Semilla.VC

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Allison Kern, Partner at Morro Ventures. Morro is a new early-stage venture capital fund based in San Juan, Puerto Rico investing in attractive technology-enabled products and services across the Hispanic market. The Fund leverages the unique position of Puerto Rico, as a U.S. law-based and U.S. dollar-denominated entity with a bilingual populace to provide a platform for offshore Spanish-speaking companies to launch into the U.S. market and for American companies to capitalize on opportunities in Latin America. Prior to her current role, Allison was previously a Senior Associate at StarVest Partners and a Senior Associate at the Carlyle Group. In this episode, we discussed: ✅ Puerto Rico’s Venture Capital & Technology ecosystem. ✅ What you need to know about Puerto Rico; its legal status in the United States, the tax incentives, and even what life is like there. ✅ How Morro is fundraising in the current interest rate environment. We talked about all this and more in this episode of Semilla.VC 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Leo Quintao, Founder of Smoov, a retail Smoothie Company founded in São Paulo, Brazil. Yes, Semilla.VC is a podcast about Latin American VC and technology, but Smoov is a smoothie shop I came across in São Paulo when walking down the street in São Paulo over the summer. I saw a sign for Zero sugar smoothies…it felt like back home in the United States…even more specifically back home in California. When I walked up to the counter, Leonardo and his co-founder greeted me–first in Portuguese…and when it was clear my Portuguese wasn’t sufficient…then in English and told me about his company Smoov. After spending time in the US, he wanted to bring healthy, zero-sugar Smoothies to Brazil and popularize them. Just like some enterprising entrepreneurs have done in the past decade by bringing Acai from Brazil to the United States. https://smoovco.com/en/ In this episode, we discussed: ✅ Everything you’d ever want to know about operating a brick-and-mortar business in Brazil. ✅ How Leo prioritizes safety in Brazil's “security situation”. ✅ Brazilian hourly wage for retail workers. ✅ Why he doesn’t hire and place friends together in the same store. and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Eric Yáñez, the Founder and CEO of Holacasa.mx (YC W23). Before founding Holacasa, he was the founder and CEO of HolaHipo and Mentoreamos. In this episode, we discussed: ✅ How Eric used no code tools like Canva and Figma instead of a design agency to build out his website. ✅ How Y Combinator helped catalyze Holacasa’s growth ✅ How Eric has found success as a solo founder We talked about all this and more in this episode of Semilla.VC 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Claudio Schlegel for a special episode to hear about a new perspective…the boss's boss…the LP! Claudio is an LP in 99 Startups, Platanus Ventures, and Cometa. He is also an angel investor. In this episode, we discussed: ✅ What the minimum LP investment is for LatAm VC funds, and how he’s able to invest in them below their normal thresholds. ✅ What type of companies he invests in as an Angel Investor. ✅ How Claudio provides real value to his portfolio companies. We talked about all this and more in this episode of Semilla.VC 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Rafa Barroso, Engineering Manager at Apple and a former Solutions Architect at Google. Rafa is also an Advisory Board Member at DUX Capital, an Angel Investor, and a former founder. In this episode, we discussed: ✅ How he adds value as a *technical* angel investor. ✅ Why you NEED a technical co-founder. ✅ Why co-founder relationships destroy most startups. We talked about all this and more in this episode of Semilla.VC and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Javier Sanchez Aldana, Managing Partner at Carabela, based in Guadalajara, Mexico. In this episode, we discussed: ✅ Why some founders try to solve too many problems at once. ✅ What is happening in Guadalajara’s venture capital and tech scene. ✅ Why Javier is betting on underrepresented founders. We talked about all this and more in this episode of Semilla.VC 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Claudio Barahona, Managing Partner at Alaya Capital. Claudio is on the board of Kilimo Agtech, Backstartup, Houm, Inti-Tech, Telenty, Pago49, and Rocketpin. In this episode, we discussed: ✅ The advantage of doing business in Chile ✅ What the real role of boards is for venture-backed companies and how he operates on them ✅ Why he wants all of Latin America to be a single common country and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Joel Phillips, Founder of Siglo Internet (YC S21). Before Founding Siglo Internet (YC S21), Joel was CEO of Farrow Ventures, a mobile money, payment, and content platform that he scaled to 1.5 Million users in Mexico and Colombia. In this episode, we discussed: ✅ How to allow customers to pay for your product at 7/11, OXXO, and other retail locations in Mexico ✅ How Cambridge Analytica killed his last startup after Trump’s election ✅ Joel and Siglo’s experience in Y Combinator and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Alejandro Gonzalez. Alejandro is a Managing Partner at Redwood Ventures, an early-stage fund based in Guadalajara, and a Managing Partner at Santatera Capital, a global fund investing in emerging companies in the food & beverage industry, with a particular focus on those seeking to dominate the US market. In this episode, we discussed: ✅ What Redwood Ventures does differently. ✅ Redwood’s Investment in Seeri ✅ Why he co-created Santatera Capital to capitalize on the future of innovation in the food & beverage industry. ✅ Food & Beverage Innovation in the USA vs. LatAm and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Vicente Zavarce, the Founder & CEO of Yummy (YC S21), which operates services like rideshare and food delivery in overlooked Latin American markets like Venezuela and Bolivia. I have to say, I particularly enjoy speaking with founders who truly are contrarian and Vicente is exactly that. In this episode we discussed: ✅ Building a team and startup in Venezuela ✅ The differences in pricing rideshare for Venezuela, including difficulties calculating rates, and Yummy’s introduction of price bidding. ✅ The difficulties of fundraising for a startup with Yummy’s geographic focus of Venezuela and Bolivia. ✅ The role of Venezuela in the future of Latin American Venture Capital & Technology. and much, much more! Listen to Semilla.VC on all major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/semilla-vc/id1629579231) and Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/7nFfqPL4Sj8e8yI9kTzdsa?si=a6f5daec54a3491a) 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me Filming date: 6/9/2023

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Ignacio Masias, the Co-Founder & CEO of Wynwood House, a decentralized boutique hotel with locations across Latin America built to cater to travelers who aspire for the quality and consistency of a luxury hotel without the price tag. Before founding Wynwood House, Ignacio was a Business Analyst at McKinsey and an Advisory and Corporate Finance Intern at KPMG. In this interview you will learn: ✅ Building and scaling a tech-empowered brick-and-mortar business in Latin America. ✅ How Wynwood House chooses building locations and prices their rooms. ✅ How COVID affected Wynwood House & the hospitality industry in Latin America. ✅ Why Ignacio believes doing business across Latin America is more similar than it is different. and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Bruno Pérez Celio, Senior Analyst at ArkFund and a Portfolio Manager at Arkangeles, an investment platform that’s seeking to democratize the ability to invest in startups in Latin America. Prior to his current roles, Bruno was a Credit and Investment Analyst at Anteris, a venture debt fund, and an Investment Intern at Angel Ventures Mexico. In this episode we discussed: ✅ Venture Debt in Latin America ✅ How Shark Tank catalyzed entrepreneurship in the United States ✅ Crowdfunding for Tech Startups in Latin America. and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Antonio Nunes, Instaleap Founder & CEO, a SaaS platform that powers on-demand logistics for leading grocery retailers. Prior to Instaleap, Antonio was the Co-Founder of Mercadoni, a 1-hour delivery Groceries marketplace in Latin America. In this interview you will learn: ✅ Conquering last-mile delivery for logistics startups. ✅ The differences between working with customers in Latin America, US, and Europe. ✅ Antonio’s time working as a consultant at McKinsey living in Lisbon, New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, and Luanda. and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Sebastian Cardenas, Senior Associate at Monashees in Mexico City. Prior to his current role, Sebastian spent 4 years at Goldman Sachs in New York as both an Associate and Analyst in Equities Sales Trading. In this interview you will learn: ✅ Differences in working at a bank in New York vs. at VC in Mexico City. ✅ Monashees presence in Mexico City & Spanish-speaking Latin America. ✅ How Monashees sources deal flow. and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Ana Ramos, the Co-Founder & CEO of Glitzi (YC S21) to provide at-home spa, beauty, and grooming services in Latin America. Prior to co-founding Glitzi, Ana worked at Vorwerk Ventures. In this interview you will learn: ✅ How Glitzi is reshaping the future for both female solopreneurs in the beauty industry and their families. ✅ Ana’s experience in YCombinator with Glitzi. ✅ Disintermediation risk in a B2C marketplace. ✅ Why this model works in Latin America, but not the United States. and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Chris Dowd, who works on the Investment Team at Dalus Capital and was a Fulbright Scholar in Mexico City. Prior to moving to Mexico City, Chris worked at Google in a number of different positions as a Strategic Partnership Development Manager, a Google.Org Fellow, and a Global Affairs Analyst. He was also an intern in the Executive Office of the President in the White House during the Obama Administration. In this interview you will learn: ✅ AgTech and Mining in Latin America, especially Chile’s recent move to nationalize Lithium production. ✅ What it was like for Chris to start a restaurant in Mexico City. ✅ Why elite Latin American technology operators are founding climate tech startups. ✅ The geopolitical and global security need for climate tech innovation. and much, much more! Check out the restaurant Chris opened in Mexico City; NIV at C. Atlixco 132, Hipódromo Condesa, Cuauhtémoc, 06170 Ciudad de México, CDMX. (instagram.com/nivbar.mx/) 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Alfonso de los Rios, also known as “Poncho” is the Co-Founder and CEO of Nowports, the Mexican Unicorn developer of a digital freight forwarder platform designed to handle freight transportation. The company's platform offers real-time tracking for freight, booking import or export cargo, and enables businesses to transport freight anywhere, at any time, and in a convenient & affordable manner. Nowports has raised $242.6 Million from some of the world’s most reputable investors including but not limited to Y Combinator, Softbank, Tiger Global, Tencent, and Monashees. Alfonso is also a Thiel Fellow. In this interview you will learn: ✅ How Alfonso stays grounded having a billion-dollar company and hundreds of employees…at only 24. ✅ How Nowports revolutionized freight forwarding. ✅ How Alfonso raised $242.6 Million dollars. ✅ How being in Y Combinator affected the trajectory of Nowports and much, much more! We filmed this Interview on Alfonso’s 24th Birthday, so a big happy birthday to him, and I hope you enjoy this episode of Semilla.VC! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on Youtube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Mariano Mayer, Managing Partner & Co-Founder at Newtopia VC. A lawyer by trade, he was a partner at a Buenos Aires-based law firm before joining the government of Buenos Aires as the General Director of Entrepreneurship under then-Mayor Mauricio Macri. When Macri was elected President of Argentina, Mariano became Argentina’s National Secretary of Entrepreneurs and Small and Medium Enterprises. Then in 2021, Mariano Co-Founded Newtopia VC, an early-stage VC with a focus on startups from pre-product market fit to the seed stage. In this interview you will learn: ✅ Mariano’s thoughts on Argentina as a Venture Capital & Technology hub in 2023. ✅ The hardest part of starting a VC fund ✅ Mariano’s experiences working in government in Argentina. ✅ Why the Argentine entrepreneur was born to build in a world with inflation and uncertainty. and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on Youtube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Alex Laplaza, Partner at Lowercarbon Capital. Alex has held multiple roles at Lowercarbon Capital, starting as an Associate, then Principal, and is currently a Partner. He was a 2020 Fellow at the Clean Energy Leadership Institute. He was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University and was an Associate at ReNew Power. Alex also was a Fulbright Scholar with The Fulbright Program and a Critical Language Scholar with the U.S. Department of State. He holds a Master's degree from Stanford University in International Policy with a focus on Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources and an Honors Bachelor's Degree from American University in International Studies. In this interview you will learn: ✅ How are governments and regulatory bodies in Latin America supporting and fostering the growth of Climate Tech. ✅ How ClimateTech in LatAm is different from ClimateTech in the United States and Europe. ✅ Which specific sectors within Climate Tech in Latin America are witnessing the most innovation and investment. and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on Youtube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me

On this episode of Semilla.VC, the podcast highlighting the most exciting and revolutionary figures in Latin American Venture Capital, Tech, and Society, Trip Gorman spoke with Marcial Gonzalez Fraga, Latitud’s Lead Investor for Hispanics Markets. Before joining Latitud, Marcial was the COO of Croni and spent 3 years at Mercado Libre working as both a Sr. Business Analyst for Mercado Credito and for their corporate strategy team. In this episode you will learn: ✅ Latitud’s suite of services to help Latin American startup founders, including Latitud Go, Meridian by Latitud, and Latitud’s fellowships for both founders and investors ✅ The biggest misconception about Latitud ✅ Why Marcial is excited about Kontempo.io, which we picked to discuss only because I ran into Marcial in Kontempo’s Mexico City office last month when I was with their CEO Matthew Meehan–not because of any favoritism over his other amazing investments :) and much, much more! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC's www.Dealflow.la Newsletter! 🌎 Subscribe to Semilla.VC on Youtube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Host: Trip Gorman, Twitter @GormanTrip, Linkedin: Tripg.me