The Enthusiast: Founders and VCs beyond the Valley

89 Episodes

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[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 ...

[Investor Journey] Ramiro Lauzan (L Catterton) on timing your exit and fundamentals of themes based investing

2024-02-2137:00

On this episode Pat sits down with Ramiro Lauzan, Partner at growth and private equity investing giant L Catterton to dissect their investment thesis, consumer trends and thematic investing and the playing field in Latin America and why he is bullish on the region. You will learn about:How L Catterton makes long term, thematic driven investment decisionsThe role long-term consumer trends play in defining the categoryThe differences in PE investing in LatAm vs. developed markets and its opport...

[Investor Journey] Carl Fritjofsson (Creandum) consistency as a driver of VC success, avoiding shiny objects & finally the advent of European tech leadership?

2024-02-0643:40

On this episode Pat sits down with Carl Fritjofsson, Creandum's partner for the US to dive into what made the VC firm stand out and turn into one of the top European venture firms out there, his take on the future of European tech talent and why he is both optimistic and cautious about 2024. On this episode you will learn about:Carl's journey from former operator to investor Key takeaways for building a lasting VC firm Why he is bullish on the future of European start-ups2024 predic...

[Investor Journey] Christopher Schroeder on the Venn Diagram between the private & the public sector, unleashing entrepreneurial talent and US leadership in tech

2024-01-2347:09

On this episode Pat sits down with the one and only Christopher Schroeder, author, investor, operator and advisor of startups in emerging markets. He has worn many heads during his stellar career amongst them CEO and President of Washington Post's online presence , founder of HealthCentral and President of Legi-Slate as well as senior policy positions during Georg Bush's administration.You will learn about: Christopher's journey into the world of startups and why he is bullish on the fou...

[Operator Stories] Pedro Conrade (Neon) dreaming up the future of financial services in Brazil, when is it the right time to introduce new products and lessons learned from 5 acquisitions

2023-05-0227:02

On this episode Pat sits down with one of LatAm Fintech greats, Pedro Conrade, Co-Founder and CEO of Neon, a leading challenger bank in Brazil that serves more than 23M customers and has raised an impressive $700M. We dive into the making of Neon, how the company has scaled, when is it right time to introduce new product features and how to manage acquisitions successfully.On this episode you will learn: Pedro's way into entrepreneurshipLeadership lessons along the way and why it is...

[Operator Stories] Gerry Giacomán (Clara) on always be changing, building compounding value and how to balance profitability and growth

2023-03-0742:22

On this episode Pat sits down with Gerry Giacomán, CEO and Co-Founder of leading B2B fintech Clara. We dive into Gerry's journey into the world of startups, his learnings along the way, how he scaled the company in rapid pace and what role culture and team-building played in this. Crucially we explore the intersection between profitability and growth and why it pays to always be changing. On this episode you will learn about: How to be ready for hypergrowth mode for your startupThe ...

[Investor Journey] Ricardo Kanitz (Spectra) on GP due diligence, emerging fund managers and secrets of portfolio construction

2023-01-1744:29

On this episode Pat sits down with Ricardo Kanitz, founding partner of Spectra Investments to talk about the founding of the alternatives investment firm, how they gained the trust of their LPs, their strategy on performing due diligence on GPs, diversifying their portafolio, the current state of alternatives in LatAm during a period of high interest rates and much more. On this episode you will learn about: The beginnings of Spectra and the vision behind the firm becoming an investment ...

[Operator Stories] Omair Ansari (Abhi) on tackling access to credit in Pakistan and going multi-product and multi-country early on

2024-01-0959:31

On this episode Mikal Khoso joins Pat to chat with Omair Ansari, Founder and CEO of Pakistan Fintech Abhi about his journey into the world of entrepreneurship, scaling the company, going multi-product early on in the company's lifecycle as well as the expansion into the UAE and neighbouring Bangladesh. You will learn about:The state of the financial services industry in PakistanWhere Abhi fits into the marketScaling in a frontier ecosystem and going against the common wisdom Strateg...

[Investor Journey] Julian Roeoes (Picus Capital) on long term investing in transformational companies, their Americas strategy and muscles of private vs. public markets investing

2023-10-2647:36

On this episode Pat sits down with Julian Roeoes, Partner and Head of the Americas for global early stage fund Picus Capital. We dive into his journey into venture, Picus's born global investment strategy, how to branch out into investing in emerging markets and get off the ground and the business models he believes will shape the next wave of emerging markets entrepreneurship successYou will learn about:Global investing with an emerging markets angleDifferences between public vs. private mar...

[Operator Stories] Victor Noguera & Bernardo Cordero (Flat.mx) on fixing real-estate transactions in Mexico, the evolution of the industry and branching out into investing with Nascent.vc

2023-09-1241:11

On this episode Pat sits down with Victor Noguera & Bernardo Cordero, Co-Founders at leading Mexican proptech Flat.mx to discuss their founder journey, the evolution of the proptech space in Latin America, how Flat is adding valuable building blocks to a more inclusive real-estate market in Mexico and their angel investing activity through their vehicle Nascent.vcOn this episode you will learn about: Victor and Berni's journey into founding Flat What to look for in a co-founderH...

Ganesh Rengaswamy (Quona) & Kulin Shah (Onsurity) on the insurtech landscape in India, the founder-investor relationship and scaling Onsurity

2023-07-0550:53

On this episode Pat sits down with seasoned entrepreneur and investor Ganesh Rengaswamy, co-founding partner of leading fintech inclusion fund Quona and Kulin Shah, Co-Founder and CEO of Onsurity, a leading Indian insurtech. We dive into the founder-investor relationship, the insuretech space in India and how to manage boards successfully. So much to unpack here with the two of the on the show. You will learn about: Kulin & Ganesh's journey into the world of entreprene...

#box-pro-ellipsis-173970462851981{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}The Enthusiast: Founders and VCs beyond the Valley

The Enthusiast: Founders and VCs beyond the Valley