The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20VC: Why Greed is the #1 Enemy of Venture Returns, Why Not Enough VCs Play to Win and Lessons from Scaling to $100M and 1,200 Employees and Then Cratering with Julio Vasconcellos, Founder @ Atlantico

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Sep 23, 2022

Julio Vasconcellos, Founder and Managing Partner at Atlantico, shares invaluable insights from his journey, including lessons from his time as Facebook's first country lead for Brazil. He discusses the critical balance between growth and unit economics when scaling companies. Julio emphasizes why VCs should adopt a winning mindset, highlighting the need for decisive actions in investment strategies. He also explores LATAM's evolving tech landscape, underscoring both its potential and the challenges ahead for founders navigating financial uncertainties.

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INSIGHT

Power of Product-Market Fit

Product-market fit is paramount for success, solving many problems.
Without it, even the best efforts might not achieve greatness.

INSIGHT

Importance of Founder's Vision

A founder's vision is crucial, uniting and motivating the team.
It's the single most important thing a founder can possess.

ADVICE

Market First

Prioritize market over team; the right market and product are key.
A strong team can navigate to product-market fit, but the market is fundamental.

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Julio Vasconcellos is the Founder and Managing Partner @ Atlantico, one of the leading early-stage funds in Latin America. Prior to the world of venture, Julio got his break in the world of startups as Facebook’s first country lead for Brazil. Julio then went on to co-found Peixe Urbano, a company he scaled to over 1,200 employees and $100M+ in revenue. Post the sale of Peixe Urbano, Julio became an EiR @ Benchmark Capital where he met Scott Belsky. Scott and Julio went on to co-found Prefer, a Benchmark backed company transforming the future of work. If that was not enough, Julio has a stellar angel track record with prior investments in the likes of Ipsy and Quinto Andar.

In Today's Episode with Julio Vasconcellos We Discuss:

1.) Entry into Startups:

What are 1-2 of Julio's biggest takeaways from being Facebook's first hire in Brazil?
What does Julio know now that he wishes he had known at the start of his career in startups?

2.) Lessons from Scaling Peixe Urbano to $100M in Revenue:

How does Julio advise founders on when is the right time to launch a second product or market?
How does Julio advise founders on the right balance between growth and unit economics?
When times are tougher, should founders cut fast or cut slower? What is irreversible?
What are the single biggest and worst things to break in hyper-scaling?

3.) Investing: Why Not Enough Play To Win:

What is more important, a great market or a great founder?
Why do not enough VCs today play to win? If they do not play to win, what do they play to do?
Why is greed the number one enemy of venture returns?
What are the single biggest investing lessons Julio has learned from Benchmark Founder, Andy Rachleff? How have they impacted his investing mindset?
Why does Julio believe you can have a close relationship with founders as an angel and not a VC?
How did Julio's approach to investing change with the transition from angel to VC?
Does Julio believe that boards really add any value? If so, how?
What is Julio's biggest investing hit? How did it change his approach?
What is his biggest miss? How did that impact his mindset?

4.) The Future for LATAM:

Is Julio as concerned as I am by the removal of growth stage capital from the LATAM ecosytem?
Does this mean a higher mortality rate for LATAM companies? How does Julio advise founders?
How did COVID adoption of technology in LATAM fundamentally differ to the US?