The Enthusiast: Founders and VCs beyond the Valley

99 Episodes

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Bernardo Garcia (Félix) on doing things that don’t scale, the power of your first 20 customers and getting the flywheel going

2025-09-1629:26

On this episode Pat sits down with Bernardo Garcia, Co-Founder of ripping remittances startup Felix Pago to dive into the early days of the business, finding product-market-fit and doing things that don't scale. In particular we chat about how they realised that the existing solutions were not really solving the problem for hispanics in the US sending money to their home countries and how they put the flywheel together relying on WoM. You will learn about- Finding product-market-fit and launching on the back of your customer needs- Be where your customers are and acquiring customers manually - Scaling beyond the early days, geo expansion vs. product expansion, what route will Felix take and whyWant to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.Follow Pat on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Puren Ucar (fmr. Head of Talent @Earlybird) on why founders need to spend 40% of their time on hiring, the unequal impact of AI on startup roles and revenue / employee as a metric

2025-08-1832:47

On this episode Pat sits down with Puren Ucar, the fmr Head of Talent at Earlybird Digital East, to dive into building out the talent function at one of Europe's leading VC firms, Earlybird, what does it take to build high performance teams and why founders up until Series-B still need to dedicate 40% of their time on hiring and how AI changes the game.You will learn aboutThe intersection of recruitment, incentives and retention in building high performance teamsHow AI will impact startup roles and efficiencies are distributed unequally Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.Follow Pat on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Gaurav Biswas (Trukker) building the uber of trucks in MENA, scaling in a fragmented industry and growing on century old logistic routes from Turkey to Kaszakstan

2025-07-2930:57

On this episode Pat sits down with Gaurav Biswas, Co-Founder & CEO of leading freight forwarder and logistics scaleup Trukker. We dive into the company’s journey from their initial launch in India, focusing on MENA scaling to 200M+ in revenues, servicing 1,500 clients across 9 countries and raising $300M+ from the likes of ADQ, Ruya and Investcorp You will learn aboutScoping the opportunity and setting your target focusScaling in a fragmented, archaic industry picking your battles and finding your sweet spotLet expansion be driven on the back of your customer needs Excel doesn’t lie if the numbers don’t add up you are on the wrong trackWant to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.Follow Pat on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠.

[Operator Stories] Lucas Vargas (Nomad) on diversifying your assets, investing like the 1% and scaling to 100M+ in ARR

2025-07-1535:30

On this episode Pat sits down with Lucas Vargas, CEO and Founder of Nomad, a leading cross border account and investment solution for Brazilians that want to reduce their exposure to the local currency investing in US dollar dominated assets. Lucas takes us down the rabbit hole on building out the product, scaling to 100M in ARR within 5 years, incorporating new features and his take on dollar primacy, other fiat currencies and stable coins. So much to unpack there. You will learn about: Prioritizing always jobs to be done and customer needs for your product roadmapHow to build generational wealth and allow the 99% to invest like the 1% The FX, investing market opportunity in Brazil Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.Follow Pat on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

[Operator Stories] Pedro Arnt (dLocal) on preserving startup agility whilst becoming big company, the IPO is just the beginning and his new chapter as dLocal CEO

2025-05-2042:56

On this episode Pat sits down with legendary operator and former MELI CFO, and of late CEO of dLocal, Pedro Arnt, to dive into his learnings of 20+ years of company building.We discussWhy he is bullish on emerging market's potentialHis learnings around the early innings of MELI riding the wave of digitisation in commerce in the 2000s and why long term building beats short-term CAGR ambitionsThe parallels he sees across verticals around digitisation in emerging markets from commerce to payments and how slower consumer adoption calls for more discipline and consistency but allows you to grow at +30% CAGR for many yearsHis take on balancing startup agility and processes and org. complexity of a big corporationHis new chapter with dLocal and why going from emerging market to emerging market makes all the sense Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn⁠⁠here⁠⁠ to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.Follow Pat on LinkedIn ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

[Investor Journey] Camila Vieira (QED) on prioritizing moats over themes, the fund’s structure through multiple instruments and know where you land on Liquidity

2025-04-2939:37

On this episode Pat sits down with Camila Vieira, Partner and head QED’s Brazil operation. We dive into the fund’s evolving commitment on the region, how they got it right investing in Nubank in 2015, what their thesis and structure looks like today 10 years later and whether LatAm’s next outbreak success will also be Fintech? How do sector specific funds differentiate from generalists in their way how they look at FintechTaking a unit economic and defensible moat lens instead of following a themes based investing approachThe last whitespace in Fintech in Brazil How should founders think about liquidity and how QED is preparing their portfolio You can find Camila on LinkedIn here. Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn⁠here⁠ to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.Follow Pat on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠.

[Investor Journey] Michael Lints (Golden Gate Ventures) launching the fund’s MENA presence, synergies between South East Asia and the GCC, liquidity and the role of secondaries

2025-04-1532:29

On this episode Pat sits down with Michael Lints, Partner at leading South East Asian VC firm Golden Gate to dive into their expansion into MENA, his move to Qatar, why now and how he sees the two regions complementing each other in terms of ecosystem maturity, VC and LP landscape. You will learn about:Doing business in MENACross pollination opportunities between the two regionsLiquidity and exit opportunities and t he importance of Secondaries in SEA You can find Michael on LinkedIn here. Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn⁠here⁠ to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.Follow Pat on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠.

Mihai Faur (UiPath) on timing and IPO readiness, Act 2 for the company from UiPath to AiPath combining the power of AI and automation

2025-04-0141:19

On this episode Pat sits down with Mihai Faur, CIO of UiPath to discuss his 10 year journey with the company from a small startup in Romania to the global automations company it is today. We dive into the IPO readiness piece, how as a Chief Accounting Officer he set the company on the path for IPO following Daniel Dines' vision in 2019 to bring the company public in 2 years. You will learn aboutWhat does it take to get a company from startup mode to IPO ready How to get to operational predictability The role AI will play in UiPath’s 2nd act merging AI and Automations You can find Mihai on LinkedIn here. Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn⁠here⁠ to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.Follow Pat on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠.

[Investor Journey] Rafael Costa (Across Capital) driving alpha through portfolio concentration, inflection stage capital for LatAm & US

2025-03-1144:12

On this episode Pat sits down with Managing Partner of Across Capital, Rafael Costa, to dive into his journey building Across investing cross-border in the US & LatAm after a successful career at Summit Partners and Vulcan Capital, how he things around portfolio construction and liquidity for growth stage, getting to conviction when deciding to invest and a lot more.You will learn aboutHow Rafael broke into VentureWhy he decided to position Across as early growth stage cross border fundWhy he is all about high conviction, concentrated betsHis take on driving liquidity and how it influences his decision making around portfolio constructionYou can find Rafael on LinkedIn hereWant to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn⁠here⁠ to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.Follow Pat on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠.

[Investor Journey] Milena Oliveira (Volpe Capital) on taking concentrated bets in Latin America, dynamics of early growth investing and lessons on portfolio construction

2025-02-2535:02

On this episode Pat sits down with Milena Oliveira, Partner of Latin American early-growth fund Volpe Capital to dive into the dynamics of investing post Series-A, portfolio construction and making concentrated bets in a few select opportunities. We dive into why LatAm Tech entrepreneurs and VCs can produce top tier returns, and Volpe has the data to back it up. You learn about- Volpe's investment thesis- How to convince LPs to bet on the asset class and invest in multi-vintages- The maturity of LatAm tech entrepreneurs and how they are thriving not only despite the adversity but because of itYou can find Milena on LinkedIn here. Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes? Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠ to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley. Follow Pat on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠.

[Operator Stories] Alexis Pantazis (Hellas Direct) scaling an insurtech, profitable markets vs. TAM, vertical integration as a moat

2025-02-1130:30

On this episode Pat sits down with Alexis Pantazis, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of European insurtech Hellas Direct to dive into the insurtech playbook, succeeding in smaller yet profitable markets in Southern and Eastern Europe, and how to go about vertical integration as a moat to build maximum value for consumers. To date Hellas has raised more than $85M from the likes of5G Ventures S.A | Phaistos Investment Fund,Portage ,ETF Partners - The Environmental Technologies Fund ,IFC - International Finance Corporation,EBRD,Convex Insurance andEndeavor Catalyst and since its founding has expanded to Romania and further grown their insurance offering through vertical integration.You will learn about- The Insurtech playbook on going direct to the customer but also through brokers- How to go about expansion from smaller markets and under penetrated segments that in aggregate have significant value creation potential - How Greece made their way out of the slump and are now one of the best performing and dynamic economies in EuropeYou can find Alexis on LinkedInhere.Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes?Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedInhere to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley.Follow Pat on LinkedInhere.

[Investor Journey] Jimena Prado (Hi Ventures) on filtering through the AI noise, investing in lines not dots and transitioning from founder to funder

2025-01-2829:58

On this episode Pat sits down with Jimena Prado, Partner at Latin American VC firm Hi Ventures, which has backed the likes of Cornershop and Fintual. We explore Jimena's journey from one of the first female founders in Mexico to becoming an investor, how she thinks about navigating the current AI craze and where LatAm entrepreneurs can play at and capture value. Hi Ventures is one of the leading early stage funds in LatAm, having backed the likes of Cornershop (exited to Uber at 3Bn), Sequoia backed Fintual and Clau.com. Founded by Federico Antoni, it has raised more than US$170M over 4 vintages. We dive into: - How to filter through the AI noise and where LatAm entrepreneurs play in the space - Transitioning from founder to funder - How Hi Ventures has formulated their investment thesis around AI You can find Jimena on LinkedIn here. Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes? Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠ to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley. Follow Pat on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠.

[Investor Journey] Izabel Gallera (Canary) on getting to conviction in early stage investing, pattern recognition and what will be the next Nubank of Brazil?

2025-01-1433:29

On this episode Pat sits down with Izabel Gallera, Partner at Canary, one of the leading early stage VCs in Brazil. We dive into: - The evolution of the Brazilian VC ecosystem and Canary alongside it - How to get to conviction and structure your investment decision process at the seed stage - Professionalizing a VC firm through recycling capital, driving DPI and creating liquidity when possible You can find Bel on LinkedIn here. Want to stay up-to-date on latest episodes? Follow The Enthusiast wherever you are getting your podcasts and make sure to check out our newsletter on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠ to stay up to date on our latest episodes with founders and investors beyond the Valley. Follow Pat on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠.

[Investor Journey] Christine Kenna (Ignia) on navigating ambiguity in investing, introducing Mexican pension funds to VC and driving DPI

2024-12-1030:51

On this episode Pat sits down with Christine Kenna, Managing Partner of Ignia, a pan-american VC firm that invests in early and Series-A stage tech businesses. You will learn about: Playing the Venture Game in emerging markets, how to think about liquidity The importance of building track record through multiple vintages Is the American style Venture model even applicable to LatAm? You can find Christine on LinkedIn here.

[Strategic DeepDive] Erin Renzas on finding the metric your business cares about and move it, what makes a great CMO and how to avoid peanut-buttering in marketing spent

2024-07-2346:15

On this episode Pat sits down with Erin Renzas, the former CMO of Checkout who today runs her own advisory firm EBB strategic to unpack how to unleash marketing performance at the growth stage, the right way to experiment on marketing spent and how to make sure that you nurture the upper funnelWhat you will learnSales is about generating revenue today vs. Marketing is about generating revenue tomorrow - How to strike that balance? What to watch out for when hiring for a CMOHow to communi...

[Operator Stories] Pavel Fedorov (Salmon) on building a challenger bank in the Philippines, the Tinkoff Playbook and why credit first

2024-11-2639:18

On this episode Pat sits down with Pavel Fedorov, Co-Founder of Philippines based challenger bank Salmon. We dive into scaling a neo-bank in emerging markets, product mix, customer profiles and how to ensure flawless executionYou will learn about The fintech opportunity in the Philippines How Salmon targets the space and why they start with credit first How they think about go-to-market and their target customer profile You can find Pavel on LinkedIn here.Also check out his Personal Website and Blog here.

[Operator Stories] Ralf Wenzel (JOKR) on how to achieve profitability in grocery delivery models, value chain integration and what founders and artist have in common

2024-05-2840:33

On this episode Pat sits down with the one and only Ralf Wenzel, Founder & CEO of JOKR. We dive into his entrepreneurial journey from growing up in East Germany to his first entrepreneurial stint with Jamba, conquering Asia with Foodpanda and subsequently embarking onto LatAm with grocery delivery platform Jokr. You will learn aboutWhy Founders and Artists are more alike than you would thinkHow to unlock value in grocery delivery in emerging marketsIt is all about integrating the val...

[Investor Journey] Ali Karabey (212vc) on bringing VC investing to Türkiye, playing the platform game right without losing focus and building conviction

2024-04-0232:28

On this episode Pat sits down with Ali Karabey, co-founder of Türkiye's first institutional VC 212 to dive into building the fund, making the first bets, getting conviction and ultimately turning 212 into a platform of funds that invests beyond its country's borders. On this episode you will learn about:Building a fund from scratch Playing the platform game right without losing focus The Türkiye opportunity and its remarkable roster of talentYou can find Ali on LinkedIn here. S...

[Operator Stories] Hamdi Tabbaa (Abwaab) on scaling edtech in MENA, market expansion for a highly localized product offering and upselling

2024-03-1930:47

On this episode Pat sits down with Hamdi Tabbaa, Co-Founder and CEO of leading MENA edtech Abwaab. We dive into his journey moving from expansion at Uber to building a thriving edtech in the region, expansion into other markets and upselling opportunities. You will learn about:The edtech landscape in MENAExpanding into other geos with a highly localised productFundraising in a challenging industry and regional context You can find Hamdi on LinkedIn here. Support the show

[Investor Journey] Dave Nangle (VEF) on successful founders go macro as well as micro, timing your entry moments and building global dealflow

2024-03-0532:52

On this episode Pat sits down with Dave Nangle, Managing Partner of VEF, a leading VC firm that invests in emerging markets fintech from Latin America to Asia. Dave is a true emerging markets warrior from day one having spent 10 years in Russia in the early 2000s when Tinkoff was getting off the ground and Dave smelled blood, he didn't let go of looking for the future Tinkoff's all across the globe. Fast forward 10 years later VEF has amassed an amazing portfolio of companies including ...

#box-pro-ellipsis-176055318608750{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}The Enthusiast: Founders and VCs beyond the Valley

The Enthusiast: Founders and VCs beyond the Valley