The Emerging Markets Enthusiast: Recent Episodes
Patrick Alex
Emerging Markets was the buzzword amongst bullish investors in the early 2000s. Less so today, the Global South is struck by the effects of climate change, the covid pandemic and rising levels of inequality, but there is hope on the horizon. Scrappy entrepreneurs and their investors are building tremendous businesses from São Paulo to Mexico City to Lagos, Nairobi, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur. This podcast is about them, their stories and how they are leapfrogging development in underserved ecosystems and by that fix some of the unresolved challenges we see on the ground. A new narrative, the fleet of Emerging Markets Enthusiasts that are propelling the Global South further towards a more equitable world, creating jobs, innovation and opportunities along the way. Hosted by Patrick Alex, Emerging Markets Enthusiast in his own right.
On this episode Pat sits down with Bernardo Garcia, Co-Founder of ripping remittances startup Felix Pago to dive into the early days of the business, finding product-market-fit and doing things that don't scale. In particular we chat about how they realised that the existing solutions were not really solving the problem for hispanics in the US sending money to their home countries and how they put the flywheel together relying on WoM.
You will learn about
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Finding product-market-fit and launching on the back of your customer needs
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Be where your customers are and acquiring customers manually
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Scaling beyond the early days, geo expansion vs. product expansion, what route will Felix take and why
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedInhere to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Puren Ucar, the fmr Head of Talent at Earlybird Digital East, to dive into building out the talent function at one of Europe's leading VC firms, Earlybird, what does it take to build high performance teams and why founders up until Series-B still need to dedicate 40% of their time on hiring and how AI changes the game.
You will learn about
- The intersection of recruitment, incentives and retention in building high performance teams
- How AI will impact startup roles and efficiencies are distributed unequally
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedInhere to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Gaurav Biswas, Co-Founder & CEO of leading freight forwarder and logistics scaleup Trukker. We dive into the company’s journey from their initial launch in India, focusing on MENA scaling to 200M+ in revenues, servicing 1,500 clients across 9 countries and raising $300M+ from the likes of ADQ, Ruya and Investcorp
You will learn about
- Scoping the opportunity and setting your target focus
- Scaling in a fragmented, archaic industry picking your battles and finding your sweet spot
- Let expansion be driven on the back of your customer needs
- Excel doesn’t lie if the numbers don’t add up you are on the wrong track
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedInhere to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Lucas Vargas, CEO and Founder of Nomad, a leading cross border account and investment solution for Brazilians that want to reduce their exposure to the local currency investing in US dollar dominated assets. Lucas takes us down the rabbit hole on building out the product, scaling to 100M in ARR within 5 years, incorporating new features and his take on dollar primacy, other fiat currencies and stable coins.
So much to unpack there.
You will learn about:
- Prioritizing always jobs to be done and customer needs for your product roadmap
- How to build generational wealth and allow the 99% to invest like the 1%
- The FX, investing market opportunity in Brazil
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedInhere to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with legendary operator and former MELI CFO, and of late CEO of dLocal, Pedro Arnt, to dive into his learnings of 20+ years of company building.
We discuss
- Why he is bullish on emerging market's potential
- His learnings around the early innings of MELI riding the wave of digitisation in commerce in the 2000s and why long term building beats short-term CAGR ambitions
- The parallels he sees across verticals around digitisation in emerging markets from commerce to payments and how slower consumer adoption calls for more discipline and consistency but allows you to grow at +30% CAGR for many years
- His take on balancing startup agility and processes and org. complexity of a big corporation
- His new chapter with dLocal and why going from emerging market to emerging market makes all the sense
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedInhere to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Camila Vieira, Partner and head QED’s Brazil operation. We dive into the fund’s evolving commitment on the region, how they got it right investing in Nubank in 2015, what their thesis and structure looks like today 10 years later and whether LatAm’s next outbreak success will also be Fintech?
- How do sector specific funds differentiate from generalists in their way how they look at Fintech
- Taking a unit economic and defensible moat lens instead of following a themes based investing approach
- The last whitespace in Fintech in Brazil
- How should founders think about liquidity and how QED is preparing their portfolio
You can find Camila on LinkedIn here.
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedInhere to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Michael Lints, Partner at leading South East Asian VC firm Golden Gate to dive into their expansion into MENA, his move to Qatar, why now and how he sees the two regions complementing each other in terms of ecosystem maturity, VC and LP landscape.
You will learn about:
- Doing business in MENA
- Cross pollination opportunities between the two regions
- Liquidity and exit opportunities and t he importance of Secondaries in SEA
You can find Michael on LinkedIn here.
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedInhere to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Mihai Faur, CIO of UiPath to discuss his 10 year journey with the company from a small startup in Romania to the global automations company it is today.
We dive into the IPO readiness piece, how as a Chief Accounting Officer he set the company on the path for IPO following Daniel Dines' vision in 2019 to bring the company public in 2 years.
You will learn about
- What does it take to get a company from startup mode to IPO ready
- How to get to operational predictability
- The role AI will play in UiPath’s 2nd act merging AI and Automations
You can find Mihai on LinkedIn here.
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedInhere to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Managing Partner of Across Capital, Rafael Costa, to dive into his journey building Across investing cross-border in the US & LatAm after a successful career at Summit Partners and Vulcan Capital, how he things around portfolio construction and liquidity for growth stage, getting to conviction when deciding to invest and a lot more.
You will learn about
- How Rafael broke into Venture
- Why he decided to position Across as early growth stage cross border fund
- Why he is all about high conviction, concentrated bets
- His take on driving liquidity and how it influences his decision making around portfolio construction
You can find Rafael on LinkedIn here
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedInhere to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Milena Oliveira, Partner of Latin American early-growth fund Volpe Capital to dive into the dynamics of investing post Series-A, portfolio construction and making concentrated bets in a few select opportunities. We dive into why LatAm Tech entrepreneurs and VCs can produce top tier returns, and Volpe has the data to back it up.
You learn about
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Volpe's investment thesis
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How to convince LPs to bet on the asset class and invest in multi-vintages
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The maturity of LatAm tech entrepreneurs and how they are thriving not only despite the adversity but because of it
You can find Milena on LinkedIn here.
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn here to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Alexis Pantazis, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of European insurtech Hellas Direct to dive into the insurtech playbook, succeeding in smaller yet profitable markets in Southern and Eastern Europe, and how to go about vertical integration as a moat to build maximum value for consumers.
To date Hellas has raised more than $85M from the likes of5G Ventures S.A | Phaistos Investment Fund,Portage ,ETF Partners - The Environmental Technologies Fund ,IFC - International Finance Corporation,EBRD,Convex Insurance andEndeavor Catalyst and since its founding has expanded to Romania and further grown their insurance offering through vertical integration.
You will learn about
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The Insurtech playbook on going direct to the customer but also through brokers
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How to go about expansion from smaller markets and under penetrated segments that in aggregate have significant value creation potential
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How Greece made their way out of the slump and are now one of the best performing and dynamic economies in Europe
You can find Alexis on LinkedInhere.
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedInhere to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedInhere.
On this episode Pat sits down with Jimena Prado, Partner at Latin American VC firm Hi Ventures, which has backed the likes of Cornershop and Fintual. We explore Jimena's journey from one of the first female founders in Mexico to becoming an investor, how she thinks about navigating the current AI craze and where LatAm entrepreneurs can play at and capture value.
Hi Ventures is one of the leading early stage funds in LatAm, having backed the likes of Cornershop (exited to Uber at 3Bn), Sequoia backed Fintual and Clau.com. Founded by Federico Antoni, it has raised more than US$170M over 4 vintages.
We dive into: - How to filter through the AI noise and where LatAm entrepreneurs play in the space - Transitioning from founder to funder - How Hi Ventures has formulated their investment thesis around AI
You can find Jimena on LinkedIn here.
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn here to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Izabel Gallera, Partner at Canary, one of the leading early stage VCs in Brazil.
We dive into:
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The evolution of the Brazilian VC ecosystem and Canary alongside it
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How to get to conviction and structure your investment decision process at the seed stage
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Professionalizing a VC firm through recycling capital, driving DPI and creating liquidity when possible
You can find Bel on LinkedIn here.
Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?
Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn here to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.
Follow Pat on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Christine Kenna, Managing Partner of Ignia, a pan-american VC firm that invests in early and Series-A stage tech businesses.
You will learn about:
- Playing the Venture Game in emerging markets, how to think about liquidity
- The importance of building track record through multiple vintages
- Is the American style Venture model even applicable to LatAm?
You can find Christine on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Pavel Fedorov, Co-Founder of Philippines based challenger bank Salmon.
We dive into scaling a neo-bank in emerging markets, product mix, customer profiles and how to ensure flawless execution
You will learn about
- The fintech opportunity in the Philippines
- How Salmon targets the space and why they start with credit first
- How they think about go-to-market and their target customer profile
You can find Pavel on LinkedIn here.
Also check out his Personal Website and Blog here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Esteban Sosnik, Co-Founder and GP of Reach Capital, an edtech specialised VC firm based in Silicon Valley to talk about the evolution of the industry, how AI changes the game and what are the opportunities he sees in emerging marketsYou will learn aboutBuilding a sector-specific fundThe evolution of the edtech space and where we are headingThe right way to upsell into different age groups and how to deal with age related churn of your customersThe inflection...
On this episode Pat brings back Alex Lazarow, Managing Partner of Fluent Ventures to talk about where Fintech in emerging markets has been going and where we are heading. So much to unpack as they dive intoThe different tech waves in emerging markets and LatAm more specifically Embedded Finance and the potential that still remains to be unleashed Where B2C Fintech delivered on its promise to increase financial inclusion You can find Alex on LinkedIn here. Also make sure to chec...
On this episode Pat sits down with Coen Jonker, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of TymeBank to discuss their scale-up journey from South Africa into the Philippines building a true multi-country digital bank for emerging markets. You will learn about:Product road map when scaling a digital bank How to approach market expansion and identifying your next target market What financial inclusion truly means for Coen You can find Coen on LinkedIn here. Support the show
On this episode Pat sits down with Mikheil Lomtadze, CEO of superapp Kaspi.
We dive into the origin story of the busienss, its humble beginnings in Kasakstan to going public on Nasdaq earlier this year at a whopping $20Bn market cap.
You will learn about
- How to successully execute the superapp strategy
- How to go about product priosiation and not losing focus
- Why customer centricity is the key to everything
- The importance of culture in scaling your business
You can find Mikheil on LinkedIn here.
Support the show
On this episode Pat sits down with Erin Renzas, the former CMO of Checkout who today runs her own advisory firm EBB strategic to unpack how to unleash marketing performance at the growth stage, the right way to experiment on marketing spent and how to make sure that you nurture the upper funnel
What you will learn
* Sales is about generating revenue today vs. Marketing is about generating revenue tomorrow - How to strike that balance?
* What to watch out for when hiring for a CMO
* How to communicate your growth strategy to senior leadership and your board
* Erin's journey during Square, Checkout.com and Prosus
You can find Erin on LinkedIn here.
Support the Show.
On this episode Pat sits down with the one and only Ralf Wenzel, Founder & CEO of JOKR. We dive into his entrepreneurial journey from growing up in East Germany to his first entrepreneurial stint with Jamba, conquering Asia with Foodpanda and subsequently embarking onto LatAm with grocery delivery platform Jokr.
You will learn about
- Why Founders and Artists are more alike than you would think
- How to unlock value in grocery delivery in emerging markets
- It is all about integrating the value chain and ensuring a superior customer experience
- How to conquer a complex market such as Brazil
You can find Ralf on LinkedIn here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with Ali Karabey, co-founder of Türkiye's first institutional VC 212 to dive into building the fund, making the first bets, getting conviction and ultimately turning 212 into a platform of funds that invests beyond its country's borders.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Building a fund from scratch
- Playing the platform game right without losing focus
- The Türkiye opportunity and its remarkable roster of talent
You can find Ali on LinkedIn here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with Hamdi Tabbaa, Co-Founder and CEO of leading MENA edtech Abwaab. We dive into his journey moving from expansion at Uber to building a thriving edtech in the region, expansion into other markets and upselling opportunities.
You will learn about:
- The edtech landscape in MENA
- Expanding into other geos with a highly localised product
- Fundraising in a challenging industry and regional context
You can find Hamdi on LinkedIn here.
Support the show
On this episode Pat sits down with Dave Nangle, Managing Partner of VEF, a leading VC firm that invests in emerging markets fintech from Latin America to Asia.
Dave is a true emerging markets warrior from day one having spent 10 years in Russia in the early 2000s when Tinkoff was getting off the ground and Dave smelled blood, he didn't let go of looking for the future Tinkoff's all across the globe.
Fast forward 10 years later VEF has amassed an amazing portfolio of companies including Konfio, Creditas, TransferGo and Abhi.
On this episode you will learn about
- How to curate a global dealflow relying on local VCs as feeder firms and building crucial relationships on the ground
- What makes a great operator
- The pros and cons of investing through a publicly listed vehicle
You can find Dave on LinkedIn here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with Ramiro Lauzan, Partner at growth and private equity investing giant L Catterton to dissect their investment thesis, consumer trends and thematic investing and the playing field in Latin America and why he is bullish on the region.
You will learn about:
- How L Catterton makes long term, thematic driven investment decisions
- The role long-term consumer trends play in defining the category
- The differences in PE investing in LatAm vs. developed markets and its opportunities
- How corporate governance and board roles changes as a company goes public
You can find Ramiro on LinkedIn here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with Carl Fritjofsson, Creandum's partner for the US to dive into what made the VC firm stand out and turn into one of the top European venture firms out there, his take on the future of European tech talent and why he is both optimistic and cautious about 2024.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Carl's journey from former operator to investor
- Key takeaways for building a lasting VC firm
- Why he is bullish on the future of European start-ups
- 2024 predictions
You can follow Carl on LinkedIn here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with the one and only Christopher Schroeder, author, investor, operator and advisor of startups in emerging markets.
He has worn many heads during his stellar career amongst them CEO and President of Washington Post's online presence , founder of HealthCentral and President of Legi-Slate as well as senior policy positions during Georg Bush's administration.
You will learn about:
- Christopher's journey into the world of startups and why he is bullish on the founder talent in emerging markets
- The Venn diagram between public policy and the private sector to build flourishing ecosystems
- His predictions for 2024
- What he looks for in founders
- ...and so much more
You can find him on LinkedIn here and make sure to check out his newsletter Seeking Awesome here.
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On this episode Mikal Khoso joins Pat to chat with Omair Ansari, Founder and CEO of Pakistan Fintech Abhi about his journey into the world of entrepreneurship, scaling the company, going multi-product early on in the company's lifecycle as well as the expansion into the UAE and neighbouring Bangladesh.
You will learn about:
- The state of the financial services industry in Pakistan
- Where Abhi fits into the market
- Scaling in a frontier ecosystem and going against the common wisdom
- Strategies on expansion across the region.
You can find Omair on LinkedIn here and make sure to check out Mikal's newsletter Emergent here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with Endeavor's Senior Director of Research Leah Barto to discuss research at Endeavor, why studies on emerging ecosystems are important and Endeavor's most recent ground breaking research on founder pathways.
You will learn about:
- The setup of Endeavor Insight, the very own research arm of Endeavor
- Where successful unicorn founders come from and what they have in common
- What makes founders from emerging markets different to founders from the US
- Any future topics of resarch for Endeavor
You can find Leah on LinkedIn here.
Make sure to check out Endeavor's research here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with Julian Roeoes, Partner and Head of the Americas for global early stage fund Picus Capital.
We dive into his journey into venture, Picus's born global investment strategy, how to branch out into investing in emerging markets and get off the ground and the business models he believes will shape the next wave of emerging markets entrepreneurship success
You will learn about:
- Global investing with an emerging markets angle
- Differences between public vs. private market investing
- Picus Capital's long term investment horizon and its single LP structure
You can find Julian on LinkedIn here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with Yana and Yash of Alter Global, a leading early stage investment firm that has backed companies in the seed to Series-A stage in LatAm, Africa, South East Asia, Middle East and beyond.
We dive into
- Yana and Yash's role at Alter
- How Alter is set up as a decentralised, global early stage VC with a lean team
- Identifying founder talent on the ground at the early stage
You can find Yana on LinkedIn here and Yash here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with Victor Chua, Managing Partner of Southeast Asian venture firm Vynn Capital to dive into Victor's investor journey, lessons learned along the way, raising as a first time fund manager and the evolution of the venture and startup ecosystem in the region.
You will learn about:
- Victor's journey into venture
- His time at Gobi Partners and how it prepared him for launching his own firm
- Fundraising and building LP relationships
- The state of venture in region and the role of CVC
You can find Victor on LinkedIn here.
Support the show
On this episode Pat sits down with Victor Noguera & Bernardo Cordero, Co-Founders at leading Mexican proptech Flat.mx to discuss about their founder journey, the evolution of the proptech space, how Flat is adding valuable building blocks to the data infrastructure in the space and their angel investing activity through their vehicle Nascent.vc
On this episode you will learn about:
- Victor and Berni's journey into founding Flat
- What to look for in a co-founder
- How investing whilst being a founder actually makes you more successful in both
- The evolution of proptech in LatAm and the VC ecosystem in general
You can find Victor and Berni on Linkedin here and her.
Also make sure to check out Mexico TechWeek, co-organised by Flat here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with Brazilian investment icon Fersen Lambrahno, Chairman of GP Investments.
We dive into his long career, the evolution of Brazilian PE and investment space, what makes PE in Brazil to operate fundamentally differently to the US or Europe and much more.
You will learn about:
- Fersen’s way into investing and lessons learned looking back to a fulfilling career
- The evolution of the Brazilian economy in the last 40 years
- Why PE in Brazil is a lot more operational and hands on compared to the US or Europe
- The current investment structure of GP
- The role of Green Capitalism to prevent the effects of climate change
You can find Fersen on LinkedIn here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with seasoned entrepreneur and investor Ganesh Rengaswamy, co-founding partner of leading fintech inclusion fund Quona and Kulin Shah, Co-Founder and CEO of Onsurity, a leading Indian insurtech.
We dive into the founder-investor relationship, the insuretech space in India and how to manage boards successfully.
So much to unpack here with the two of the on the show.
You will learn about:
- Kulin & Ganesh's journey into the world of entrepreneurship
- How to find your match between investor and founder and what to be aware of on both sides of the table
- How to manage boards sucessfully
- The state of insuretech in India
You can find Kulin on LinkedIn here and Ganesh here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with Tunisian tech entrepreneur Karim Jouini, Co-Founder and CEO of Expensya. We dive into his journey into tech, scaling out of his native Tunisia, drivers for M&A success and much more.
You will learn about:
- Building an international company from day one
- How to reduce value destruction that comes with an M&A deal
- The latest trends and developments in the expense management space
You can find Karim on LinkedIn here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with Razaq Ahmed, Co-Founder and CEO of Nigerian Fintech Cowrywise, that is all but revolutionising the retail investment space in the country providing access to investment products to millions of young Nigerians.
You will learn about:
- Razaq's journey into the world of startups and founding Cowrywise after a stint at Investment Banking
- The particularities of building a retail investing business in an emerging market such as Nigeria
- How to acquire users effectively and at scale leveraging gamification and social media
- How to play the volume game successful and add complimentary products to the mix
You can find Razaq on LinkedIn here.
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On this episode Pat sits down with Sandra Nolasco, CEO and Co-founder of Spain based Twinco Capital, a B2B fintech focused on supply chain financing.
On the episode you will learn about:
- The intricacies of supply chain financing and why the status quo is not helping SMEs in emerging markets
- Twinco’s value proposition
- The role of supply chain traceability and ESG criteria
- How Twinco can become the standard in global trade financing
You can find Sandra on LinkedIn here.
Support the show
On this episode Pat sits down with one of LatAm Fintech greats, Pedro Conrade, Co-Founder and CEO of Neon, a leading challenger bank in Brazil that serves more than 23M customers and has raised an impressive $700M.
We dive into the making of Neon, how the company has scaled, when is it right time to introduce new product features and how to manage acquisitions successfully.
On this episode you will learn:
- Pedro's way into entrepreneurship
- Leadership lessons along the way and why it is all a team effort
- The financial services landscape in Brazil, what is has been, how it looks today and what the future might bring
You can follow Pedro on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Polish IT entrepreneur Wiktor Schmidt, co-founder and executive chairman of Netguru, a IT company that has scaled to 30M in revenues providing its services at a global scale.
Aside from his role at Netguru, Wiktor is the founding board chair of Endeavor Poland.
We dive into his role in the Polish ecosystem, his experience scaling Netguru and what is next for the country with the arrival of Endeavor.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Wiktor's journey becoming a tech entrepreneur
- How to build a competitive advantage in the IT services spaces
- The future of Polish tech
- The arrival of Endeavor in Poland
You can find Wiktor on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Inanc Balci, Co-Founder and Partner at emerging markets fintech fund Crestone Venture Capital where he invests across South East Asia and Latin America. We dive into his journey as an operator turned VC, scaling in SEA, similarities between LatAm and SEA in terms of fintech models and much more
You will learn about:
- How Inanc ended up in SEA as an operator and Co-founder of Lazada
- Why operators make good investors
- What input metrics he finds critical in evaluating deals
- Lessons learned on building a fund
- Similarities between SEA and LatAm in terms of fintech
You can find Inanc on LinkedIn here
On this episode Pat sits down with Lolita Taub, founding partner of Ganas VC, an early stage fund that invests in community-driven business models in the Americas.
We dive into Lolita's journey into venture, why immigrant communities, especially Latinx still have an ownership gap to other communities in the US and how that translates into a low representation in start-up founders and VC and how community-driven business models serve as a moat for startups.
You will learn about:
- Why generational wealth is important and how tech entrepreneurship and VC can get you there
- Community-driven business models, why they are powerful and how they affect company metrics
- Fundraising for an emerging fund in the current environment
You can find Lolita on LinkedIn or Twitter and make sure to check out her newsletter.
On this episode Pat sits down with Gerry Giacomán, CEO and Co-Founder of leading B2B fintech Clara. We dive into Gerry's journey into the world of startups, his learnings along the way, how he scaled the company in rapid pace and what role culture and team-building played in this. Crucially we explore the intersection between profitability and growth and why it pays to always be changing.
On this episode you will learn about:
- How to be ready for hypergrowth mode for your startup
- The value proposition of Clara within the LatAm space and how to differentiate your product through continuous innovation
- Why ABC - always be changing is one of the core values for Clara
You can find Gerry on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Jonathan Whittle, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of emerging markets fintech inclusion fund Quona Capital.
We dive into his journey from operator to VC, lessons learned from the dot-com bust and what it means for today's market correction, the status of Fintech in emerging markets and why it pays to become a bank at the final stage of a B2C fintech's growth journey
On this episode you will learn about:
- Jonathan's journey into VC and long time engagement in LatAm
- Why the waves of fintech adoption is a model that simplifies to great degree the evolution fintech has been going through especially in emerging markets
- Why does it pay to become a bank at the final stage
- Quona's new 300M fund of fresh capital
You can find Jonathan on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Sergiu Negut, Co-Founder of leading low-code platform FintechOS to dive into the scale-up journey for the company, how they attracted an impressive roster of banks and insurance companies to use their platform to develop digital products, why the digital transformation of incumbents is relevant and how to build a global company from day one.
You will learn about:
- Sergiu's journey into tech
- The banking and insurance landscape and why launching digital products in-house is challenging
- Building a global company from day one out of a 2nd tier market
- The Romanian tech ecosystem and how Sergiu is paying it forward
You can find Sergiu on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Ricardo Kanitz, founding partner of Spectra Investments to talk about the founding of the alternatives investment firm, how they gained the trust of their LPs, their strategy on performing due diligence on GPs, diversifying their portafolio, the current state of alternatives in LatAm during a period of high interest rates and much more.
On this episode you will learn about:
- The beginnings of Spectra and the vision behind the firm becoming an investment machine in LatAm
- How they perform due diligence on GPs
- The beauty behind search funds
- Diversifying your portfolio in a risk-on environment
You can find Ricardo Kanitz on LinkedIn here. Make sure to check out Spectra's ground breaking research on alternatives in LatAm here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Axel Christensen, Chief Investment Strategist and Managing Director for Latin America & Iberia at leading asset manager Blackrock to dive into the current macro environment, how it affects investment decisions and what it means for emerging markets.
On this episode you will learn about:
- The interplay between interest rates and investment decisions
- Currency fluctuations in emerging markets and LatAm specifically
- What is the new investment paradigm and how to make decisions in a more volatile world
- Which building blocks in financial ecosystems in emerging markets are still missing
- The state of crypto and the road ahead towards more regulation
*This episode is not investment advice.
Axel Christensen is sharing his own opinion and analysis of the current marco environment and how it affects the investment landscape.
On this episode Pat sits down with Arjuna Costa, Managing Partner at leading fintech fund Flourish, which is part of the Omidyar network, we dive into the challenges of achieving true financial inclusion and access to capital for everyone, how the next waves of fintech products will evolve and making the most out of embedded finance
On this episode you will learn about:
- Arjuna's journey into VC
- The evolution of financial inclusion in emerging markets and beyond
- How embedded finance solutions will change the way we consume, interact and finance products in the economy
- Is informality a hurdle to achieve financial inclusion in emerging markets?
- Flourish's initiatives around digitising corner-stores and their early stage programme for the African ecosystem, Madica
You can find Arjuna on LinkedIn here, check out their recent report on the Digitisation of cornershops here and the techcrcunch article on Madica here
On this episode Pat sits down with Robin Butler, Partner and Head of Impact at frontier investment firm, Sturgeon Capital.
Robin eloquently unpacks the $300bn opportunity in frontier markets in Central Asia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Egypt and how you can combine profit and impact making a lasting impact on growth and innovation in these markets.
You will learn about:
- Sturgeon's thesis and why these markets
- How Robin thinks about the challenges in frontier ecosystems in terms of dealflow depth and breadth as well as capital pools
- The impact of the Airlift story going south and what is means for the Pakistani ecosystem going forward
- How to align impact and profit in a venture firm
You can follow Robin on LinkedIn here, make sure to check out the piece on Sturgeon Capital in the Generalist and their very own Substack Terra Incognita
On this episode Pat sits down with Wenyi Cai, Co-Founder and CEO of Latin American venture studio Polymath. We dive into Wenyi's journey into LatAm, the region's similarities with Asia, Polymath's approach to venture building and designing business and much more.
On this episode you will learn about:
- The characteristics of the Latin American middle class and why is it difficult to service them
- Parallels between Asia / China and LatAm in terms of building business for the middle class
- Polymath's playbook on designing digital businesses
- Deep dive into social commerce app Elenas and how they scaled beyond Polymath's early stage backing
You can find Wenyi on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Noureddine Tayebi, founder and CEO of leading ride-hailing super app Yassir, the YC-backed company started out in 2017 to provide on-demand services in French-speaking Africa quickly scaling beyond its native Algeria into neighbouring Morocco and Tunisia. Last year the company closed a historic US$30M Series-A backed by the likes of WndrCo, FJ Labs, DN Capital, Kismet and Endeavor Catalyst.
Now they just announced a US$ 150M Series-B led by BOND, with participation from DN Capital, Dorsal Capital, Quiet Capital, Stanford Alumni Ventures (aka Spike Ventures) and Y Combinator, among other strategic investors.
On this episode you will learn about:
- The state of the startup ecosystem in Magreb and the opportunity
- How to overcome hurdles in tech adoption in B2C by creating trust
- Yassir's scale-up journey and lessons learned
- The importance of paying-it-forward and inspiring future generations of entrepreneurs
You can find Noureddine on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Jacobo Singer, President of leading payment processor dLocal. During the conversation, they dive into the company's expansion journey from tiny Uruguay onto conquering huge markets such as Brazil and India, the company methodology on identifying and promoting talent from within and how they are trailblazing their way onto the African continent. Jacobo is currently based out of South Africa to lead the company's expansion across the continent.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Jacobo's rise inside the company from software engineer to CTO to COO and President
- dLocal's unique no-frills, down to earth culture and their persistent customer focus
- Their expansion playbook and how they are changing the payments infrastructure in emerging markets
You can find Jacobo on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with one of the veterans of the tech investment space, Francisco Alvarez-Demalde, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Riverwood Capital.
Alongside the 15 years of the firm, Francisco has seen it all and provides valuable insights into how to build a generational firm, how to extract the most value from boards and his key investment criteria.
On this episode you will learn about:
- The origin story of Riverwood Capital
- Francisco's take on identifying and harnessing talent
- Adding value on boards
- How to ensure a clear investment focus and doubling down on what you are good at.
You can find Francisco on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Clara Gold, former Director of Growth and Product of Latin American superapp Rappi. We dive into her journey, how Rappi has evolved along those years and how she personally grew within the company as it went through hyper growth. The narrative ties the Rappi expansion years to the growth of the LatAm ecosystem, putting into context how fundamental those years where.
You will learn about:
- How to grow with the company
- Why a culture of hustling and relentless execution matters
- Picking a person to work for rather than a specific role
- The Softbank moment and how it has changed Rappi, if at all...
You can find Clara on LinkedIn and Twitter.
For more content on emerging markets investing and company building follow me on twitter @pat_travels or LinkedIn.
On this episode Pat sits down with Matt Cole, CEO of Suma SaaS to talk about his approach to leadership, how leadership styles have to evolve in VUCA environments and what makes a successful leader. We also dive into his journey into startups in LatAm and the future plans for Suma.
On this episode you will learn about:
- What makes a successful leader
- What is paradoxical leadership and how to implement it
- Why coaching is critical to evolve and grow your leadership skills
You can find Matt on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Tiago Costa Alves, Golden Gate's first EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence) to talk about doing business and scaling in SEA, his own journey into startups and the region, what the EIR role is about and why it made sense for Golden Gate to embrace it.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Cultural differences in and across SEA
- What to be aware of when scaling tech teams in the region
- The startup opportunity in SEA
- Why an EIR adds value to any fund and what are the core activities
You can follow Tiago on LinkedIn here.
This episode is a recording from a panel conversation at Endeavor on the "Deciphering LatAm VC" study, a research that dives into how LatAm VCs make decisions, are structured and add value.
The conversation starts with a brief 15min presentation by Pat on the core findings of the study and then dives into a panel discussion with Magdalena Coronel (CIO @IDB Labs), Daniela Izquierdo (CEO & Co-Founder, Foodology), Andy Tsao (SVB), Adolfo Blasco (Nazca).
We dive into:
- The current state of venture in LatAm
- The role of foreign capital for larger financing rounds
- What the current downturn means for the region
Check out the full study here and the video of the conversation here
On this episode Pat sat down with Seedstars Co-Founder and CIO Charlie Graham Brown to dissect the evolution of investing and entrepreneurship in emerging markets over the last decade, how Seedstars got off the ground and what is next for the organisation.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Charlie's way into the world of startups
- The origins of Seedstars and what is next for the organisation
- How to build high performing growth teams
You can find Charlie on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Dan Green, Partner and Co-Head of the Latin America Practice of Gunderson Dettmer, a leading global law firm on VC transactions.
Based on his decade long experience as legal counsel on some of the most important transactions in LatAm, we dive into the current macro-situation and what it means for entrepreneurs out there fundraising and negotiating with VCs.
Dan provides crucial tips and lessons on how to manoeuvre, the current environment, how to create leverage, which deal features to be aware of and how to find common ground.
On this episode you will learn about:
- How we got there?
- Was last year not healthy?
- Which contractual features you should pay attention to?
- How to manage negotiations and keep emotions out of the process
You can find Dan on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sits down with Allen Taylor, Managing Director of Endeavor Catalyst, Endeavor's own investment vehicle that invests in a rules-based manner into Endeavor entrepreneurs in the nonprofits +40 markets.
We dive into how the fund has scaled from its early beginnings in 2012 to the recently announced close of fund IV with a US$292M fund size.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Allen's career with Endeavor
- The current macro-environment and how it translates into a changed funding reality in emerging markets
- How to manoeuvre downturns
- What is next for the fund and how its structure doubles down on Endeavor's mission
You can find Allen on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Pat sat down with Rafaella Baraldo, CEO and Co-Founder of DeFi startup Pods to discuss the potential of DeFi to fix some of the challenges in traditional finance, her journey as a founder and any lessons learned along the way.
On this episode you will learn about:
- The failures of traditional banking and how it can be fixed through DeFi
- Centralised vs. De-centralised financial systems
- Building a crypto startup and any challenges along the way
- Fundraising journey of Pods
- Brazil's DeFi ecosystem and potential
You can find Rafaella Baraldo on LinkedIn here
On this episode Pat sat down with Federico Gómez Romero, Principal at Seaya Cathay Latam, Seaya and Cathay's new joint venture for investing collectively in LatAm. We explore Fede's own journey into venture, the motives behind Seaya and Cathay joining forces and among others making the most out of cross-pollination for your international portfolio.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Behind the scenes look into the formation of Seaya Cathay LatAm
- Inflection points in the LatAm ecosystem and parallels to SEA
- How to analyse a deal opportunity and make the most of due diligence
You can find Fede on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Patrick sat down with Marcelo Sampaio, Co-Founder and CEO of Brazilian crypto startup Hashdex to discuss the state of crypto in LatAm, its potential to unlock value for the general public and his scale-up journey bringing crypto investing to the mainstream.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Marcelo's journey from a successful career at Microsoft and Oracle
- Why crypto provides a tremendous opportunity for the LatAm ecosystem
- How crypto can unlock value for the wider public
- Hashdex approach to democratising crypto investing and working with the system rather than against it
- Marcelo's take on fundraising for crypto startups and what to be aware of
You can find Marcelo on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Patrick sat down with Luiz Ribeiro, Managing Director and Co-Head of General Atlantic's Brazilian office to unpack the implications of the current macro environment on venture and startups. During the conversation, we dive also into Luiz's own journey, adding value on boards and Luiz's tips to prepare a company to go public
On this episode you will learn about:
- GA's beginnings, their approach on investing and their culture
- How to manoeuvre market corrections and advice for investors and entrepreneurs
- The potential of LatAm as a region and what is next
- New trends on investing of lines between public and private investing becoming increasingly blurry
- Luiz's laundry list to prepare a company to go public
You can find Luiz on LinkedIn here.
On this episode Patrick sat down with Janan Knust, Founder & CEO of Chilean logistics startup Klog to learn more about his fascinating journey into the world of startups, the inception for Klog, why we need more standardisation in global supply chains to fix some of the inherent problems and lessons on trust & faith to be a successful leader
On this episode you will learn about:
- Janan's eclectic style to founding Klog and inspiring his team on being uncomfortable all the time
- His mantra on trust and faith to get the troops lined up behind him
- How KLog fixes some of the challenges in the global supply chain
- Bootstrapping the company to US$ 100M in revenues and any lessons learned
You can find Janan on LinkedIn here
On this episode Pat sat down with Patrick Arippol (Co-Founder) & Bianca Martinelli (Partner) of Brazilian / LatAm VC Alexia to talk about the thesis of the firm, their respective journeys into venture and their take on adding value to founders.
On this episode you will learn about:
- How to craft the thesis of a VC
- Are moats ever sustainable and the lock-in effects of tech enabled communities
- How to make the most out of boards
- What metrics Alexia is looking for in sharpening their investment decision
You can find Bianca on LinkedIn here and Patrick there.
On this episode Patrick sat down with Quona Co-Founder and Managing Partner Monica Brand Engel. This is a truly special conversation as we dive into Monica's multicultural upbringing and how it shaped her way to see the world. Monica makes a compelling case on how the lines between profit and purpose become increasingly blurred and how investing in financial inclusion can provide a solution to one of the world's greatest problems, poverty.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Monica's journey into venture
- The founding of Quona as a spin-off of leading financial inclusion non-profit Accion
- Tips for managing a productive board and how to add value as an investor
- How to behave as an investor when "shit hits the fan"
You can find Monica on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Find out more about Quona on their website.
Flavia Buchmann is Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at NotCo, a leading alternative protein brand that creates delicious food products such as Milk, Burgers and Ice-Cream without sacrificing taste or texture. After a successful corporate career at Unilever and Coca Cola, Flavia joined the NotCompany in 2019 to lead their global marketing and branding efforts. She is based in New York City with her husband and family.
We dive into her journey into the world of startups, lessons for other consumer brands on brand building and positioning, all about the NotConcept (and why not everything NotCo does is called Not) and how they set up their internal agency "NotAgency."
On this episode you well learn about:
- Flavia's transition from corporate into startups and any tips for others making the switch
- Leading branding and marketing at one of the leading food techs globally and all it entails
- Lessons learned on NotCo's internal agency and why not everything at NotCo is called Not
- Behind the scenes look into NotCo's response to Alpro's similar branding
You can find Flavia on LinkedIn here.
Pedro Sônego de Oliveira is Co-Founder and CEO of Brazilian B2B Fintech start-up TruePay.
Founded only a little more than a year ago, the company has scaled rapidly, having raised +US$40M of capital with leading investors Addition, KASZEK, Monashees and GFC.
On the show, we dive into Pedro's journey from investor to founder, how he teamed up with his co-founder, the opportunity on the ground in B2B Fintech in Brazil, the next big wave of tech adoption in the country.
Pedro provides valuable lessons on scale-up strategy, business building and fundraising.
To learn more about True check out their website.
You can find Pedro on LinkedIn.
Angie Udry is a partner at leading Latin American fund KASZEK (backer of many of the region’s greatest success cases). Before joining KASZEK (for a second time) Angie was an HR leader for companies such as AT&T, MercadoLibre, IBM and Selina.
We talk about how to set up companies for success, how to manage culture, build teams and incentivise them successfully.
On this episode you will learn about
- Angie’s journey into VC and working with entrepreneurs
- How to take full advantage of diversity on your team
- The interplay between the HR function and company leadership
- How to manage conflicts among team members
You can find Angie Udry on LinkedIn.
This week's episode is sponsored by global talent platform Turing.
For more information check out their website.
Laura González-Estéfani is Founder and CEO of TheVentureCity, a leading early stage and Series A investor headquartered in Miami with a strong presence in LatAm and Europe.
The fund has backed major success cases such as Cabify, Clip, Spotahome and Finconecta. Laura is a former founder turned funder and provides the audience with valuable lessons on how to make the switch from operator to investor, why investing is all about people and less so about pitch-decks and the potential of Miami as a hub between the US, LatAm and Europe.
On this episode you will learn about
- Laura's journey as a startup founder, early Facebook hire and subsequently investor
- Her vision of investing, building a firm and diversity and culture
- The potential of Miami
- LatAm's untapped potential and tremendous entrepreneurial talent
You can find Laura on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Justin Norman is Founder and Host of "The Flip", one of the leading (if not the leading) podcast and media platform on entrepreneurship in Africa.
Justin, an American based in South Africa started the Flip in 2019 to learn more about the African ecosystem putting together sophisticated deep-dives on the impact of financial infrastructure, digitising healthcare and the role of edtech, just to name a few
On the show we dive into:
- The impact of underestimated founders in a underestimated region
- How to develop emerging ecosystems
- Waves of tech adoption and the role of fintech in the region
You can find Justin on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Subscribe to his content here.
BigBets is a novel early stage investing firm based in Brazil. The fund has invested in companies such as Justo and Lemon. Luiz Manzano and Alexandre Mello joined the Emerging Markets Enthusiast to talk about their journey into VC, their take on early stage investing, building relationship and adding value.
On this episode you will learn about
- How the two found their way into venture and started BigBets
- How to match your personality traits as co-founders
- BigBets unique selling proposition to founders and their approach on early stage investing
- How to establish relationships with LPs
You can follow Luiz and Alex on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Make sure to check out BigBets portfolio on their website and the napkin they put together on raising capital
On this episode Pat sits down with Alex González Ormerod, LatAm Editor of news-site Rest of World to talk about the implications of tech startup success for LatAm, whether their success will be enough to propel the region towards full development, what are possible pitfalls and whether we need more or just any regulation for the gig-economy.
On this episode you will learn about
- The gig-economification in LatAm
- Whether tech innovation is a new way to escape the middle income trap
- How the excessive success of Nubank and its founders is benefiting the region
- How can we avoid possible pitfalls of tech innovation
Alex González Ormerod is the Latin America Editor at Rest of World.
Alex is a Mexican editor, writer, and historian.
He has worked as Editor-in-Chief at publications like Contxto and El Equilibrista—Mexico's oldest surviving independent publishing house. His writing can be found online at Contxto, Letras Libres, Literal Magazine, and Nexos. Before that, he was a cheesemonger.
Make sure to check out his work on Rest of World and Alex's newsletter on Latam.
You can find Alex on Twitter and LinkedIn
Rabeel Warraich is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Sarmayacar, the first institutional VC fund in Pakistan. We talk about his way into venture, why Pakistan and why now, how false perceptions of a country can have extraordinary effects and his take on making the most out of the tech revolution taking place in Pakistan now.
On this episode you will learn about:
- The opportunities on the ground in Pakistan
- What the journey was like launching the first institutional fund in the country
- The heavy weight of false perceptions vs. actual realities on the ground and how through conviction one can turn things around
- Tactics of building up the ecosystem while investing in it
You can find Rabeel on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Make sure to check out Sarmayacar's portfolio here.
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
Patrick sat down with Laura Constantini, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of leading early stage firm Astella. She is a Kauffman Fellow, Class 2021. On the show, Laura takes us on her unique journey from starting as a research analyst in the financial sector in Brazil, to M&A and subsequently founding Astella together with Edson Rigonatti.
On the show you will learn about
- Betting on the horse or the jockey
- Building a VC firm from zero
- Attracting LPs for your fund through consistency and transparency
- The mindset shift from M&A, public markets to VC
- Mercenary entrepreneurs vs. Mission driven entrepreneur
You can find Laura on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Check out Astella's Podcast, "Astella around the world" here
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
Patrick sat down with Jeffrey Paine, one of the pioneers and most respected investors of the South East Asian VC ecosystem. Jeff is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of renowned Singapore based fund Golden Gate Ventures, investor in companies such as Stripe, Omise and Lenddo. Since 2011 they have backed +60 companies, raised 5 funds in total and significantly shaping the ecosystem along the way.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Jeff's take on the apprenticeship model in VC and how to train junior investors along the way
- How to practice pattern recognition
- Copycat models in emerging ecosystems and why they still matter
- Golden Gate's investment processes and internal organisation
- The importance of founder development, mental health and coaching
You can find Jeffrey on Twitter or LinkedIn
Check out Golden Gate's latest ecosystem mapping and deep dive on the SEA ecosystem here
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
Patrick sat down with IFC’s VC Director for Latin American & the Caribbean Stevon Darling to talk about the organisation’s investing approach, its mission, what makes IFC different from traditional VC investors and how they can provide broader financing support beyond equity capital. We also touch upon IFC’s leading VC financing programme Startup Catalyst that backs emerging fund managers globally seeding the grounds for future startup ecosystems
On this episode you will learn about
- How IFC is structured globally and how does IFC's private investing arm fit into the overall mission of the organisation
- IFC's investment process and value add for founders
- How IFC supports emerging fund managers around the globe
- Stevon's take on the startup ecosystem in LatAm
You can find Stevon Darling on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Check out IFC's initiatives here.
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
Patrick sat down with Paulo Passoni, Managing Partner of Softbank's Latin America fund investing since 2019 in founders in the region. Paulo talks about the unique inflection point LatAm is in, Softbank's investing approach and how to add value on boards as an investor, but foremost he gives crucial lessons on life, how to give back and what truly matters. A fantastic episode that goes beyond the traditional playbook and gets more personal than any episode before.
On this episode, you will learn about:
- Paulo's personal journey into VC and why he sees entrepreneurship as a main driver of social mobility in the region, where politics has failed
- His perspective on happiness and purpose in life
- How Softbank approaches investing and adding value in the region
- How to build and maintain strong boards
- Softbank's differentiating factors to Tiger Global
You can connect with Paulo on Twitter or LinkedIn.
About Paulo Passoni
Paulo co-leads the Latin America Fund with Shu Nyatta. Before SBLA, Paulo spent over seven years at Third Point LLC, as Managing Director of emerging markets focusing on Latin America across the capital structure. Before Third Point, he was a founding member of Eton Park's special situation effort in Latin America. Paulo started his career at Morgan Stanley in the investment banking division based in São Paulo. He holds a joint degree in business from Harvard Business School (Baker Scholar) and in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Paulo obtained his undergraduate business degree from Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo, Brazil (honors)
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
Patrick sat down with Allan Boruchowicz, co-founder and Managing Partner of leading Central American fund Carao Ventures to talk about his journey into VC, the opportunities for the Central American region as an underserved market to invest in, how to maximise value add as a VC and how fast paced due diligence has created new dynamics in LatAm.
On this episode, you will learn about:
- Allan's journey into VC
- The opportunities in the last frontier, Central America, one of the most underserved VC ecosystems globally
- Allan's take on fast paced due diligence
- How to find your sweet spot as an investor on boards and adding value in general
You can connect with Allan on Twitter or via LinkedIn
About Allan Boruchowicz
Allan Boruchowicz is founding partner of Central American early stage VC Carao Ventures based out of San Jose, Costa Rica. He has worked with startups at different stages for the last 8 years, both in the US and Latin America. Allan has early-stage investment experience in SaaS, biotech, healthtech, fintech, AI, e-commerce, mobile technologies, and food & beverage industries. Allan led Carao Ventures' investments in Huli, Slidebean, Speratum, BildTEK, Singularities, GoPass and GoPato, and is a General Partner of the recently launched Carao Ventures Fund I, LP. Prior to founding Carao Ventures, Allan was an Associate at Mesoamerica Investments, a leading M&A advisory, strategy consulting and private equity firm in Central America and the Andean Region, with offices in San Jose, Costa Rica and Bogota, Colombia. Allan's previous professional experience includes investment portfolio management at UBS Wealth Management US.If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
Patrick sat down with former Endeavor President Fernando Fabre to talk about how Endeavor has scaled from 9 to 27 markets during his tenure, how culture comes into the mix when scaling an organisation and his current role at Matterscale investing in early stage Latin founders across the globe.
On this episode, you will learn about:
- How to scale an organisation without neglecting culture
- How Endeavor expanded beyond LatAm and grew into the global entrepreneurship organisation it is today
- The importance of employee engagement and measuring employee satisfaction
- How to balance strategic planning with the volatile nature of scaling a startup
- Playing the VC game investing in early stage founders in emerging markets
You can connect with Fernando Fabre on Twitter of via LinkedIn.
About Fernando Fabre:
Managing Partner at early stage Latin VC Matterscale, former president of Endeavor Global and director at Endeavor Catalyst. Cofounder Collective Academy. Adjunct Professor of Scaling Up at Columbia University, sourcing and coaching top entrepreneurs.
Patrick sat down with leading edtech entrepreneur Marcos Fisbhen of Brazilian edtech scaleup Descomplica to talk about his journey, how he is scaling Descomplica to build Brazil's largest education provider and how they approached their recent acquisition of UniAmerica.
We dive into his learnings on how to grow as a leader while the company scales, building adjacent services whilst managing complexity and ensuring long-term user engagement.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Why we tend to overestimating experience and underestimate motivation and the implications on talent
- Building adjacent verticals as Descomplica scales their services
- Descomplica's approach on acquisitions and how to ensure cultural fit
- implications this has on hiring and building your company as an entrepreneur
- It not just about automate, it is about automate what whilst you are scaling your services
- Every new cycle is a completely new cycle, how to grow as a leader with the company
You can follow Marco Fisbhen on LinkedIn here or on Twitter here.
If you want to read more about Descomplica's journey check out this article on Lavca.
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
Patrick sat down with serial entrepreneur and social media innovator Andy Tian, co-founder of Asia Innovation Group to discuss all things social and how he grew Asia Innovations Group into one of the world'd leading social media platform builders following a unique customization approach. During the conversation we dive also into his vision for emerging markets, cross-pollination and the edge less mature ecosystems possess.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Latest trends and innovations in social media for emerging markets and their differences to more mature markets
- How to expand a business globally incorporating local cultural differences
- The importance of culture in getting the most out of your team's potential
You can follow Andy on LinkedIn here.
More about Andy:Andy is the CEO and co-founder of Asia Innovations Group (AIG), a leading mobile social entertainment group in Asia. AIG aims to bring Asia’s advanced mobile social products and business models to the global market, leveraging strong local regional offices to operate these products for the best local experience. AIG’s flagship product, Uplive, has become the highest revenue international live video app since launching in Jun 2016. Uplive is the leading live social app in emerging markets. Uplive leverages innovations in tech, product, and revenue model from Asia's multi-billion dollar live video market, and adapts them appropriately for each regional market.
Andy previously was GM of Zynga China, operating several top 10 mobile games in 15 languages globally. From 2005-2007, Andy led Google’s mobile business in China. Andy also co-founded three startups and sold two of them.
In this episode Patrick sits down with startup advisor and documentary filmmaker Ryan Williams to talk about his film on emerging ecosystems that took him from Mexico to Argentina, to Uruguay, Portugal and eventually to New Zealand. During the conversation we touch upon a wide range of topics beyond the actual movie. We dive into the art of giving and receiving advice, his personal journey into the ecosystem and the opportunities he sees in emerging markets.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Solving the biggest problem with the tools you have today
- Mentors should play specific roles to be effective
- Storytelling for founders & knowing your audience
- The weight of social proof in entrepreneurship and how to find your unique voice.
You can find Ryan on LinkedIn here and make sure to check out his amazing content on "Outside Silicon Valley here.
More about Ryan:Ryan has spent 10 years building some of the fastest growing Silicon Valley backed companies including AdRoll and InVisionApp. He’s the founder of SalesCollider, a sales accelerator based in San Francisco which has mentored over 400 startup founders. Ryan has been a featured guest mentor and speaker at 15 startup accelerators in 13 countries, is a former EIR at 500 Startups, and serves as an advisor and executive coach for startups backed by top investors such as Google Ventures, Y Combinator, Tiger Global, and Andreessen Horowitz.
On this episode Patrick sat down with René Lomelí, Partner at 500Startups for Spanish speaking LatAm to talk about the ecosystem, the evolution of 500S throughout, their new programme "SomosLucha" and how the pandemic has changed the way they provide services to start-ups.
- Road down memory lane, how the latam ecosystem has evolved and 500S with it
- How to lead a tech team as a non-technical founder
- Why constant feedback to stay at the top of your game
- The importance of diverse teams and how to select them
- 500S new programme and their renewed focus with Somos Lucha
You can find more about "Somos Lucha" here and follow René on Twitter or LinkedIn.
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
On this episode host Patrick Alex sat down with Mario Mello, Operating Partner at American- Brazilian fund Valor Capital to discuss their latest US$ 230M SPAC vehicle, how it came into being, the nitty gritty aspects of SPAC structuring and why they are an opportunity for emerging markets to provide more liquidity. During the session, we dive also into Mario experience concerning board structure, dynamics and the role of board observers.
On this episode you will learn:
- Nitty gritty aspects of SPAC structuring and Valor's own
- The importance of Board transitions ("It is eternal till it lasts")
- Insurtech trends in the region (before their latest investment in Chilean insurtech scale-up Betterfly was announced)
- Importance of being humble and Mario's take on success in life and how to contribute to society
You can follow Mario on LinkedIn and Twitter.
More on Mario Mello's biography below:
Mr. Mello is a Board Member and Operating Partner at Valor Capital Group. Mr. Mello has over 30 years of experience in the financial services and technology industries. Prior to joining Valor, Mr. Mello served as General Manager and General Director for Paypal Latin America for 8 years. In addition, he has served as Executive Vice President at Visa Latin America, Statutory Director of Banco Real (acquired by Santander) and also a member of the Board of Directors of Cielo, CBSS and Fidelity Systems. Mr. Mello is currently a Board Member of Developer company Tenda and Founder and President of Civic Nonprofit Start Up – O Poder do Voto. Mr. Mello received a BSE in Civil Engineering from the Polytechnic School at the University of São Paulo
On this episode host Patrick Alex sat down with leading investor Alexandre (Alex) Lazarow, author of "Out-innovate" and Partner at leading fund Cathay Capital to talk about his vision for emerging ecosystems, his book, how to best add value to entrepreneurs, the opportunities SPACs provide for young ecosystems and last but not least the importance of cross-pollination between ecosystems.
On this episode you will learn:
- Alex's journey into VC
- That ecosystems outside Silicon Valley, no matter in which country, actually have more in common than one might think and cross-pollination plays a crucial role to take full advantage of this
- Emerging markets ecosystems are unique in that entrepreneurs are not disruptors in the classic sense, but creators of new industries and serving new customer segments
- Why exits are important to get the multiplier effect kicking in and how SPACs could help
- The difference between camels and unicorns and why camels are more adequate for emerging ecosystems
- How to add value as a VC and find your product-market fit
You can subscribe to Alex's newsletter 99% Tech covering stories of entrepreneurship outside Silicon Valley here, his book can be found at your local book store or on Amazon here.
We also invite you to follow Alex on Medium for more content on emerging markets tech.
More on Alex's biography below:
*Alex is a Partner of Cathay Innovation’s San Francisco office. He is also an Adjunct Professor with the Middlebury Institute for International Studies MBA program, where he teaches entrepreneurship. Previously, Alex was with Omidyar Network, a global early stage investing platform, founded by Pierre & Pam Omidyar (founder of eBay), with over $1 billion AUM, and offices across North America, South America, Africa, Europe, India and South East Asia. Alex also has experience in strategy consulting with McKinsey & Co., financial regulation with the Bank of Canada, and M&A investment banking with the Royal Bank of Canada. He is a Kauffman Fellow, CFA Charterholder, and CFR Term Member. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Comm from the University of Manitoba.
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.*
Patrick sat down with Jason Ball, Partner at Pan-European growth stage fund GR Capital.
Jason make a compelling case for later stage investing in Europe and companies with an Eastern European market expansion focus in particular.
At GR, he and his colleagues have backed leading scale-ups such as Glovo, Lime, Sennder, Deliveroo and Flaschenpost (recently exited to Dr. Oetker). For Glovo in particular GR was instrumental in accompanying the founders on their Eastern European expansion. Jason provides several wise lessons on his way into VC, how to identify top performing teams and elaborates on the methodology of successful later stage investing. He also shares important learnings for emerging managers on how to foster LP relationships, a crucial component for any VC.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Jason’s path breaking into VC and his tours of duty at 2 European startups during the DotCom Bubble his time at Qualcomm Ventures, London Seed Capital and finally GR
- The importance of operating experience for investors
- The 3Ps of investing as well as the 4Ps of later stage investing
- Tactics for successful LP relationship and fundraising
Make sure to check out GR Capital's website and you can follow Jason Ball on LinkedIn here or on Twitter here.
Patrick sat down with fellow Endeavor colleague Pete Benedetto, who co-leads Endeavor's expansion efforts globally. Pete talks in detail about Endeavor’s unique growth formula, how Endeavor identifies ecosystems with scale-up potential and determines whether they are ripe for Endeavor to go in and what makes the Romanian ecosystem (one of our newest markets) a perfect use case.
About Endeavor:Established in 1997, Endeavor is the leading community of high-impact entrepreneurs to drive economic growth, innovation and job creation by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. To date, Endeavor has screened more than 60,000 individuals and selected more than 2,100 founders leading over 1,300 scale-up companies. With support from Endeavor’s worldwide mentor network, Endeavor Entrepreneurs have created over 4.1 million jobs, generate more than $26 billion in revenue each year, and inspire future generations to innovate and take risks, building strong entrepreneurship ecosystems in growth markets. Headquartered in New York City, Endeavor currently operates in 35+ growth markets throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America.
On this episode you will learn:
- How does Endeavor leverage a global network combined strong local roots for each of their markets
- How to build trusting relationships and the importance of referrals
- Aligning different personality profiles to structure a board of directors and account for board dynamics
- Why Romania as a start-up ecosystem exemplifies perfectly the kind of ecosystems Endeavor searches for to go in any support
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
Tristan Pollock is an American tech entrepreneur and startup investor who has created and sold two companies and invested $30 million into Silicon Valley startups via 500 Startups.
He has built startup ecosystems around the globe with the likes of Google for Startups, international VCs, and startup accelerator programs spanning from Russia to Saudi Arabia supporting thousands of startup founders on their entrepreneurial journeys.
Tristan's work has been featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox, NBC, and TED. His startup Storefront is what landed him in Forbes 30 Under 30. He also writes an author column for Entrepreneur.com and VentureBeat.
You can follow Tristan on twitter here and
Recent writings of his on the Entrepreneur.com can be found here.
Make sure to check out his medium where you can find inspirational stories of his journey across emerging ecosystems and all things tech.
On this episode you will learn:
- How to build a mission driven company and create community centred business models, showcasing striking examples such as Lyft and Airbnb and what makes them so compelling
- The importance of thoughtfulness and kindness - do not just treat your customers to make a profit, truly lasting businesses go way beyond that
- How to build a lasting mission that does not dilute as a company scales
- How vulnerability in leadership helps to build lasting bonds between co-founders, employees and the public
- Vulnerability paired with solution oriented thinking as a journey to lasting success
- Wartime vs. Peacetime CEO - How to complement this leadership concept with thoughtfulness? - Reflections after 1 year into the pandemic
- The future of remote work beyond covid and its implications for emerging ecosystems
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
On this episode Patrick sits down with Amanda Jacobson, Chief of Staff at Oyster Financial, a business account provider and all in one financial solution for startups in Mexico.
We chat about her journey in the Latin American ecosystem, beginning with her role at Village Capital to finally making the jump from VC to full time at a scale-up.
Amanda makes a compelling case for the importance of long-term, non-transactional relationships to build you business success and raise capital with leading investors.
She also elaborates on the key functions of the Chief of Staff role and when it is the right time for a startup to hire one.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Listen to customers and build relationships - how to use strengths on both sides of the table to create mutual value
- Her journey at Oyster and how Amanda defines her role as a Chief of Staff at Oyster
- Why financial infrastructure for startups is important and why we are still at the beginning of the startup revolution in Latam
- When should you join a startup and the beauty of the different stage of scaling from 0 to 100 and beyond
We rarely talk about the people behind the founders, the so called c-suite which is especially important at the scale-up stage - Amanda is a prime example for this.
If you like to check out Oyster for your business click here.You can follow Amanda on LinkedIn here
This episode takes us out of our lockdown homes over to Eastern Africa, where Mbwana with his team is buildingSavannah Fund, an early stage VC.
After taking Russel Simons (Co-founder @Yelp) out on Safari, he became a crucial backer in Fund I. Recently Savannah reached a first close of their second fund at US$ 25M with the backing of IFC and Silicon Valley legend Tim Draper (IFC press release here).
To date Savannah has invested in +30 deals across the continent and their portfolio companies have raised a consolidated US$ 118M across subsequent rounds.
Mbwana makes a compelling case for the African ecosystem, its strong potential, the importance of retaining talent and the challenges of creating track record in a nascent ecosystem, especially on raising your fund whilst building the ecosystem around you at the same time.
On this show you will learn:
- The state of the African ecosystem, its potential, key markets, top entrepreneurs and key sectors
- Mbwana's journey, after more than 15 years abroad in the UK and the US returning to Africa to pay it forward and build Savannah
- How to educate LPs, structure your fund and develop your VC thesis in a nascent ecosystem
You can find Mbwana on LinkedIn here, and on Twitter
More about Savannah Fund on their website
Check out the TechCrunch article covering Savannah here.
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
On this episode Patrick sits down with Georg Wolff, a German entrepreneur and co-founder of successful D2C leather accessory brand Buckle & Seam.
We dive into his journey as a founder, the challenges they faced producing in-house at their own manufacturing plant in Pakistan, scaling a D2C brand and their goal of "educating 10,000 kids in the country."
On this episode you will learn about:
- How to set up the supply chain for a D2C brand with production in a developing market whilst maintaining highest employee and quality standards
- How to identify your impact strategy and align it with your company's purpose and values
- Identifying your strengths as a founder and how to grow with the needs and size of the company
- Building the right team - Make the "getting lost in the desert test"
You can find Georg on LinkedIn here and make sure to check out Buckle & Seam's high quality leather goods on their website and get your favourite bag dispatched within minutes not only holding a high quality product in your hands, but also making a difference for children's education.
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
On this episode Patrick sits down with Alex Galvez, an entrepreneur himself, but also a very active angel investor and podcaster. Alex has invested in dozens of deals across Latin America and beyond.
He has invested in dozens of deals across Latin America and beyond providing us with compelling insights into the world of angel investing, deal diversification and portfolio construction. Further along in the discussion, we dive into the latests trends touching on SPACs, Solo VCs and of course the latest social media sensation Clubhouse.
On this episode you will learn about:
- The importance of deal diversification and how to evaluate early stage businesses
- The workings of investments syndicates and their benefits
- The next sectors in emerging markets that are ripe for tech innovation and disruption
You can find Alex on LinkedIn here and check out his renowned podcast Fundadores, where he interviews leading Latam entrepreneurs
On this episode Patrick sits down with Gabriel Weintraub, Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business and Marcos Singer, Professor and Dean of the MBA programme at Universidad Catolica de Chile to discuss the relevance of universities in creating entrepreneurial ecosystems.
We dive into the role of Stanford and explore its replicability to other markets. Marcos and Gabriel alike make a compelling case for the importance of universities in wider ecosystems. Along the discussion, we also highlight the need for more integration between industry and academia, which is lacking in more nascent ecosystems and Stanford contrastingly has embraced since the 60s.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Stanford’s role in creating the Silicon Valley ecosystem
- What are real entrepreneurship classes and can entrepreneurship be taught
- What role should universities play in a tech ecosystem
- How to embrace more collaboration between industry and academia
- Where is university and education heading for the future
Have a closer look at Gabriel Weintraub's research here and Marco Singer's research here
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
On this episode Patrick sits down with Katjana Kammin, Head of Portfolio at early stage venture firm MEST, to discuss the latest developments in the Western African ecosystem with a specific focus on Ghana and Nigeria.
Based out of the firm's HQ in Accra, Ghana, Katjana leads the firms's start-up portfolio investing in African entrepreneurs at the early stages as well as providing them with key resources and support on their scale-up journey through MEST's curated network of mentors and venture partners.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Katjana's journey of being born and raised in Germany, studies in the US and her path into the world of venture in Africa
- The state of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Western Africa, its still under leveraged potential and growing industries
- The challenges tied to scaling in a nascent ecosystem in developing markets
- Accelerated digitalisation through covid and sector trends
To have a deeper look into MEST's work, check out their website.
You can find Katjana on LinkedIn here.
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
On this episode Patrick sits down with Jenny Johnston, Associate at Flourish, Omidyar Network's fintech fund, to discuss the latest developments in the fintech space in Latam. Based out of the firms HQ in the Bay Area, Jenny leads the organisation's work for Latin America with investments ranging from Neobanks Albo and Neon to Brazilian's Guiabolso. Jenny makes a compelling case for the opportunities of Fintech in emerging markets and the strong potential Latam especially has on financial innovation with a young and tech savvy population.
On this episode you will learn about:
- Omidyar's leading rol as a new typo of organisation combining the powers of philanthropy, a strong mission and for-profit business models
- The state of Fintech in Latam, how the sectors has evolved since its inception and where it might be heading
- The incredible resilience of gig workers as digital hustlers providing for their families even at times of extreme hardship during the pandemic
To have a deeper look into Flourish's work, check out their website and download their comprehensive study "The Digital Hustle" on the state of the gig economy in emerging markets here.
Jenny Johnston is active on Twitter under the handle @Jenny_Colgate as well as on LinkedIn.
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
On this episode Patrick sits down with Dani Tricarico, former Executive Director of ASEA, to talk about the building blocks of entrepreneurial ecosystems, the particularities of the Argentine ecosystem and a call for more collaboration amongst the countries in Latin America.
Dani has shaped the Argentine ecosystem over the last decade negotiating and advocating on behalf of the 35,000 members of ASEA (Argentine's Association for Entrepreneurs) for a fairer playing field for entrepreneurs and SME's in the country, his journey is truly inspiring and shows how one can have a universal impact across the private and public sector.
On this episode you will learn about:
- What are the main ingredients to build a successful emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem and why public policy is important to level the playing field
- Why Argentine tech entrepreneurs have outperformed their peers in the region in the midst of tremendous economic volatility
- Unicorns are not the sole indicator for a flourishing ecosystem, you need both, success cases as inspiration and to create attention abroad, but 70% of the GDP in Latam remains dominated by SMEs, successful SMEs are part of the equation
- A Latin-American identity and collaboration on entrepreneurial policies are key to create a market that is of significant size and interest for international investors
To have a deeper look into ASEAs and ASELA's very important work, check out their website You can find Dani Tricarico on LinkedIn here or follow him on Twitter.
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.
This episode takes us into the story of Co-Founder and CEO, Gerardo Salandra of Respond.io, a business platform that revolutionizes customer interaction across messenger platforms.
We dive into his journey of becoming an entrepreneur, the challenges he has faced on the way, building the team and his take on why tech solutions for emerging markets are future-proof and actually ahead of developed markets.
On this episode you will learn:
- Motivations for starting a company and how experience working at a scale-up can help
- Implications of a decentralized team and balancing operating cost with finding the right tech talent
- Gerardo's perspectivo on people management and self-learning - get insights on how to find out at what you are good at and even more importantly at what you thought you were good at but actually aren't
- Insights on finding the right legal structure to set-up your global company
- Why tech opportunities across emerging markets are huge and actually more future-proof than building your business out of a more mature market
You can find out more about respond.io on their website and follow Gerardo on LinkedIn here.
Also you can watch his TEDx Talk on 'The Future of AI', here
If you are interested in more shows and content on emerging markets follow me on twitter @pat_travels or via LinkedIn.
If you enjoy the show, it would be fantastic if you could give us a rating on Apple Podcasts.