The Enthusiast: Founders and VCs beyond the Valley

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 Par...

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, K...

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 currentl...

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 le...

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 whe...

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 leaderWhat is paradoxical leadership and how to impleme...

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 team...

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-Fo...

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 startupsThe origins of Seedstars and what is next for the organisationHow...

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 p...

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: All...

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 DeFiCentralised vs. De-centralised financial system...

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...

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...

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 publicOn this episode you will learn about: GA's beginnings, thei...

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 leaderOn this episode you will learn about: Janan's ecl...

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 communitiesHow...

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...

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 hu...

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 B2...

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 ab...

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...

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...

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 aboutHow the two found their way into venture and started Bi...

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 aboutThe gig-economificat...