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 13, 2021 • 33min
[Operator Stories] What does a Chief of Staff at a scale-up actually do - Amanda Jacobson (Oyster) on relationship building and B2B financial infrastructure
On this episode Patrick sits down with Amanda Jacobson, Chief of Staff at Oyster Financial, a business account provider and all in one financial solution for startups in Mexico. We chat about her journey in the Latin American ecosystem, beginning with her role at Village Capital to finally making the jump from VC to full time at a scale-up. Amanda makes a compelling case for the importance of long-term, non-transactional relationships to build you business success and raise capital with leadi...
Mar 30, 2021 • 54min
[Investor Journey] Bridging Silicon Valley & Africa - Mbwana Alliy (Savannah) on fund structuring, LPs and retaining scale-up talent
This episode takes us out of our lockdown homes over to Eastern Africa, where Mbwana with his team is building Savannah Fund, an early stage VC. After taking Russel Simons (Co-founder @Yelp) out on Safari, he became a crucial backer in Fund I. Recently Savannah reached a first close of their second fund at US$ 25M with the backing of IFC and Silicon Valley legend Tim Draper (IFC press release here). To date Savannah has invested in +30 deals across the continent and their portfoli...
Mar 8, 2021 • 40min
[Operator Stories] Profit vs. Impact? Georg Wolff (Co-founder Buckle & Seam) on scaling a D2C fashion brand, producing in Pakistan and a company's purpose
On this episode Patrick sits down with Georg Wolff, a German entrepreneur and co-founder of successful D2C leather accessory brand Buckle & Seam.We dive into his journey as a founder, the challenges they faced producing in-house at their own manufacturing plant in Pakistan, scaling a D2C brand and their goal of "educating 10,000 kids in the country."On this episode you will learn about: How to set up the supply chain for a D2C brand with production in a developing market whilst...
Feb 22, 2021 • 29min
[Investor Journey] On investment opportunities and portfolio construction - A deep dive into angel investing with Alex Galvez (Co-Founder @Sila)
On this episode Patrick sits down with Alex Galvez, an entrepreneur himself, but also a very active angel investor and podcaster. Alex has invested in dozens of deals across Latin America and beyond. He has invested in dozens of deals across Latin America and beyond providing us with compelling insights into the world of angel investing, deal diversification and portfolio construction. Further along in the discussion, we dive into the latests trends touching on SPACs, Solo VCs and ...
Feb 6, 2021 • 37min
Educating future entrepreneurs - Gabriel Weintraub (Stanford) & Marcos Singer (Universidad Catolica) on the role of universities, integration with industry and whether entrepreneurship can be taught
On this episode Patrick sits down with Gabriel Weintraub, Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business and Marcos Singer, Professor and Dean of the MBA programme at Universidad Catolica de Chile to discuss the relevance of universities in creating entrepreneurial ecosystems. We dive into the role of Stanford and explore its replicability to other markets. Marcos and Gabriel alike make a compelling case for the importance of universities in wider ecosystems. Along the discussion, we ...
Dec 29, 2020 • 34min
[Investor Journey] Katjana Kammin (Head of Portfolio, MEST) on digitisation, new sector trends and opportunities
On this episode Patrick sits down with Katjana Kammin, Head of Portfolio at early stage venture firm MEST, to discuss the latest developments in the Western African ecosystem with a specific focus on Ghana and Nigeria. Based out of the firm's HQ in Accra, Ghana, Katjana leads the firms's start-up portfolio investing in African entrepreneurs at the early stages as well as providing them with key resources and support on their scale-up journey through MEST's curated network of mentors and ...
Dec 12, 2020 • 45min
[Investor Journey] Jenny Johnston (Flourish) on the potential of fintech innovation, the digital hustle and Omidyar's leading role
On this episode Patrick sits down with Jenny Johnston, Associate at Flourish, Omidyar Network's fintech fund, to discuss the latest developments in the fintech space in Latam. Based out of the firms HQ in the Bay Area, Jenny leads the organisation's work for Latin America with investments ranging from Neobanks Albo and Neon to Brazilian's Guiabolso. Jenny makes a compelling case for the opportunities of Fintech in emerging markets and the strong potential Latam especially has on financial inn...
Nov 14, 2020 • 41min
Building entrepreneurial ecosystems in Latam - Dani Tricarico (ASELA Co-Executive Director) on the importance of public policy, resilience and regional collaboration
On this episode Patrick sits down with Dani Tricarico, former Executive Director of ASEA, to talk about the building blocks of entrepreneurial ecosystems, the particularities of the Argentine ecosystem and a call for more collaboration amongst the countries in Latin America. Dani has shaped the Argentine ecosystem over the last decade negotiating and advocating on behalf of the 35,000 members of ASEA (Argentine's Association for Entrepreneurs) for a fairer playing field for entrepr...
Nov 7, 2020 • 51min
[Operator Stories] From El Salvador to Malaysia - Gerardo Salandra (Co-Founder, Respond.io) on scaling, people management, decentralized teams and opportunities in emerging markets
This episode takes us into the story of Co-Founder and CEO, Gerardo Salandra of Respond.io, a business platform that revolutionizes customer interaction across messenger platforms. We dive into his journey of becoming an entrepreneur, the challenges he has faced on the way, building the team and his take on why tech solutions for emerging markets are future-proof and actually ahead of developed markets. On this episode you will learn: Motivations for starting a company and how experienc...
