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
Apr 4, 2023 • 41min
[Investor Journey] Inanc Balci (Crestone VC) on scaling Lazada in SEA, launching an emerging markets Fintech VC and parallels between LatAm & Asia
On this episode Pat sits down with Inanc Balci, Co-Founder and Partner at emerging markets fintech fund Crestone Venture Capital where he invests across South East Asia and Latin America. We dive into his journey as an operator turned VC, scaling in SEA, similarities between LatAm and SEA in terms of fintech models and much moreYou will learn about: How Inanc ended up in SEA as an operator and Co-founder of Lazada Why operators make good investorsWhat input metrics he finds critical...
Mar 21, 2023 • 32min
[Investor Journey] Lolita Taub (Ganas Ventures) on breaking into VC, community as a moat and creating generational wealth
On this episode Pat sits down with Lolita Taub, founding partner of Ganas VC, an early stage fund that invests in community-driven business models in the Americas. We dive into Lolita's journey into venture, why immigrant communities, especially Latinx still have an ownership gap to other communities in the US and how that translates into a low representation in start-up founders and VC and how community-driven business models serve as a moat for startups. You will learn about: Why gener...
Mar 7, 2023 • 42min
[Operator Stories] Gerry Giacomán (Clara) on always be changing, building compounding value and how to balance profitability and growth
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 ...
Feb 21, 2023 • 40min
[Investor Stories] Jonathan Whittle (Quona) on why and when it pays to become a bank, parallels to previous bust cycles and Brazil's fintech masterplan
On this episode Pat sits down with Jonathan Whittle, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of emerging markets fintech inclusion fund Quona Capital. We dive into his journey from operator to VC, lessons learned from the dot-com bust and what it means for today's market correction, the status of Fintech in emerging markets and why it pays to become a bank at the final stage of a B2C fintech's growth journeyOn this episode you will learn about: Jonathan's journey into VC and long time engag...
Feb 7, 2023 • 57min
[Operator Stories] Sergiu Negut (FintechOS) on reducing friction in fintech product development, legacy infrastructure and low-code solutions
On this episode Pat sits down with Sergiu Negut, Co-Founder of leading low-code platform FintechOS to dive into the scale-up journey for the company, how they attracted an impressive roster of banks and insurance companies to use their platform to develop digital products, why the digital transformation of incumbents is relevant and how to build a global company from day one. You will learn about:Sergiu's journey into techThe banking and insurance landscape and why launching digital prod...
Jan 17, 2023 • 44min
[Investor Journey] Ricardo Kanitz (Spectra) on GP due diligence, emerging fund managers and secrets of portfolio construction
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 ...
Jan 3, 2023 • 46min
[Strategic DeepDive] Axel Christensen (Blackrock) on a new investment paradigm, asset prices, inflation and implications for emerging economies
On this episode Pat sits down with Axel Christensen, Chief Investment Strategist and Managing Director for Latin America & Iberia at leading asset manager Blackrock to dive into the current macro environment, how it affects investment decisions and what it means for emerging markets. On this episode you will learn about: The interplay between interest rates and investment decisionsCurrency fluctuations in emerging markets and LatAm specifically What is the new investment paradig...
Dec 20, 2022 • 54min
[Investor Journey] Arjuna Costa (Flourish) challenges in achieving true financial inclusion, waves of fintech adoption and embedded finance
On this episode Pat sits down with Arjuna Costa, Managing Partner at leading fintech fund Flourish, which is part of the Omidyar network, we dive into the challenges of achieving true financial inclusion and access to capital for everyone, how the next waves of fintech products will evolve and making the most out of embedded financeOn this episode you will learn about: Arjuna's journey into VC The evolution of financial inclusion in emerging markets and beyondHow embedded fina...
Dec 6, 2022 • 47min
[Investor Journey] Robin Butler (Sturgeon Capital) investing at the frontier from Pakistan to Uzbekistan, ecosystem maturity, liquidity and creating momentum
On this episode Pat sits down with Robin Butler, Partner and Head of Impact at frontier investment firm, Sturgeon Capital. Robin eloquently unpacks the $300bn opportunity in frontier markets in Central Asia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Egypt and how you can combine profit and impact making a lasting impact on growth and innovation in these markets. You will learn about: Sturgeon's thesis and why these marketsHow Robin thinks about the challenges in frontier ecosystems in terms of dealflow d...
Nov 22, 2022 • 50min
[Investor Journey] Wenyi Cai (Polymath) on building businesses for the LatAm middle class, parallels to Asia & how to make company building work
On this episode Pat sits down with Wenyi Cai, Co-Founder and CEO of Latin American venture studio Polymath. We dive into Wenyi's journey into LatAm, the region's similarities with Asia, Polymath's approach to venture building and designing business and much more. On this episode you will learn about: The characteristics of the Latin American middle class and why is it difficult to service them Parallels between Asia / China and LatAm in terms of building business for the middle clas...
