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
Feb 1, 2022 • 46min
[Investor Journey] Laura González-Estéfani (TheVentureCity) on talent has no zip code, founders turned funders and trust across cultures
Laura González-Estéfani is Founder and CEO of TheVentureCity, a leading early stage and Series A investor headquartered in Miami with a strong presence in LatAm and Europe. The fund has backed major success cases such as Cabify, Clip, Spotahome and Finconecta. Laura is a former founder turned funder and provides the audience with valuable lessons on how to make the switch from operator to investor, why investing is all about people and less so about pitch-decks and the potential of Miami as a...
Jan 18, 2022 • 34min
Justin Norman (The Flip) underestimated talent, soft power and ecosystem development in Africa
Justin Norman is Founder and Host of "The Flip", one of the leading (if not the leading) podcast and media platform on entrepreneurship in Africa. Justin, an American based in South Africa started the Flip in 2019 to learn more about the African ecosystem putting together sophisticated deep-dives on the impact of financial infrastructure, digitising healthcare and the role of edtech, just to name a fewOn the show we dive into: The impact of underestimated founders in a underestimated reg...
Jan 4, 2022 • 51min
[Investor Journey] Luiz Manzano & Alex Mello (BigBets) on effective altruism in venture as a strategy and dynamics of early stage investing
BigBets is a novel early stage investing firm based in Brazil. The fund has invested in companies such as Justo and Lemon. Luiz Manzano and Alexandre Mello joined the Emerging Markets Enthusiast to talk about their journey into VC, their take on early stage investing, building relationship and adding value. On this episode you will learn aboutHow the two found their way into venture and started BigBetsHow to match your personality traits as co-founders BigBets unique selling proposition ...
Dec 21, 2021 • 34min
Alex González Ormerod (Rest of World) on tech disruption, regulation and economic development for LatAm
On this episode Pat sits down with Alex González Ormerod, LatAm Editor of news-site Rest of World to talk about the implications of tech startup success for LatAm, whether their success will be enough to propel the region towards full development, what are possible pitfalls and whether we need more or just any regulation for the gig-economy. On this episode you will learn aboutThe gig-economification in LatAm Whether tech innovation is a new way to escape the middle income trap ...
Dec 7, 2021 • 39min
[Investor Journey] Unlocking VC in Pakistan - Rabeel Warraich (Sarmayacar) on starting the first institutional fund in the country, false perceptions and getting the flywheel going
Rabeel Warraich is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Sarmayacar, the first institutional VC fund in Pakistan. We talk about his way into venture, why Pakistan and why now, how false perceptions of a country can have extraordinary effects and his take on making the most out of the tech revolution taking place in Pakistan now. On this episode you will learn about:The opportunities on the ground in PakistanWhat the journey was like launching the first institutional fund in the countryThe ...
Nov 23, 2021 • 39min
[Investor Journey] Laura Constantini (Astella) on building a VC firm from 0-$100m, mechanics of early stage investing & winning over LPs
Patrick sat down with Laura Constantini, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of leading early stage firm Astella. She is a Kauffman Fellow, Class 2021. On the show, Laura takes us on her unique journey from starting as a research analyst in the financial sector in Brazil, to M&A and subsequently founding Astella together with Edson Rigonatti. On the show you will learn about Betting on the horse or the jockeyBuilding a VC firm from zeroAttracting LPs for your fund through consistenc...
Nov 9, 2021 • 35min
[Investor Journey] Jeffrey Paine (Golden Gate Ventures) on the human factor in VC, apprenticeship model, investing in SEA and founder development
Patrick sat down with Jeffrey Paine, one of the pioneers and most respected investors of the South East Asian VC ecosystem. Jeff is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of renowned Singapore based fund Golden Gate Ventures, investor in companies such as Stripe, Omise and Lenddo. Since 2011 they have backed +60 companies, raised 5 funds in total and significantly shaping the ecosystem along the way.On this episode you will learn about: Jeff's take on the apprenticeship model in VC and how to t...
Oct 26, 2021 • 43min
[Investor Journey] Backing founders and emerging fund managers - Stevon Darling (IFC) on investing, dealflow trends and talent attraction for startups
Patrick sat down with IFC’s VC Director for Latin American & the Caribbean Stevon Darling to talk about the organisation’s investing approach, its mission, what makes IFC different from traditional VC investors and how they can provide broader financing support beyond equity capital. We also touch upon IFC’s leading VC financing programme Startup Catalyst that backs emerging fund managers globally seeding the grounds for future startup ecosystems On this episode you will learn aboutHow IF...
Oct 12, 2021 • 34min
[Investor Journey] Paulo Passoni (Softbank) on dealflow, board construction, happiness & success in life and differentiating factors to Tiger
Patrick sat down with Paulo Passoni, Managing Partner of Softbank's Latin America fund investing since 2019 in founders in the region. Paulo talks about the unique inflection point LatAm is in, Softbank's investing approach and how to add value on boards as an investor, but foremost he gives crucial lessons on life, how to give back and what truly matters. A fantastic episode that goes beyond the traditional playbook and gets more personal than any episode before. On this episode, you will le...
Sep 28, 2021 • 36min
[Investor Journey] Allan Boruchowicz (Carao) on investing in Central America, fast due diligence and contrarian views on market expansion
Patrick sat down with Allan Boruchowicz, co-founder and Managing Partner of leading Central American fund Carao Ventures to talk about his journey into VC, the opportunities for the Central American region as an underserved market to invest in, how to maximise value add as a VC and how fast paced due diligence has created new dynamics in LatAm. On this episode, you will learn about:Allan's journey into VC The opportunities in the last frontier, Central America, one of the mos...
