Latitud Podcast
Episodes
#89 - A billion dollar exit 20 years in the making: Miguel Santos, Technisys
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you told 13-year-old Miguel Santos with his first Apple device that he'd grow up to build his own billion-dollar tech company, he might have h...
#88 - Altitud | Tackling the trade finance gap in LatAm: Santiago Molina, Finkargo
07 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Colombian-born Santiago Molina got his degree in business administration and finance from Houston Baptist University on a soccer scholarship, and move...
#87 - Impact entrepreneurship on the blockchain: Brett Hagler, New Story
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By 2030, the UN predicts that 3 billion people will be living without shelter. Today's guest is doing something to combat that.Brett Hagler is a ...
#86 - Investing in the future of LatAm tech: Angela Strange, a16z
28 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Angela Strange is a multiple marathon winner and once achieved 7th place in Canada's distance running national ranking, but you may know her best...
#85 - Building from first principles: Francisco Larraín, Topsort
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Francisco Larraín's professional journey tells a story of coming full circle.It all started as a founding team member for advertisement network ...
#84 - The paths to founder liquidity: Pierre Schurmann, nuvini
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pierre Schurmann has never shied away from great adventure: he and his family left Brazil when he was 15 with the goal of sailing around the world, an...
#83 - Changing the VC narrative: Lolita Taub, Ganas Ventures
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lolita Taub has made it her mission to create generational wealth in community.As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant family, providing underestimated...
#82 - Earning a seat at the table: Bedy Yang, 500 Global
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Born and raised in a chinese-brazilian family, Bedy Yang has a lengthy track record of consulting for global companies on go-to-market strategies in B...
#81 - Altitud | Building the e-commerce landscape in Venezuela: Vicente Zavarce, Yummy
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Vicente Zavarce was born and raised in Venezuela, but went abroad to study in the US during his university years. He quickly found his way into their ...
#80 - From 0 to unicorn in 8 months: Gerry Colyer, Clara
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Before he knew he wanted to build a company, Gerry knew he wanted to make people’s lives better.Born in Monterrey, Gerry Colyer left Mexico to atten...
#79 - Altitud | Bridging the technical skill gap: Fabio Muniz, Awari
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fabio Muniz is a product designer turned founder and CEO. He worked with clients such as Google and Viacom before transitioning to VC-backed startups ...
#78 - Upskilling and reskilling for growth: Marta Forero Sepúlveda, UBITS
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There's a famous anecdote in which a CFO asks the CEO: "What happens if we invest in developing our people and they leave us?" To that,...
#77 - Altitud | Radically challenging the status quo: Rafael Stark, Stark Bank
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rafael Stark is an engineer with problem-solving in his blood. He started his own Product Studio called Hummingbird and came across a client wanting t...
#76 - Social mobility through open finance: Pablo Viguera, Belvo
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The last 10 years have completely changed Latin America's financial landscape but, when compared to other more established regions, we still lack...
#75 - Altitud | Shaping the future of B2B payments: Nathan Schorr, Flexio
04 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Born in the US and raised in Uruguay, Nathan is a football enthusiast currently splitting his time between Silicon Valley and Mexico City. As a third-...
#74 - Building the Netflix of finance: Pierpaolo Barbieri, Ualá
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Making history in LatAm's fintech industry is very on brand for today's guest.Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Pierpaolo Barbieri left Argen...
#73 - Community-driven companies: Sahil Lavingia, Gumroad
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Children are often fascinated with technology, and Sahil Lavingia's story isn't any different: he first started getting into computers at ab...
#72 - Financial inclusion through Crypto: Daniel Vogel, Bitso
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Universal as it may seem now, in 2014 access to banking services was still very much limited in several LatAm countries. That realization was what spa...
#71 - The runway from seed to exit: Rodrigo Baer, SoftBank
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With over 10 years of experience in Brazil's VC scene, Rodrigo Baer was hearing pitches and offering offering term sheets long before the LatAm c...
#70 - Building teams that bridge gaps: Daniel Bilbao, Truora
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In his own words, Daniel Bilbao is a friend to all latino entrepreneurs. He went from spreading papelitos in Comic Sans looking for engineers to shapi...
#69 - Altitud | Alex Vilhena from Plug Pagamentos and the future of payment solutions
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alex Vilhena was born in Rio de Janeiro, but moved to Los Angeles to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Communications and had a chance to try out the...
#68 - Achieving ridiculous goals: Andres Bilbao, Rappi and Invert
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Andres Bilbao is a Colombian triple threat, and that goes far beyond being fluent in three languages: he's a unicorn entrepreneur, an angel inves...
#67 - Fueling innovation in LatAm: Florian Hagenbuch, Loft
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Entrepreneurship is much like running into a wall until you knock it down, and German-born Florian Hagenbuch has committed to making sure that the wal...
#66 - Building with no-code: Jeff Orr, webuildyourapps.com
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Very few people are product builders at heart, and Jeff Orr is one of them - he founded Maply to connect people to events happening in real-time aroun...
#65 - Raising a record-breaking Series A in LatAm: Dhaval Chadha, Justos
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Starting four different companies AND dabbling into music production isn't for everyone, but Dhaval Chadha has managed to balance the two passion...
#64 - The power of network effects: Pete Flint, NFX
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Born in Essex, England, Pete Flint is a brit deeply immersed in Silicon Valley startup culture. He's a titan of disruptive innovation and a widel...
#63 - Reaching a $500 million valuation in a year: Dileep Thazhmon, Jeeves
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Founders outside of Silicon Valley have always had a harder time accessing capital, and Latin America is no exception. Add that to the difficulty of p...
#62 - Creating the YC of fund managers: Winter Mead, Oper8r
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Winter Mead grew up on a maple syrup farm in New England. After writing his grad-school thesis on technology trends in digital media, he relocated to ...
#61 - Building deep relationships as a founder: Sebastian Kreis, Xepelin
01 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fintech is extremely hot in Latin America.Chilean entrepreneur Sebastian Kreis is seeing this opportunity and is building Xepelin with the goal to be ...
#60 - Pivoting to success: Pamela Valdés, Beek
23 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
About 6 years ago, Pamela Valdés was faced with an important choice between a full scholarship for university in the US or dropping out to get her bu...
#59 - Building the largest tech school in Latin America: Freddy Vega, Platzi
16 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last few years, Latin America has been seeing more and more people interested in founding a startup. To them, Freddy Vega has one advice: don...
#58 - Dealing with a chip on your shoulder: Martin Schrimpff, Kocomo
09 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From a young age, Martin Schrimpff was always looking for entrepreneurial opportunities, whether that was selling chocolate or doing raffles at school...
#57 - Altitud | Iona Szkurnik from Education Journey and aggregating the most innovative edtechs in one place
07 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Born in Brazil, Iona Szkurnik arrived in California 8 years ago. After graduating from Stanford University as a Lemann Fellow, she worked at a couple ...
#56 - Developing the future leaders of LatAm: Diego Ontaneda & David Baptista, LALA
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take for Latin America to have the next Nelson Mandela, Greta Thunberg, or a few thousand more David Vélez?LALA, the Latin American Lead...
#55 - Altitud | Salvador Rivero from Levo and building a high-yield savings account for Mexico
01 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Salvador Rivero is a self-proclaimed fintech geek. Born and raised in Mexico City, he's trained in Political Science and Finance at Science-Po in...
#54 - Building a $30 billion "skyscraper": David Vélez, Nubank
26 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When he was 12, David Vélez made his first investment: a cow. Bought with birthday money and savings from summer jobs, that one cow eventually became...
#53 - Becoming the youngest female VC partner in LatAm: Antonia Rojas, ALLVP
19 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Chile is a country that, despite being a smaller market in LatAm, has always pushed to be at the forefront of innovation. It is home to Startup Chile,...
#52 - Pioneering open banking in LatAm: Benjamin Gleason, Guiabolso
12 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nine years ago, the terms fintech and open banking barely even existed in Latin America.But Benjamin Gleason was already working on building Guiabolso...
#51 - The future of Fintech in LatAm: Ana Cristina Gadala-Maria, QED Investors
05 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fintech is a global trend at the moment, and having people who truly understand it is as valuable as ever.With a Bachelor's from Stanford and a H...
#50 - Redefining venture capital: Ben Casnocha, Village Global
22 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Casnocha was practically born an entrepreneur. In his teenage years, he started and scaled a couple of companies, before becoming Chief of Staff a...
#49 - Altitud | Caterine Castillo from Neivor and simplifying payments for residential managers
21 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Caterine Castillo is a lover of rowing, crossfit, extreme sports and meditation – it's all about balance! Originally from Bogotá, her commitme...
#48 - Getting through the 'supercritical stage': Renata Quintini, Renegade Partners
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A renegade is someone who renounces conventions.It is through this innovation mindset that Renata Quintini runs Renegade Partners, an early-stage deep...
#47 - Altitud | Raphael Kappeler from Reworth and reinventing cashback reward programs
14 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Raphael Kappeler grew up in Switzerland and has over 15 years of experience in finance and sales. Almost 10 of them he spent in Credit Suisse, working...
#46 - An honest take on the VC game in Latin America: Hernan Kazah, Kaszek
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hernan Kazah's journey as an entrepreneur starts in 1999, in the early days of the internet in Latin America. Co-founder of Mercado Libre, he has...
#45 - Altitud | Stephanie von Staa from Oya Care and women's empowerment through health
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Stephanie von Staa Toledo, also known as Ste, was born in São Paulo, Brazil. She has a Wharton MBA and a Master’s Degree focused in Entrepreneurshi...
#44 - The bottom-up mindset: Christopher Schroeder, Next Billion Ventures
02 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Few people understand overlooked markets and opportunities as well as Christopher Schroeder. Under normal conditions of temperature and pressure, you ...
#43 - Altitud | Marcos Adler from Clubbi and empowering small merchants
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Marcos Adler is a Carioca Brazilian that loves traveling, sailing and photography. With a background in Economics and an MBA from Wharton, he worked f...
#42 - Building Latitud in public: Brian Requarth and Gina Gotthilf
25 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We believe that building in public can help founders build better. This means we’re open to sharing our ideas and strategy before they’re fully b...
#41 - Altitud | Santiago Aparicio from OnTop and global hiring made easy
23 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Santiago Aparicio is a serial entrepreneur from Bogotá, Colombia. After studying Economics and getting a Masters in International Management, he went...
#40 - Finding the confidence to go global: César Salazar, Beyond and ex-500 Startups
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
César Salazar had years of building successful products for Latin America, but it was only after visiting Silicon Valley that he started considering ...
#39 - Altitud | Oriana Fuentes from Emptor and the automation of trust
15 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Oriana Fuentes has been based in New York for the past 12 years, where she went back to after living in Peru for 8 years. With a Bachelor's in Ec...
#38 - Unit Economics and prioritization: Mariana Donangelo, Kaszek
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are a ton of bright shiny lights on the way to building a startup, and it's tempting to burn through cash for the sake of rapid growth. So ...
#37 - Altitud | Alejandro Gomez from Aptuno and pain-free residential rentals
08 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alejandro Gomez de Greiff is a born and raised Cachaco (from Bogota) who you may find running in the streets of Colombia while listening to business a...
#36 - Sharpening your fundraising axe: Jason Yeh, Adamant Ventures
04 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” This powerful quote by Abraham Lincoln is often shared...
#35 - Altitud | Yasaman Rajaee from Lernico and the future of education
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Born in Iran, Yasaman Rajaee is a first-generation middle eastern immigrant woman. Besides having been a private tutor and teacher, she also has an im...
#34 - Dreaming big and achieving big: Henrique Dubugras, Brex
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Henrique Dubugras taught himself how to code as a teenager. He met his co-founder, Pedro Franceschi, over an argument on Twitter, which ended up turni...
#33 - Altitud | Gabriel Monteiro from Newtail and the digitalization of all grocery retailers
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Gabriel Monteiro is a second-time founder. His first company, Shopgram, was a fashion and decor marketplace, sold in 2015 to B2W, a leading digital co...
#32 - Corporate Venture and the Israeli startup ecosystem: Camila Folkmann, Mindset Ventures
21 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's hard to think about tech startups without thinking US and Israel, just like it's impossible for corporations to ignore digital transfor...
#31 - Altitud | Demian Bellumio from Nue Life and tech ketamin-assisted therapy
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Demian Bellumio is the founder of Nue Life, a startup that is using technology and ketamin-assisted science-based treatments to make mental wellness s...
#30 - Establishing, regulating and scaling culture: Loreanne Garcia, Kavak
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For a long time, Loreanne Garcia and her brother, Carlos, had talked about building something together. Originally from Venezuela, they finally found ...
#29 - Altitud | Gaston Irigoyen from Pomelo and the $9M seed round
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Pomelo is the fintech as a service (FAAS) platform for Latin America, founded by former Mastercard, Mercado Pago and Naranja X executives. The startup...
#28 - Why M&A should be part of your playbook: Cristiano Rocha, BizCapital
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cristiano Rocha is a seasoned engineer who started his career as a Master’s Student in Artificial Intelligence. Fresh out of university, he bootstra...
#27 - The future of investing in people: Sam Lessin, Fin and Slow Ventures
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For the longest time, we've only financed personal and professional projects by acquiring debt. But what if, the same way investors bet on super ...
#26 - Navigating the decade post-pandemic: Arnobio Morelix, Chief Data Scientist at Inc. Magazine
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We do not always realize it, but we are living in two economies: digital and analog. In fact, depending on who you ask, 2020 was either the best year ...
#25 - Unlock value by focusing: Santiago Subotovsky, Emergence Capital
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. That’s true for companies, it’s true for products, and it's true for VCs too....
#24 - Rolling funds and tech-powered venture capital: Avlok Kohli, AngelList Venture
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We live in a software-powered world but many practices in the venture capital industry still lack the technology it invests in. We see innovation incr...
#23 - Team management ordeals: Lucas Vargas, Nomad
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With a Harvard MBA under his belt, after his role as co-CEO of Groupon, Lucas Vargas had a lot of options for his next step. But he didn't take a...
#22 - From zero to one, over and over: Alex Torrenegra, Torre
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Falling and getting back up is what makes the cycles of an entrepreneurial journey, but some people just enjoy to be constantly getting ideas off the ...
#21 - It's an art, not a science: Jonathan Lewy, Investo and Grin
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the startup world, it's becoming more common for founders to share mistakes they made when they were starting out, but we rarely get to know a...
#20 - Embrace complexity: Shu Nyatta, Softbank
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While a lot of VCs may ironically be discouraged by turmoil in emerging markets, Shu Nyatta feels comfortable in messy places. In his own words, becau...
#19 - The trials and triumphs of a solo founder: Courtney McColgan, Runa
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the CMO of Cabify, Courtney McColgan led the company's market expansion from series A through series D, across 120 cities. She had roughly 350...
#18 - Hidden opportunities and the early bet on Facebook: Kevin Efrusy, Accel
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin Efrusy is low-key. You won't find a lot of interviews with him, and that's by design. One of his reasons is that he believes entrepren...
#17 - Underestimated founders = outsized returns: Claire Diaz-Ortiz, Magma Partners
19 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Stop fishing in the sludge. There's a lot more healthy fish where people don't go as often. And while some investors care too much about oth...
#16 - Make it or break it: Marcelo Abritta, Buser
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Marcelo Abritta pitched Buser to a VC for the first time, he didn't have a lot of leverage. His operation was quickly blocked by authorities...
#15 - Viva the Entrepreneur: Linda Rottenberg, Endeavor
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Brian's book is now available! Go to book.latitud.com to get your copy of Viva the Entrepreneur: Founding, Scaling and Raising Venture Capital in...
#14 - Building and scaling tech companies: Yuri Danilchenko, co-founder of Latitud
29 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Yuri Danilchenko grew up in Russia during one of the most defining moments in history. He's had a knack for tech and entrepreneurship since befor...
#13 - Self-care as the leader of a fast-growing company: Peter Fernandez, former CEO of 99
24 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s here: the last episode of 2020. We started this year by interviewing Paulo Veras, the co-founder of 99, the first Brazilian unicorn. Now, we en...
#12 - Where and when founders should be hands-on: Luciana Caletti, LoveMondays / Glassdoor
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the early days of Love Mondays, co-founder Luciana Caletti was encouraged by her investors to talk to every player in the industry, including compe...
#11 - Stage-agnostic investment decisions: Fabricio Pettená, Global Founders Capital
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Fabricio Pettená is a partner at Global Founders Capital, a stage-agnostic lifecycle global venture capital firm. If you’re wondering what that mea...
#10 - Mastering growth and taking Duolingo to 200M users: Gina Gotthilf, co-founder of Latitud
13 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Gina Gotthilf was the VP of Growth at Duolingo, the most downloaded education app in the world, leading the team that built its user base from 3 to 20...
#9 - Expansion and venture capital in Latin America: Antoine Colaço, Valor Capital Group
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A few years after getting his degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University, and fresh out of his MBA at Harvard Business S...
#8 - Finding the right DNA to attract self-selecting talent: Eric Santos, Resultados Digitais
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A company’s DNA is what makes it stand out. It guides everyone’s behaviors and determines the quality of the people you have by your side, from th...
#7 - Both sides of the table: Julio Vasconcellos, Atlantico
01 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
No matter the game, understanding the other player always helps you make better moves. This logic applies to the fundraising game too. Julio Vasconce...
#6 - The emotional rollercoaster of being a founder: Oskar Hjertonsson, Cornershop
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Startups are the wildest roller coasters. You can have your best day and your worst day oftentimes in the same day. You really need to learn how to de...
#5 - Changing the tires while driving: Sergio Furio, Creditas
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Starting a business is a game of persistence. As our guest Sergio Furio says in this episode, “we build businesses to thrive over 10-20 years, but w...
#4 - Lessons on product: Thomas Floracks, co-founder of Viva Real and CPO at LaHaus
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas Floracks and Brian Requarth have been partners for 16 years -- Germany and USA joined forces in Colombia to ultimately build a successful propt...
#3 - The complexity of startup communities: Brad Feld, Techstars
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Support, knowledge-sharing and collaboration go a long way — they’re just as important as other resources. Building an environment with these char...
#2 - How to structure your startup for international investments: Dan Green, Gunderson Dettmer
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When we’re starting up, we don’t always pay much attention to legal structures or to tax legislation. Entrepreneurs tend to go with the fastest, e...
#1 - Venture capital today and lessons from Mercado Libre: Nicolas Szekasy, Kaszek Ventures
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What does this downturn mean to startups who are currently looking to fundraise? Nicolas Szekasy shared some of the challenges he faced as CFO do Merc...