The Enthusiast: Founders and VCs beyond the Valley
Pat Alex
"Entrepreneurial Talent is Global" - On The Enthusiast, Host Pat Alex chats with some of the most fascinating Founders, Operators and Investors Beyond Silicon Valley. Every two weeks, he sits down with the likes of Arjuna Costa (Flourish), Paulo Passoni, Jeffrey Paine (Golden Gate Ventures), Gerry Giacoman (Clara) and Monica Brand Engel (Quona) to dissect their challenges around scaling, fundraising, managing boards and company leadership. Taken together, the guests have raised venture capital in the hundreds of millions and are behind their regions' biggest business and venture successes paving the way towards a more equitable and diverse future. Follow the newsletter to always stay up to date with the latest episodes: https://linktr.ee/Patalex
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 28, 2024 • 41min
[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
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...
Apr 2, 2024 • 32min
[Investor Journey] Ali Karabey (212vc) on bringing VC investing to Türkiye, playing the platform game right without losing focus and building conviction
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...
Mar 19, 2024 • 31min
[Operator Stories] Hamdi Tabbaa (Abwaab) on scaling edtech in MENA, market expansion for a highly localized product offering and upselling
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
Mar 5, 2024 • 33min
[Investor Journey] Dave Nangle (VEF) on successful founders go macro as well as micro, timing your entry moments and building global dealflow
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 ...
Feb 21, 2024 • 37min
[Investor Journey] Ramiro Lauzan (L Catterton) on timing your exit and fundamentals of themes based investing
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...
Feb 6, 2024 • 44min
[Investor Journey] Carl Fritjofsson (Creandum) consistency as a driver of VC success, avoiding shiny objects & finally the advent of European tech leadership?
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...
Jan 23, 2024 • 47min
[Investor Journey] Christopher Schroeder on the Venn Diagram between the private & the public sector, unleashing entrepreneurial talent and US leadership in tech
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...
Jan 9, 2024 • 60min
[Operator Stories] Omair Ansari (Abhi) on tackling access to credit in Pakistan and going multi-product and multi-country early on
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...
7 snips
Nov 7, 2023 • 33min
[Strategic Deepdive] Leah Barto (Endeavor) on where unicorn founders come from, ecosystem building in emerging market and patterns vs. biases
On this episode Pat sits down with Endeavor's Senior Director of Research Leah Barto to discuss research at Endeavor, why studies on emerging ecosystems are important and Endeavor's most recent ground breaking research on founder pathways. You will learn about:The setup of Endeavor Insight, the very own research arm of EndeavorWhere successful unicorn founders come from and what they have in common What makes founders from emerging markets different to founders from the USAny future topi...
Oct 26, 2023 • 48min
[Investor Journey] Julian Roeoes (Picus Capital) on long term investing in transformational companies, their Americas strategy and muscles of private vs. public markets investing
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...
