Afleveringen
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🎙️ No Guests, Just You & Me 🌍
Season 3 of The J Curve is officially wrapped, and I’m here to unpack the journey so far. From doubling our Spotify streams to hitting the top 5% of videocasts globally (what?!), this year has been a wild ride.
In this solo ep, I’m breaking down:
🔥 Why podcasting is THE medium of the future.
🌎 LATAM’s tech explosion—blockbuster M&As, IPOs, and a pipeline of unicorns.
💡 The 10 life-changing lessons I’ve learned from 40+ brilliant founders.
It’s bold. It’s personal. It’s everything you didn’t know you needed. 🎧 Tune in now and let’s close this season on a high note!
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. Today we sit down with Allen Taylor, Managing Partner at Endeavor Catalyst, to explore his 18-year journey with Endeavor and the rise of emerging markets as thriving hubs for entrepreneurship. We discuss Allen’s personal path from California to becoming a global advocate for high-impact entrepreneurs, the creation of Endeavor Catalyst, and how the model fosters economic development through the multiplier effect. Notably, Allen shares how Endeavor Catalyst’s first $6 million pool achieved an impressive 8x cash-on-cash return, investing in companies like Globant and Yemeksepeti.
This conversation dives deep into crafting sustainable investment models, the untapped opportunities in Latam in sectors like agribusiness and enterprise SaaS, and the importance of long-term thinking for emerging market growth. Whether you’re a founder aiming to scale globally or an investor seeking to unlock new markets, this episode is filled with powerful lessons and practical takeaways.
We discuss 👇🏻
1. Think in Decades: Why Building Billion-Dollar Companies Requires Patience, Resilience, and a Long-Term Vision – and What’s Broken in the Classic VC Model
2. The Multiplier Effect Unlocked: The Three Defining Traits of Hyper-Successful Entrepreneurs
3. The $6M Bet That Returned 8x: How Emerging Markets Became Venture Capital’s Best Kept Secret
4. Scaling from $6M to $500M AUM: Inside the Endeavor Catalyst Playbook for Building a Global Venture Fund in Emerging Markets
5. The Next Big Markets: Where Endeavor Catalyst Is Placing Its Boldest Bets – From LATAM to Egypt and Beyond
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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On this special episode of The J Curve, I swap roles with the incredible Veronica Serra—founding partner at Innova Capital and Endeavor Global board member. With dirty martinis in hand, I shared my entrepreneurial journey, life lessons, and love for Latin America’s startup ecosystem. A rare and unforgettable moment 🥂 Enjoy!
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. Today we sit down with Marcelo Lombardo, the founder of Omie, to explore the journey from a seven-person startup to a 1,600-strong team transforming Brazil’s SMB ERP market. We discuss his unconventional path to entrepreneurship, pivotal business decisions like the shift to accountant partnerships, and how Omie became a key player in an incredibly complex and fragmented market.
The list of Omie’s venture capital investors includes the likes of Riverwood Capital, Softbank and Astella.
Marcelo shares insights on building resilient companies, navigating challenging fundraising landscapes, and leveraging M&A to fill strategic gaps. This conversation dives deep into crafting scalable sales processes, balancing growth with cash flow sustainability, and the lessons learned from his fascinating transition from tech to sales leadership. Whether you’re an entrepreneur scaling your venture or an investor seeking the next disruptive play, this episode is packed with actionable takeaways.
We discuss 👇🏻
1. B2B sales playbook mastery: How Omie crafted a science-driven approach to sales that closes 40% of deals in the first meeting.
2. Breaking the VC2G trap: Why raising venture capital to spend on performance marketing is a losing strategy and how Omie escaped it.
3. Navigating Brazil’s complex tax system: How understanding and leveraging local nuances created a competitive moat in one of the world’s toughest markets.
4. The accountant hack that revolutionized customer acquisition”: How leveraging accountants turned OMI into a lead-generating machine.
5. Acquisition as a growth fuel: How Omie became an M&A machine to fast-track innovation and fill product gaps.
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America with me, Olga Maslikhova. My guest today is Adhemar Milani Neto, founder and CEO of Kovi, an ‘all-inclusive’ car subscription platform for gig workers. Kovi has raised $145M from top investors like Valor Capital, Prosus Ventures, Quona, Monashees, Norte, Maya Capital, Globo Ventures, and Peter Thiel’s family office. In this episode, we talk about Brazil’s unique mobility landscape, the lessons from transforming Kovi from a pure tech company to an operational technology business, and how Adhemar is building a holistic company culture—plus so much more.
In today's episode we discuss:
Driving innovation: how Brazil’s mobility challenges are reshaping the market with subscriptions and connected technology Connect the dots: how transparency and proactive communication build stronger founder/VC partnerships? Complexity doesn't scale: how to build scalable operations with purpose and precision? Break down silos: how to create synergy between tech-driven culture and operations in a startup Clean win: how Brazil’s renewable edge and gig economy fuel EV growth?If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Sergio Furio, chairman of the board of Endeavor Brazil and founder and CEO of Creditas, Brazil’s leading fintech lender that is transforming Brazil's lending landscape by offering secured loans at significantly lower interest rates, bringing essential financial access to millions across the country.
Creditas has raised $879m dollars across six funding rounds. It’s most recent valuation is $4.8B and the list of backers includes the likes of Fidelity, Advent International, Lightrock, QED, VEF, Softbank and Kaszek.
In this episode, we dive into the value of choosing the right market, distinct challenges and opportunities of Brazil’s financial services ecosystem, Creditas’ pivot from a marketplace to direct lending, and how Sergio’s fresh perspective as an expat gave him the courage to challenge the status quo.
1. The Market Matters: How targeting the right market can make or break your startup?
2. Profitability Roadmap: Why profitability depends on margins and smart resource management over drastic cost-cutting?
3. Smart Capital, Stronger Foundations: The long-term benefits of choosing investors who share your mission and bring strategic value, not just funds
4. From 6 to 2000: The Creditas team-building playbook—forget résumés, hire for grit and vision
5. Breaking the Mold: Why outsiders see opportunities that insiders miss?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Marcelo Abritta, founder and CEO of Buser, a Brazilian bus transportation platform that connects passengers with underutilized charter buses, offering affordable travel while disrupting the traditional $10 billion intercity bus industry.
Most recently, Buser raised $138m Series C from the likes of Lightrock, Softbank, monashees, Valor Capital, Globo Ventures and Canary. Marcelo shares his inspiring entrepreneurial journey, from selling emoji pillows to building a tech-driven company that directly challenges Brazil’s entrenched bus monopolies. We explore how Buser’s innovative platform is providing affordable, on-demand transportation for millions of Brazilians, while tackling complex legal challenges and scaling in one of the most fragmented transportation markets in the world.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. Before you build, validate: why early demand validation is the key to smarter, leaner startup launches
Learn how building a waitlist and testing demand upfront can help you scale smarter without burning through your cash.
2. Make headlines work for you: how to leverage media to boost your startup’s growth and user adoption
Discover how strategic media coverage from pivotal moments can rapidly boost your user base and brand awareness.
3. Play by the rules (or break them!): How to innovate in heavily regulated industries
Learn how startups can navigate tricky regulations and carve out opportunities for disruption in established markets.
4. Right place, right time: how spotting lucky moments can be your startup’s secret growth hack
Timing is everything—explore how to recognize and ride lucky breaks that could make your startup a success.
5. Turning red to black: a practical guide for startups to survive (and thrive) through financial crises
Learn actionable steps to cut costs, achieve cash flow neutrality, and ensure your startup thrives, even during economic downturns.
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Igor Marinelli, founder and CEO of Tractian, a leader in industrial IoT and enterprise asset management software. Just over a year ago, Tractian secured a $45M Series B funding round, led by General Catalyst and joined by Next47 .
Igor takes us on his incredible journey from building inventory systems as a teenager to founding one of the most innovative companies in the industrial tech space. His story highlights how a deep understanding of customer pain points fueled the creation of innovative solutions for real-world manufacturing challenges. Entrepreneurs will find inspiration in Igor’s relentless pursuit of product excellence and customer loyalty, while investors will appreciate his long-term strategic vision and disciplined approach to market expansion. Packed with actionable insights, this conversation is a must-listen for anyone aiming to build a sustainable, customer-first business.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. B2B vs. B2C Building Strategies: why building a B2B company requires a different set of fundamentals and how these differ from consumer-facing startups
2. Hire like you’re building: why great managers are hands-on operators, not just career ladder climbers?
3. Engineer-led growth: why founders should be hands-on with product and customer feedback before scaling?
4. Sell value, not features: how focusing on the impact of your solution leads to faster conversions?
5. Partnerships > Valuations: why a fair partnership with strategic support is better than an inflated valuation with little alignment?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guests today are Marcelo Maziero and Fernando Fontes, founders at Brazil's leading financial market infrastructure provider Cerc, that has raised up to $100m in a round led by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investor Mubadala Capital with a follow on from Valor Capital. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in fintech innovation across Latin America and other emerging economies.
We explore the complexities of scaling in highly regulated market, the importance of building a strong partnership, and the critical role that understanding local market dynamics played in their success.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. CERC’s $5 trillion bet: how reinventing receivables is transforming Brazil’s financial infrastructure?
2. Regulation as strategy: how CERC turned compliance into a competitive advantage in Brazil’s fintech landscape?
3. Brazil-specific strategy: how deep understanding of industry pain points can fuel innovation?
4. Co-founder chemistry: how the right partnership drives startup success?
5. Long-horizon funding: how CERC secured $100M by aligning with investors who understand infrastructure and share a long-term vision?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Andre Maciel, founder of the Brazilian venture capital firm Volpe Capital, whose current and former portfolio includes the likes of Vtex, CRM&Bonus, Connectly, and Atlas Governance. Before starting Volpe, André was the founding managing investment partner at SoftBank Latin America, and prior to that, he spent nearly 17 years in investment banking and private equity at JP Morgan.
This is a special conversation where we dive into the evolution of startup investing in Brazil and Latin America, unpack various exit strategies, and set realistic return expectations for portfolio managers. We also explore AI’s transformative role in boosting productivity, particularly in sectors like tax prep and automation. Finally, we discuss why LATAM is such a hotbed for innovation, offering tech giants like Google and Meta an incredible $700 billion market opportunity.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. AI’s Big Bet: why the application of AI is a critical factor in unlocking productivity in Latin America?
2. The $700B question for Meta, Google and ByteDance: why Brazil is big tech’s most wanted market?
3. The 2021 exit gap: how LATAM VCs missed a golden opportunity to deliver LP returns?
4. The path forward: How can Latin America cultivate a robust local LP market?
5. LATAM vs. Silicon Valley: What sets their founders apart?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Marcelo França, founder & CEO at Celcoin, a brazilian financial infrastructure company that has recently raised a $125M in a Series C round led by global growth equity investor Summit Partners with the participation from the existing investor Innova Capital and John Coughlin, a former senior executive with Corpay. This financing comes at a time of rapid growth for Celcoin,which recorded US$63 million in annual recurring revenue in the first quarter of 2024 – a 140% increase compared to the same period last year. Celcoin processes over 200 million Pix transactions monthly and has already established itself as the leading provider of Open Banking solutions for licensed institutions in Brazil. Notably, this investment marks Summit Partners' first venture into Brazil and Latin America.
We talk about the evolution of the Brazilian financial ecosystem, focusing on pivotal moments like the Central Bank’s PIX initiative, which revolutionized digital payments in Brazil. We also touch on the decision to pivot Celcoin from a B2C model to an infrastructure provider and the strategic importance of M&A in their growth.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. Banking on change: the defining moments of Brazil's fintech evolution
2. Mastering the pivot: three key decisions that elevated Celcoin to the top of Brazil’s BaaS and embedded finance markets
3. Navigating growth capital: key lessons from the frontlines
4. Merging minds and products: how M&A became a catalyst for Celcoin's rapid expansion?
5. Tech that grows: Celcoin’s strategy for sustainable scalability
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Dileep Thazhmon, founder and CEO at Jeeves, a corporate spend and expense management platform for global businesses. Jeeves has raised over $260m from the likes of GIC, Tencent, a16z, CRV and more. Its last reported valuation was $2.1B. Since its public launch early in 2021, Jeeves scaled across 22 countries in North America, South America, the UK and Europe. In Latam the list of its customers include Bitso, Hotmart, Avenue, Buser and Cayena.
In our conversation we unpacked Jeeves unique playbook for entering new markets, discussed why Latin America and Brazil in particular is such a lucrative opportunity for Jeeves and how to build strong relationships with investors when pursuing a contrarian strategy like global expansion across 22 countries.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. Vamos Latam: why focusing on Brazil and Mexico can be a game-changer for US fintech startups?
2. Jeeves global expansion playbook: practical strategies for entering new markets with a localized approach
3. Choose the right market: why fintech infrastructure and regulatory environments matter for scaling?
4. Cap table strategy 101: how to excel at raising capital with a contrarian go-to-market strategy?
5. Low ego, high output mentality: how to hire leaders who build exceptional teams and drive success at scale?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Rafael de Albuquerque, CEO & founder at Zoox Smart Data, a global tech company that offers integrated solutions in big data, analytics, AI & ML. Zoox has over 1650 enterprise customers in 25 countries including the likes of Pepsi, Burger King, F1, PWC and Telefonica.Rafael’s journey from selling Wi-Fi routers door-to-door to building a $100m in revenue global data analytics business from Brazil is nothing short of remarkable and paved with countless setbacks and failures. His relentless drive to overcome obstacles and pivot business models serves as a valuable example for other entrepreneurs. In our conversation, we explored how building a successful company without VC funding demands strategic thinking and resourcefulness. Leveraging early investor relationships and focusing on customer-driven growth were crucial in scaling the business. We also discussed the importance of family support for sustaining long-term business success and performance.In today's episode we discuss:1. Zoox Sales Playbook: how to build a robust enterprise sales strategy? 2. Mastering the pivot: how and why (!) to leverage customer feedback to transform your enterprise?3. Optimize your startup cap tablet: key benefits of strategic investors vs. traditional VCs4. Customer-centric innovation: how to boost growth and market relevance by co-creating with customers?5. Turning failure into fortune: Rafael’s lessons in business
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Dave Nangle, founder and CEO of VEF, an emerging markets-focused, growth-stage fintech investment firm. VEF's Latam portfolio includes the likes of Creditas, Solfacil, Gringo and Konfio.
We talked about Dave’s investment strategy, focusing on growth-stage companies that have nailed unit economics and product-market fit. We discussed the most common mistakes founders make when pitching to VEF, what makes Brazil one of the most attractive markets in the world from a venture capital perspective, why trying to predict exit timing in emerging markets is often a losing game, and why Dave prefers M&A over IPO as the go-to exit strategy. Dave also shared his perspective on the most underrated tech company in Latin America.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. VEF’s investment strategy playbook: single country, single product focus and big scale up market
2. Build for exit: how to make M&A a viable exit strategy in VC and why an IPO might be less attractive than you think?
3. The holy grail of private markets: the pros and cons of a permanent capital vehicle structure in venture capital
4. Emerging markets are not all the same: what makes some particularly attractive for venture capital investors?5. Brazil deconstructed: key factors making it a top tech investment market
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Geraldo Thomaz, founder and co-CEO at NYSE-traded enterprise e-commerce platform VTEX. VTEX is an incredible example of Brazilian company that grew to become a global player in a digital commerce with Walmart, Coca-Cola and L'Oreal among customers. Prior tp going public in 2021 VTEX raised over $360m in capital from the likes of Softbank, Riverwood Capital, Tiger Global and Endeavor Catalyst.
In our conversation, we dive into the importance of intentionally targeting your customer segment, the transformative journey of a CEO leading a publicly traded company, and the critical need to maintain core fundamentals, even in the toughest times.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. From zero to Walmart: key strategies for landing enterprise customers
2. Optimize for scalability: key trade-offs VTEX made for global growth
3. Building a high-performing partnership: trust, complementary skills, and a divide-and-conquer management approach
4. From founder to public company CEO: main lessons on leadership transformation
5. Take LatAm to the World: how to inspire global entrepreneurial ambitions in the region?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Susan Segal. Susan has been the President and CEO of Americas Society / Council of the Americas since August 2003, following a distinguished 30-year career in the private sector working with Latin America and other emerging markets.
As a partner and head of the Latin American Group at Chase Capital Partners, Susan pioneered early-stage venture capital investing in Latin America. She played an active role during the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s and early 1990s, serving on numerous advisory committees and chairing the Chilean and Philippine Advisory Committees.
Susan's board memberships include Mercado Libre, Vista Oil & Gas, Robinhood, Americas Society/Council of the Americas, the Tinker Foundation, and the Bretton Woods Committee. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
We talked about the importance of strong governance and financial prudence, dug into the key traits of highly successful Latin American founders, and got Susan's perspective on the future of tech entrepreneurship in the region. We also looked at why startups in Latin America are in a great position to ride the wave of AI advancements.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. Strong governance matters: why should startups establish robust governance structures early on?
2. Build personal relationships: how can cultivating meaningful relationships with partners, investors, and teams impact your business success?
3. Traits of exceptional founders: What signature traits set apart highly successful founders in Latin America?
4. From Latam to the world: why the future of regional entrepreneurship is global?
5. The rise of AI: why Latam startups are well-positioned for AI breakthroughs?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Daniela Binatti, co-founder and CTO at the Brazilian payments infrastructure company Pismo, which was recently acquired by Visa for $1 billion in cash. This conversation is very special as Pismo stands out as a globally successful tech company with roots in Brazil. Moreover, Daniela herself is an exceptional example of female leadership in technology, breaking barriers and setting new standards in a predominantly male-dominated field.
We talk about how leveraging advanced technology from sectors like social media and streaming could revolutionize traditional industries like financial services, why embracing global ambitions early allowed Pismo to rapidly adapt and expand into new markets. We also discuss navigating VC founder relationships and why it’s important to balance investor insights with founder intuition. And finally we touch on the rationale behind selling Pismo to Visa.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. Embracing global mindset: how this foundational decision enabled scalability and flexibility, allowing Pismo to rapidly adapt and expand into new markets?
2. Cross-industry innovations: how leveraging advanced innovations from alternative sectors can revolutionize traditional industries and provide startups with a competitive edge?
3. Unified front: what are the key ingredient for fostering enduring co-founder relationships?
4. Building critical infrastructure: what startups must get right from the get-go?
5. Power dynamics: the fundamentals of a successful founder-VC relationship
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Alexandre Zolko, founder and CEO at CRM&BONUS, Brazilian customer loyalty management platform that has just raised $80m in Series B led by Bond Capital with the participation from Valor Capital. This round valued the company at 2.2B Brazilian reais or over $400M dollars, more than doubling its Series A valuation. Bond Capital is the fund that was created by Mary Meeker, a former Kleiner Perkins partner, whose internet trends report is considered one of the most influential reports in the world of tech and venture capital. With CRM&BONUS Bond makes its first bet in Latin America. The list of CRM&BONUS’s prior backers includes the likes of Softbank, Riverwood Capital, Volpe Capital and Igah Ventures. The company, which is Alexandre’s 8th entrepreneurial adventure, was started in 2018, been profitable since the third month of operations and was bootstrapped until the Series A in 2021.
Together we explore Alexandre’s early fascination with sales, learnings from his prior entrepreneurial experiences, his approach towards building the ecosystem of products in customer loyalty space and what it takes to raise capital from some of the best investors in the world.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. Ownership mentality: how to build a company that puts customer first?
2. Profitability as a fundraising strategy: how to attract high quality VC investments in a startup?
3. The CRM&BONUS playbook: how to strategically build a product ecosystem?
4. Speed: The Power of focus in accelerating startup growth
5. Beyond AI: what is the future of customer loyalty market?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to season three of the J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America with me, Olga Maslikhova. My guests today are Andre Florence and Guilherme Azevedo, co-founders at Brazilian healthcare startup Alice backed by the likes of Softbank, ThornTree Capital Partners, Kaszek and Globo Ventures. Their latest Series C of $127m was the largest funding round raised by a healthtech in Latin America to date. Prior to co-founding Alice Andre was a CFO at Brazilian ride sharing company 99 and led it though the acquisition by Didi and Guilherme was a co-founder of a chain of healthcare clinics Dr. Consulta. We discuss their methodical approach to partnership, shifting focus from growth at all cost towards sustainability and lessons learned from that process and what it actually takes to drive a systematic change in such a complex market as healthcare.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. Alice partnership playbook: how to build a co-founder relationship that lasts
2. Growth at all cost is dead: five lessons learned from pivoting towards efficiency
3. The vicious cycle: why healthcare innovation is broken in Brazil and how tech natives can fix it?
4. Fasten your seatbelts how to build a resilient startup culture in a volatile market?
5. Breaking the mold: the biggest challenges of challenging the status quo
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Thibaud Lecuyer, CEO at Loggi, Brazilian delivery company that has raised close to $500m over 6 rounds from the likes of Iporanga Ventures, Softbank, Monashees, GGV, CapSur Capital and Microsoft. Prior to that Thibaud was a co-founder at Brazilian online fashion retailer Dafiti.
Together we explore Thibaud’s transition from finance and J.P. Morgan in Europe into entrepreneurship in Brazil. We discuss his experience of launching and scaling Dafiti in the environment in which venture capital was scarce. We also talk about strategies and tactics Thibaud used to put Loggi on a path to profitability while maintaining a high rate of growth and discuss why Brazil represents a lucrative opportunity for global investors.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. From disruption to transformation: how to turnaround a billion dollar tech business?
2. Founders' blind spot: how to think about capital efficiency?
3. The case for optimism: why global investors should invest in Brazil?
4. The last mile delivery challenge: how to win in a crowded market?
5. Doing business in Brazil: what founders need to know?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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