's leveraging her online presence and community-building mentality to change the narrative about what being an investor means – you can find her on Twitter at @lolitataub and @ganasvc.Lolita had some insights to share about:The principles of community-led growthThe future of investing relationships between LatAm and the USAnd bringing diversity into the VC world.Building something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Born and raised in a chinese-brazilian family, Bedy Yang has a lengthy track record of consulting for global companies on go-to-market strategies in Brazil. She moved to the US at a time when there weren't many links between Silicon Valley and Latin America, and so she helped build and strengthen them.It started in 2009, when she founded Brazil Innovators, scaling its network from 0 to over 10,000 people. Two years later, she joined 500 Global as a consultant before tackling the role of Managing Partner and the challenges of ecosystem development.In the words of founder Dave McClure, “Bedy Yang is a super-connector who knows Brazil inside and out”.As a global operator, she's invested in the likes of ContaAzul, Descomplica and Viva Real.Bedy and I are catching up to talk about:The role of networking in an entrepreneur's journeyThe recent influx of capital in Latin AmericaAnd how founders can enter negotiations from a position of strengthBuilding something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Vicente Zavarce was born and raised in Venezuela, but went abroad to study in the US during his university years. He quickly found his way into their booming startup ecosystem, and went on to join Postmates' User Acquisition efforts in Silicon Valley before moving on to be Director of User Acquisition for Getaround.His experiences led him to a lightbulb realization: what if there was an app to combine all delivery and transportation needs for countries that don't have a consolidated digital infrastructure?That's how Yummy was born. Part of the YC21 batch, the SuperApp recently raised a $18 million Series A to accelerate their growth across Latin America, and they have presence in five countries and counting.On today's episode, we talk about: Seizing a time-sensitive business opportunitySmart ways to go about B2C user acquisitionThe challenges of building a business in VenezuelaBuilding something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Before he knew he wanted to build a company, Gerry knew he wanted to make people’s lives better.Born in Monterrey, Gerry Colyer left Mexico to attend Yale University, then went on to pursue a degree from Stanford Business School. His initial game plan was to go into public service, but he soon stumbled upon the realization that technology was the key to drive change at scale. Eager to learn, he relocated to Silicon Valley, and co-founded Uva Scooters shortly after.One successful exit later, he returned to Latin America to put the skills he’d picked up to good use, and thus Clara was born in the heart of Mexico City. Clara’s corporate credit card and spend management solution made them the fastest startup in LatAm to reach unicorn status, getting to a $1billion valuation in 8 short months. Backed by the likes of monashees and Coatue, they’ve partnered with Mastercard to support entrepreneurship in the region.Join Gerry and I as we talk about:Going from 0 to 1,000 B2B customers in 8 monthsLatin America expansion strategiesAnd the importance of partnerships in disrupting fintechBuilding something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.comBuilding good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop