Latitud Podcast
Get inspired by Latin America’s most prominent tech founders and investors. They share personal and actionable insights on how to scale, raise capital, and become a better leader. Presented by Brian Requarth, Latitud’s cofounder. Top 1% most shared globally on Spotify in 2022.
Episodes
The Playbook For Building In Public: Barte’s Caetano Lacerda and Raphael Dyxklay
Caetano Lacerda and Raphael Dyxklay scaled their fintech from $1M to $40M in revenue in just two years. And they did it all out in the open.Barte is a financial control center that helps medium to large companies manage their cash flow. Co-founders Caetano and Raphael decided to build this in public as soon as they found product-market fit.Since then, they’ve shared their wins, their failures, and
A Class in Hyperfocus: Arvo's Zero To One With Fabricio Valadao
This chat is one I have wanted to share for a while. Back in 2022, we at Latitud met and invested in Fabrício. He had just left his corporate job. He also had a precise diagnosis. Healthcare insurers in Brazil were losing 20 to 40 percent of their revenue to fraud, waste, and abuse. And he knew what the next step was.What happened next is a masterclass in early-stage execution. Fabrício and co-fo
The Zero to One of Latin America’s Largest Payment Network: Tomas Mindlin, tapi
Fintech is the most mature startup segment in Latin America. But we still have a long way to go. Tomás Mindlin had an insight — companies that scale their user base need a payment network that can walk alongside them.And that’s how tapi was born. In just three years, the Buenos Aires-born fintech became the largest payment network in Spanish-speaking Latin America. A year ago, it raised a 22 milli
Strike Before You’re Hit: Santiago Rosenblatt's Zero to One
Santiago Rosenblatt has been hacking since he was a kid growing up in Uruguay. Curiosity turned into a career: as an ethical hacker, Santi led cybersecurity efforts at companies like AstroPay and PedidosYa, now part of Delivery Hero.But he had a hunch that this pain was actually massive, and faced by businesses of all sizes, sectors, and headquarters. Chats with company leaders proved that they we
AI-Powered $20M ARR: The Expansion Playbook of Jorge Vargas Neto, BHub
Jorge Vargas Neto is now on his third journey as a fintech founder – and we had the pleasure of being not only one of their first customers, but also their first venture capital check.In three and a half years, the fintech achieved a $20M ARR and went from -696% to 63% gross margin. BHub now supports over seven thousand companies in Brazil, through backoffice services powered by AI.Jorge’s back to
The Expansion and M&A Playbook of Dennis Herszkowicz, TOTVS
When it comes to pulling off successful acquisitions in tech, few people in Latin America have a playbook that’s as refined as Dennis. The CEO of TOTVS has been at the forefront of one of Brazil’s most aggressive expansion strategies, leading about 50 acquisitions.It all started 25 years ago, when Dennis co-founded an auction website that would compete with giants such as DeRemate and Mercado Libr
Hitting $70M in revenue run rate with $4M raised: Manuel Beaudroit, Belo
Belo was born from a simple vision: making crypto as easy to use as any other tech or currency. Today, half a million people use the app to store, spend, and send money. Leveraging stablecoins, they protect themselves against inflation and unlock financial freedom. Crypto is more accessible and impactful than ever across Latin America – and Belo is a sizable part of that movement.The vision might
Zero to One: Customer Discovery Lessons from Matias Gath, Pulppo
From a family of entrepreneurs, Matias Gath wanted to be part of the change brought by startups. After an exit to the delivery conglomerate Glovo, Matias joined co-founder Agustin Iglesias in a new endeavor. In this episode, Matias shares the journey of taking Pulppo from a PowerPoint to an operating system for real estate agents, freeing them up to become home-buying advisors. We chat about:– Wha
Vertical SaaS in LatAm with Cometa, Fudo, and PulpOS
While the US is facing SaaS fatigue, the story of software as a service is still on page one in Latin America. The region has leapfrogged the on-premise stage, with companies looking for digitalization fixes that are easy yet personalized. This is where Vertical SaaS comes in. Here at Latitud, we’ve seen how some software as a service have traded market size for market share, aiming to lead by fin
The LatAm Tech Report 2024: Here's Your Summary
DOWNLOAD THE FULL STUDY HERE: https://www.latitud.com/latam-tech-reportWe just launched the newest edition of The LatAm Tech Report, our annual deep dive into the region’s startup ecosystem. It's a powerful reminder that LatAm founders aren't just building solutions. They're building unique innovations for the global stage.This year, we focused on key trends, opportunities, and chal
Why LatAm? ESOPs with Norte Ventures and Credit Saison
What’s the best way to make employees have skin in the game? Giving them a true chance at ownership. This is what employee stock ownership plans are all about. An impressive 85% of Latin American startups have already set up an ESOP. That’s the headline of a study by Caravela Capital, Norte Ventures, and Credit Saison.But there’s still a lot to be done. This episode is all about tactical advice wh
The Growth Playbook of Rodrigo Tognini, Conta Simples
From his first days at university, Rodrigo realized he wasn’t going to follow a traditional path. An internship at the Brazilian payment company Stone was enough to inspire him to create his own startup. Through a mix of expense management software and financial services, Conta Simples now helps tens of thousands of companies stay on top of their finances and unlock their full potential.Conta has
The Growth Playbook of Lucas Vargas, Nomad
Groupon, VivaReal, Nomad: Lucas Vargas spent over a decade sharpening his growth playbook for startups in Latin America.The end result is the true embodiment of founder mode. Be it product or marketing decisions, Lucas went against the grain and trusted his intuition on the road building Nomad, a bank for Brazilians who include dollarization in their financial life planning.2 million customers la
The Playbook for Building in Health for LatAm of Thomaz Srougi, Dr.Consulta and Carecode
If you're Brazilian or have lived in Brazil but you've never heard of Dr. Consulta, you've probably been living under a rock. So many people in the world don't have access to healthcare plans, and this is definitely the case in Brazil.Over a decade ago, Thomaz Srougi started working on this problem. And now, Dr. Consulta has already supported over 6 million Brazilians. Thomaz r
LatAm does it best: Atlantico’s Latin America Digital Report 2024
Download Atlantico’s Latin America Digital Report 2024: https://www.atlantico.vcThe new edition of Atlantico’s Latin America Digital Report is out today — and it’s all about how LatAm does it best when it comes to creating winners in tech.Ana Martins, Julio Vasconcellos, and I sat down and chatted about the biggest findings from the report, and what they mean for founders and investors in the regi
Taking AI to SMBs in LatAm with Lautaro Schiaffino, Darwin AI
Lautaro Schiaffino and Ezequiel Sculli are two startup founders with a clear mission: enabling small and medium businesses to compete with players of all sizes. Working with these SMBs for over a decade in Latin America, they've conquered both an exit and a new frontier to work on: artificial intelligence. Darwin AI brings companies not only software, but an employee capable of making decisio
The Growth Playbook of André Penha, Quinto Andar
The Latitud Podcast is back with a new season — but that’s not all. We’re entering a new phase: Tomas Roggio will join me, Brian Requarth, as we uncover the playbooks used by founders and investors transforming Latin America. We hope you’ll leave each episode with a new approach to take your startup to 0, 1, and beyond.We couldn’t have found a better first guest than André Penha — the computer sci
#172 — Scott Hartley, Everywhere VC: discovering and developing the best founders around the world
Scott Hartley was a researcher and went on to work with product and operations at companies like Facebook and Google. But the most well-known part of Scott’s journey began when he hit Sand Hill Road.Scott went on to become a co-founder of Two Culture Capital and Everywhere Ventures. Across these two VC firms, he invested in over 300 startups around the world — Latitud and LatAm included.In a world
#171 - Santiago Gomez, Simetrik: the journey to a $55M Series B
Back in 2018, Santiago Gomez and Alejandro Casas were just two young and hopeful founders, fresh into YC. However, with a team of 25 working on an e-commerce business, they struggled to find funding. "There's no founder-product fit", the investors would say. After a while, it clicked that their passion was elsewhere.They were challenged by a mentor to kill the startup and start buil
#170 – Building companies in LatAm and the US: Matias Recchia, Keyway
Over a decade ago, Matias Recchia created a startup to take home maintenance services online. IguanaFix expanded across Latin America, and eventually attracted the Brazilian unicorn Madeira Madeira.After the sale, Matias dived into a new challenge: bringing more efficiency to the US real estate market. Keyway uses data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to improve how Americans
#169 – Transforming banks through AI: Rohan Ramanath, Hyperplane
AI has been the talk of the town for a while. But have you seen it in your run-of-the-mill bank yet? Well, Hyperplane is changing that.About a dozen banks in Brazil are already getting all the information they have, running it by the startup's artificial intelligence, and then predicting customer behavior and building personalized experiences.The startup finally came out of stealth a few week
#168 — What makes a unicorn: Daniela Binatti, Paulo Veras, and Rodrigo Baer at Vamos Latam Summit
Unicorn stories generally look at the beginning and the end of the journey. There's not a lot out there about the messy middle, filled with patience and hard work.That's why we invited the co-founders of Pismo, 99, and Upload Ventures to our most recent Vamos Latam Summit. By the way, you can already click this link to pre-register for our next, incredible edition of VLS.In this episode,
#167 — The myth of overnight success: GetNinjas, Madeira Madeira, and Silverguard at Vamos Latam Summit
Most of the time, the road to startup success is not a straight and short one. Founders can face unexpected roadblocks and then take detours – especially in Latin America.Kristen Durham, the VP of SMBs and Startups at Zendesk, chatted with the founders of GetNinjas, Madeira Madeira, and Silverguard in our most recent Vamos Latam Summit. They shared the obstacles seen in their long journeys as entr
#166 — The path to your Series A: Latitud Ventures, Canary, Valor Capital Group, and Fintech Collective at Vamos Latam Summit
A Series A is a crucial moment for every venture-backed business. Raising this round is a turning point for startups, from validation to scale.So at our most recent Vamos Latam Summit, we invited investors from Latitud Ventures, Canary, Valor Capital Group, and Fintech Collective to share their perspectives on the path to a Series A. By the way, you can already click this link to pre-register for
#165 — Fundraise and manage your cap table the right way: BZCP, Campbells, Gunderson Dettmer, and Carta at Vamos Latam Summit
Fundraising the right way to end up with a healthy cap table isn't usually a top-of-mind priority for startup founders. But it should be. Making a dilution mistake in the earlier stages can bring you and your startup a lot of problems when it's time to raise new rounds.That's why we called experts from BZCP, Carta, Campbells, and Gunderson Dettmer. They shared the best cap table man
#164 — How to craft founder-investor relationships: Investo, Cumbuca, and Lightspeed Venture Partners at Vamos Latam Summit
A founder-investor relationship is like a marriage: hopefully, you're both sticking to each other through thick and thin, for years to come.Finding the right partner and crafting this lasting relationship is no easy task. That's why we called founders and investors to share their experiences during this year's Vamos Latam Summit. By the way, you can already click the link in the des
#163 — How to reach product-market fit: BHub, Foodology, and Pomelo at Vamos Latam Summit
Product-market fit can make or break your startup. Being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market is an essential but difficult task.That's why we asked the founders of BHub, Foodology, and Pomelo to come to Vamos Latam Summit and share their own journey of reaching PMF.In this episode, Jorge Vargas Neto, Daniela Izquierdo, and Gastón Irigoyen talk about:- What were the st
#162 — Fireside chat with Brian Requarth and Sebastian Mejia at Vamos Latam Summit
Sebastian Mejia is the co-founder and president of Rappi. And for the past 18 months, he’s been focused on a single goal: having the best team in the world. At Vamos Latam Summit, Sebastian shared how we went about it, and his journey as a startup founder. This is only one of the impressive panels we’ve had at VLS. And by the way, you can already click this link to pre-register for our next, incre
#161 — Fireside chat with Gina Gotthilf and Hernan Kazah at Vamos Latam Summit
Here’s Gina Gotthilf, co-founder of Latitud together with Brian and Yuri. You might have noticed this episode’s a bit different — but not only because I’m the one presenting it.This week onward, we’ll be sharing the most impressive panels we’ve had at Vamos Latam Summit. By the way, you can already click this link to pre-register for our next, awesome edition.There’s no better way to open this ser
#160 – Leveling up in life and in startups: Eduardo della Maggiora, Betterfly
After spending a decade at JP Morgan, all the way to becoming VP, Eduardo della Maggiora decided he wanted to go from company advisor to company builder. Betterfly got 99 nos and 1 yes in the beginning, as Eduardo puts it. After fundraisings and pivots, the corporate benefits platform became a unicorn back in 2022. Now, it's focusing on its global expansion.In this episode, Eduardo and I talk
#159 – Being an angel and VC in LatAm: Derek Hall and Miguel Burger-Calderon, BFF
Derek Hall and Miguel Burger-Calderon weren't born in Latin America but saw just how many opportunities the region has. They went from founders to angel investors in the US and LatAm, putting money into companies such as Clara, Cobli, and Nowports.Now, Derek and Miguel are venture capital investors for LatAm. At BFF, which is not "best friends forever" but "by founders for foun
#158 – MISTO, an investment template for Brazilian startups: Christel Moreno, Gunderson Dettmer
We've been hearing startup founders all over LatAm for a while now. And we noticed a common reflection from those on a fundraising journey: how a simple and clean investment template could take much of the friction away.That's why we partnered up with law offices such as Gunderson Dettmer to launch MISTO in Brazil. MISTO is a document with optimized terms for investing, with language and
#157 – The renewal of the entrepreneurial spirit: Ana Martins and Julio Vasconcellos, Atlantico
Atlantico's back with its annual Latin America Digital Transformation Report. The study reflects on some of the forces transforming LatAm today, from the renewal of the entrepreneurial spirit in the region to the rise of artificial intelligence. We had early access to these findings here at Latitud, and decided to chat with Atlantico's Ana Martins and Julio Vasconcellos about the most im
#156 — Balancing curiosity and focus as a startup founder: Parker Treacy, Cobli
Parker Treacy voyaged down from the US to Brazil back in 2014 for two reasons. First, for the adventure. Second, and that's in his own words, for being irrationally convinced that he'd be successful. In the end, Parker stuck the landing. He took his experience in the auto industry to create Cobli, a startup that builds technology for fleet management. Now, Cobli has over 5 thousand clien
#155 – A startup pivot years in the making: André Ferraz, Incognia
From the Brazilian city of Recife, André Ferraz co-founded a startup out of a research project. That was In Loco Media, a company that used geopositioning technology for marketing. Eventually, the retail giant Magazine Luiza bought the startup.But years before that sale, André was already working for years on using that same technology to solve another huge problem: online security. His new compan
#154 — Betting on Latin America’s e-commerce power: Sujay Tyle, Merama
Sujay Tyle sold his used cars marketplace to Naspers back in 2019. He could have stopped there. But he decided to double down on a segment and a market that still had a lot to offer.Sujay co-founded Merama, a marketplace that invests in and partners with e-commerces brands all over Latin America. Merama’s now a unicorn, and Sujay also became a startup investor to share what he’s learned with other
#153 — Memorable events as a startup strategy: Brian Requarth, Latitud
Wanna win a free ticket to Vamos Latam Summit, and bring your friends along with a discount? Participate in our exclusive raffle for Latitud Podcast listeners! Click the following link and comment your favorite episode's title + tag two friends: https://bit.ly/latitud-podcast-vls-raffleConnections are really powerful — and even more so when we take the time to be together in real life. That’s
#152 – Startups' best practices and mistakes on product: Irit Epelbaum, Product Management Coach
Irit Epelbaum has managed product teams for more than a decade. From San Francisco to São Paulo, she's worked in companies like Trulia, Peixe Urbano, and VivaReal. Now, Irit makes use of that experience to coach founders on the best practices of product management. She's both the product operating partner at Atlantico and an independent product management coach.In this episode, Irit and
#151 – Focus and efficiency as a startup founder: Manoela Mitchell, Pipo Saúde
Manoela Mitchell went from investor to founder because she wanted to crack one of Brazil's most challenging markets: healthcare. She's now the co-founder and CEO of Pipo Saúde, a startup that currently has 100,000 lives under management.Pipo Saúde's growth is a lesson on focus and efficiency, ranging from sales and fundraising to culture and diversity. In this episode, Manoela and I
#150 – Latitud Podcast's special on how to overcome difficult times: 99, Buser, Loggi, Atlantico, Cracks Fund, Ganas Ventures, General Atlantic
Latitud Podcast has been going strong for three years, and we’ve finally reached episode #150. So we decided to take a trip down memory lane and revisit some stories about how to survive through difficult times. These difficult moments can appear in your upbringing, in your startup’s ups and downs, in the market as a whole, or in your own limitations.Whatever your tough moment of the day is, we ha
#149 – Carving your own path: Alejandra Ríos, Ambrosía and Shark Tank
Alejandra Ríos started her studies in the food industry. But she already had another plan in mind: entering the finance and business world.Now, Alejandra is the CEO of the culinary education and events company Ambrosía. She's also a shark at Shark Tank Mexico. We share the stage in the show's newest season, which airs on July 7th, 2023.In this episode, Alejandra and I talk about:- How sh
#148 - How to build products your customers want: Steve Blank
Get out of the building! If you've never heard this advice before as a founder… wait, what am I saying, of course you have. Today, we welcome a true titan of the startup world, the man who coined "GOOB" and pioneered the Customer Development methodology, which has been instrumental in shaping the Lean Startup movement.Steve Blank is not only a serial entrepreneur with 8 ventures and
#147 – How to master M&As and media as a startup founder: Luis Lora, Globo Ventures
Luis Lora has been in the media and tech scene for a long time – from writing a check into Napster and negotiating deals for iTunes to dealing with M&As, private equity, and venture capital deals in Latin America.Now, Luis is a managing partner at Globo Ventures. The investment firm writes checks for venture capital funds and startup founders transforming the Brazilian market. It also leverage
#146 – LatAm's startup opportunity in the eyes of Silicon Valley: Anna Piñol, NFX
Anna Piñol moved from Spain to Silicon Valley to become a startup founder. She not only got invested by the venture capital firm NFX but decided to join them to fund other startups.Anna's now a Principal at NFX. Day after day, she sees and writes checks for transformational business models in Latin America.In this episode, Anna and Brian Requarth talk about:- What she learned from being an ex
#145 – M&A and debt lessons for LatAm startup founders: Arthur O'Keefe, Bamboo
Arthur O' Keefe is no stranger to pressure. He started his professional journey by working in a nuclear submarine for the United States Navy, but later decided to go to Harvard Business School and make a career in finance.Arthur has led M&A efforts for years at Movile, the Brazilian tech company best known for the delivery app iFood. Now, Arthur's the founder of Bamboo. The company b
#144 – Unlocking Latin American startups' potential: Rafael Costa, Across Capital Partners
Rafael Costa has been investing in Latin American startups for a decade. He's seen the development of the tech investing scene in LatAm by being an investor in growth equity firms like Vulcan Capital, and by sitting on the board of companies like Loft and Neon.This experience has opened Rafael's eyes to the opportunity of bridging tech communities in Latin America and the United States.
#143 – Lessons from fundraising in public: Brian York, Cubbo
Born in Colombia but raised in the US, Brian York went back to Latin America a few years ago. He not only discovered his roots but also a mission -- driving value to the Colombian startup ecosystem, and generating economic and social progress with that.Brian's now a co-founder and the CEO of Cubbo, a startup that provides logistics to e-commerce players. He's also sharing everything he h
#142 – A serial fintech founder's journey: Jorge Vargas Neto, BHub
As a lawyer, Jorge Vargas Neto met fintech founders like David Vélez from Nubank and Sergio Furio from Creditas. He got so inspired that he decided to become a fintech founder himself.After exiting two startups to the unicorns PagSeguro and Rappi, Jorge is now on his third journey as a fintech founder. BHub offers back-office-as-a-service for startups and traditional SMBs. They have accomplished a
#141 – Creating and scaling a deep tech startup in Latin America: Leonardo Vieira, Tractian
Tractian is part of a small LatAm startup club that focuses on hardware and software. This was a decision that Gabriel Lameirinhas, Igor Marinelli, and Leonardo Vieira took early on. And it was a necessary step to solve a massive global problem: making factories more efficient.The hard work has paid off, and Tractian now supports hundreds of clients and monitors thousands of machines in Brazil and
#140 – From an epic fail to a unicorn: Fabien Mendez, Loggi
Fabien Mendez grew up in France but discovered his entrepreneurial vein in Latin America. That calling led to one of Brazil's biggest startups. Loggi became a unicorn back in 2019. Now, it moves 300 thousand packages every day across the country. But these numbers don't tell how hard the journey has been, from convincing early investors to adapting to regulations and new business models.
#139 – Lessons from a startup pioneer in Mexico: Bernardo Cordero, Flat
Bernardo Cordero has always liked to be one of the first people to arrive at the scene. That was the case with Linio, an e-commerce company created more than a decade ago. That was also the case with STARTegy, his venture builder for fintechs. Finally, history repeated itself when he co-founded the real estate business Flat. These years in tech entrepreneurship have taught Bernardo valuable lesson
#138 – Successfully teaching, creating, founding, and investing: Mar Hershenson, Pear VC
Mar Hershenson has done it all. She's been a VP of product development and a co-founder of three successful startups.With 14 patents under her belt and a passion for teaching, Mar has joined us today to share her insights on:What it takes to succeed in the startup world, Experience as a managing partner at Pear VC to Her early bet on DoorDash, Thoughts on the role of academia in the startup e
#137 – Empowering underrepresented markets through capital access: Stevon Darling, H20
Growing up in the Bahamas gave Stevon Darling an interesting world vision. He started his career studying to be a doctor but later was exposed to finance education and found his calling. He was, until very recently, the CIO of H2O Capital, an investment company that focuses on large and valuable companies in LatAm. Stevon faces another key moment in his career, founding a neobank for the Caribbea
#136 – The Secret to Nubank's Product Development: Hugh Strange
Hugh Strange worked as a VP of product at Nubank. As you know, being a company devoted to innovation and product development, his work there was full of rich and broad experiences. In our conversation, Hugh shared how to choose the right technology, build the ideal team, use product development for growth, incorporate the company's culture into the work, and some history behind product decisi
#135 – Product and business modeling on the go: Marcelo Lombardo, Omie
This is an open and honest conversation full of lessons and ideas from a dynamic and curious founder: Marcelo Lombardo. As a kid, He used to build electronic equipment for fun, buying parts, dismantling, and building them back again. His obsession with understanding how things work led him to start coding, giving him the critical thinking he needed to envision product development opportunities. In
#134 – Meridian by Latitud: the fintech for venture-backed startups in LatAm: Patrick Kolencherry and Brian Requarth, Latitud
This is a special episode about a product we have been working on for some time now. Meridian is the business account for LatAm startups. You can manage your company's runway, move capital across borders, and keep your flow of funds compliant. To learn more about Meridian, go to https://meridian.latitud.com/In this conversation with Patrick Kolencherry, we discussed the latest developments wi
#133 – From childhood inventions to startup investing around the world: Mercedes Bent, Lightspeed Venture Partners
Mercedes grew up in a household where inventions, product ideas, and web development were discussed at the dinner table. That unique environment created a curious-minded person who started her professional career on Wall-street but later became a startup founder and investor. Today she is part of Lightspeed venture partners. We discussed her interest in fintech, crypto, NFTs, LatAm investing, and
#132 – Crucial legal and financial information for startups: Daniel Green, Gunderson
It's 2023, and all startups are trying to find answers to profound questions that may affect their present and future existence. We invited back Dan Green from Gunderson Dettmer for a series of special episodes where we will focus on vital legal and financial information.Dan works with all corporate and securities law areas, including company formation and financing, debt transactions, and i
#131 – Everything tech: Yuri Danilchenko, Latitud
Yuri Danilchenko is Latitud's tech-co founder, and I have introduced him many times before. Personally, what I find very compelling about his story is that we can see clearly how his personal experience helped shape who he is and how he works. He was born naturally curious about technology and is a great translator between product x business, and tech. He grew up in Russia during some histor
#130 – Latitud and Jeeves presents: Demystifying fundraising for LatAm startups.
It takes an effort of titans to elevate the startup ecosystem in Latam. At Latitud, we know it's not possible to do it alone; that's why we partnered with Jeeves to help provide access to financial tools to help founders in the most critical stages of their startups.In today's episode, we will have an honest conversation with four great talents: Dileep from Jeeves, Antonia from ALLV
#129 – Real-estate technology and business in LatAm: Brynne McNulty Rojas, Habi
While searching for a new home for her family, Brynne saw an opportunity to introduce much-needed transparency and speed into the real estate market in Colombia. Today, the company she co-founded, Habi, is a leading start-up in the field. Brynne and I talked about: The journey to start a business in Colombia. Her personal experience with real-estate technology. How they adapted their business and
#128 - The state of startups: Elad Gil, Color Genomics
In the world of startups, Elad Gil has done it all. He's been an executive, entrepreneur, investor, or advisor for so many successful companies: Airbnb, Gusto, Stripe, Square, Google and Twitter, to name a few. Today he is the co-founder of Color Genomics and describes himself as A Startup Helper. We couldn't agree more.In a conversation with the entire Latitud Team, Elad talked about:t
#127 - Empowering businesses and the middle class of Latin America: Wenyi Cai, Polymath
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 specifical
#126 - A successful shift from venture building to investing: Cristobal Perdomo, Wollef
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 entreprene
#125 - Building a better future for the 99%: Ryan Bloomer, K50
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 fina
#124 - The opportunities yet to be seized, in the eyes of startup founders: The LatAm Tech Report
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
#123 – Living with economic uncertainty and developing a startup culture in Latin America: Federico Antoni, ALLVP
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 compa
#122 – The path to finding your purpose and becoming a crack: Oso Trava, Cracks Fund
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 Ameri
#121 – In an uncertain market, a certain bet on LatAm startups: Izabel Gallera and Marcos Toledo, Canary
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
#120 – Stori's story of becoming Mexico's 9th unicorn and a credit card giant: Marlene Garayzar
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 underserv
#119 – How can founders, angel investors, and mentors create value: Simon Baker, CAV Investment Group
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
#118 – Supporting the development of Latin America through venture capital: Alejandro Diez Barroso, DILA Capital
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:
#117 – Global funds looking for Latin American founders: a16z, Founders Fund, and Harlem Capital at Vamos Latam Summit
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; Ga
#116 – Past, present, and future of venture capital in Latin America: Canary, Kaszek, and Monashees at Vamos Latam Summit
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
#115 – Building strong founder communities: Ian Hathaway, Camilla Junqueira, and André Barrence at Vamos Latam Summit
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 commu
#114 – Building extraordinary fintechs from Latin America: Creditas and dLocal at Vamos Latam Summit
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 payme
#113 – Thinking big from day 0: Rappi, Jeeves, and Linker at Vamos Latam Summit
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 showe
#112 — Lessons from the Brazilian who co-founded Instagram: Mike Krieger at Vamos Latam Summit
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 flag
#111 – Non-obvious advice to startup founders and LatAm's upper hand: Pete Flint, NFX, at Vamos Latam Summit
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 invest
#110 – Why you need to pay more attention to LatAm's tech boom: Ana Martins and Julio Vasconcellos, Atlantico
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 vent
