The J Curve with Olga Maslikhova

Thursday,  March 17: For this episode, I am thrilled to  bring you my conversation with Monica Saggioro, co-founder at MAYA Capital, Latin American early stage venture capital firm, whose portfolio includes the likes of Alice, EmCasa, Gupy, Kovi, Merama, NotCo and many more. Prior to MAYA Capital, Monica was Head of Operations for RBI Latin America where she managed the operations of 1,800 Burger King restaurants across 30 countries in Latin America and prior to that Monica was Strategic Planning and Product Manager at Whirpool.In today's episode we will learn:1) What does it take to raise money from MAYA? What does MAYA's investment process look like?2) How did Monica's operational background impact her investment approach?3) What does MAYA do to democratize the access to venture capital for founders based outside of tech bubbles in Brazil? 4) What are the markets and industries Monica is especially excited about?5) What are the ways to attract more females to tech and VC?

Tuesday,  February 22: For this episode, I am thrilled to  bring you my conversation with Courtney McColgan, a serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO at Runa HR, one of the leading payroll software providers for SMBs in Spanish speaking Latin America.  Prior to starting Runa, Courtney was the CMO of Cabify, a taxi application for Latin America, where she grew the company from 3 cities and $20M valuation to 130 cities across 12 countries and a $1.5B valuation. Previously, she also worked in venture capital and finance at Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Morgenthaler and Morgan Stanley.In today's episode we will learn:1) What were the key leadership decisions Courtney had to make to navigate Runa HR through covid-19 crisis?2) What are the critical elements of Runa's corporate culture?3) How to think about fundraising? Does venture capital as a source of capital work for all kind of founders? And what was Courtney's rationale behind taking venture capital money?4) What are the most important things founders have to get right to build scalable organizations?5) What are the unique challenges founders face while building business in Latin America?

Thursday,  February 10: For this episode, I am thrilled to  bring you my conversation with Gina Gotthilf, co-founder at Latitud, a platform helping build the next generation of iconic tech startups in Latin America through a dedicated fellowship and fund.In today's episode we will learn:1) What was it like to build Latitud amidst Covid-19 pandemic? And what is the value Latitud brings to the tech ecosystem in Latin America? 2) What are the unique problems Latin America faces today that could become premises for  scalable tech businesses tomorrow? 3) What are some of the growth hack tips Gina can share with entrepreneurs who achieved product / market fit?4) How do you create a culture of psychological safety around failure?

Tuesday, February 1: For this episode, I am thrilled to  bring you my conversation with Milena Oliveira, founding partner at Volpe Capital, a brand new Sao Paulo-based early and growth VC firm with $100M AUM and the likes of Softbank, BTG. and Banco Inter affiliates among anchor investors.In today's episode we will learn:1) How did the legal environment in Brazil evolve over the course of the last several years?2) What is the biggest challenge Latin American venture capital industry will face in the next few years? 3) What are some important pieces of advice Milena has for the first time tech entrepreneurs in LatAm? 4) What are three important truths everyone who wants to invest in Latin America should know?

Friday, January 21: For this episode, I am thrilled to  bring you my conversation with Bianca Martinelli, partner at Alexia Ventures, Sao Paulo-based early stage VC that invests in SaaS, data & analytics and AI that has recently raised $80M from some of the best entrepreneurs in the region and whose portfolio includes the likes of Merce do Bairro and Hashdex.In today's episode we will learn:1) What is the ultimate value a VC with global operational background can bring to Latin American table?2) What are the distinctive qualities of entrepreneurs doing business in Brazil and LatAm?3) What Bianca and team at Alexia Ventures look for in the founders when they evaluate investment opportunities?4) What are the three biggest lessons from Bianca's 12 year tenure in Endeavor?5) Why having mentors and role models is mission critical for personal and professional growth?

Friday: For this episode, I am thrilled to  bring you my conversation with  Manoela Mitchell, co-founder and CEO at Pipo Saude, Brazilian operator of health benefits platform, whose corporate customers include Brazilian Unicorns MadeiraMadeira and Buser and that has recently raised $20M Series A from the likes of Thrive Capital, Monashees, Kaszek, Atlantico and Nubank's co-founder David Velez.In today's episode we will learn:1) What is the impact of diversity on high growth tech company performance and employee retention?2) What are the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when fundraising? What is the valuation trap?3) What are the critical things to know for anyone building tech business in Brazil?4) What is one book every entrepreneur should read in Manoela's opinion?

Friday: For this episode, I am thrilled to  bring you my conversation with  Izabel Gallera, partner at Canary, one of the leading early stage venture capital firms in Latin America, that has recently raised $100M Fund III and whose portfolio includes the likes of Loft, Buser and Alice. In today's episode we will learn:1) What are the ultimate turn offs when Izabel talks to the founders? What are the key mistakes Latin America entrepreneurs make when talk to VCs in the region?2) Who is 'the best founder' from Canary's perspective and what is the framework of evaluating their potential?3) What is 'the right fund at the right time' mindset?4) How to use data to support investment decisions and reserve allocation?

Tuesday: For this episode, I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with  Rafael Clo, co-founder and CEO at Azos, Sao-Paulo-based tech startup democratizing life insurance in Brazil, that is backed by some of the best investors in Latin America including Naspers, KaszeK and MAYA. In today's episode we will learn:1) How Rafael turned his negative personal experience with life insurance provider into a venture-backed high growth tech business aimed to disrupt $49b industry in Brazil?2) How to design tech products for scale and compounding competitive advantage?3) What are the ways to 'democratize' entrepreneurship in Brazil ?4) How to think about financial discipline in the era of venture capital abundance? 5) What are some practical tips for founders raising pre-product?

Thursday: For the very first episode, I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Michael Kapps, the founder and CEO at Vitalk, Sao-Paulo, Brazil based digital health startup that aims to make mental healthcare accessible for the underserved population in Brazil. Vitalk has recently raised Series A from the likes of Vox Capital, Valor Capital, Green Rock and Goodwater Capital.In today's episode we will learn:1) How Michael made his way in the world of impact-driven entrepreneurship by first becoming a cowboy and learning Portuguese on a ranch?2) How to optimize organization for scalable leadership and nurture the culture of experimentation and failure tolerance?3) What are the critical things to know for anyone building tech business in Brazil?4) What are the things entrepreneurs should not be doing when fundraising? 5) What are the things VCs get wrong when evaluating startups in Brazil?