Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Igor Marinelli , founder and CEO of Tractian, a leader in industrial IoT and enterprise asset management software. Just over a year ago, Tractian secured a $45M Series B funding round, led by General Catalyst and joined by Next47 .

Igor takes us on his incredible journey from building inventory systems as a teenager to founding one of the most innovative companies in the industrial tech space. His story highlights how a deep understanding of customer pain points fueled the creation of innovative solutions for real-world manufacturing challenges. Entrepreneurs will find inspiration in Igor’s relentless pursuit of product excellence and customer loyalty, while investors will appreciate his long-term strategic vision and disciplined approach to market expansion. Packed with actionable insights, this conversation is a must-listen for anyone aiming to build a sustainable, customer-first business.

In today's episode we discuss:

1. B2B vs. B2C Building Strategies: why building a B2B company requires a different set of fundamentals and how these differ from consumer-facing startups

2. Hire like you’re building: why great managers are hands-on operators, not just career ladder climbers?

3. Engineer-led growth: why founders should be hands-on with product and customer feedback before scaling?

4. Sell value, not features: how focusing on the impact of your solution leads to faster conversions?

5. Partnerships > Valuations: why a fair partnership with strategic support is better than an inflated valuation with little alignment?

On the Rinzai Way and Korinji Monastery