Startupable

From Immigrant to a $3B Exit: The Story of Sendgrid | Issac Saldana, Sendgrid, Memo

My guest is Isaac Saldana, co-founder and former CEO of Sendgrid, the API centric email platform which went public in 2017 and was acquired by Twilio for 3 billion in 2019. Before Sendgrid, Isaac started multiple startups that failed and faced a ton of challenges as a first time founder, with very little business background and a very shy personality. Today, we discussed Isaac’s challenges in transitioning from founder to CEO, his decision to bring in an external CEO to SendGrid, and the lessons he learned along the way. We also covered the company-building lessons he gained at SendGrid, including insights on product development, market timing, and team building. Finally, we talked about his latest venture, Memo, and how he aims to empower introverts to build their personal brands and social capital in a world dominated by social media. Isaac is a very successful yet low-profile and humble founder, so I’m sure many of you will empathize with his personal story. - GET THE BEST OF THE INTERVIEWS IN OUR NEWSLETTER🗞️  Read it: https://rebrand.ly/tssnwsrss [https://rebrand.ly/tssnwsrss] - Issac's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaacsaldana/  Issac's new company: https://memo.com/

A Bullish Take on LatAm’s Growth Equity & Lessons from Investing $8BN at Softbank| Paulo Passoni, Valor Capital Group

Paulo Passoni is Managing Partner at Valor Capital Group, a venture capital and growth equity firm investing across Brazil, LatAm, and the US. Before Valor, Paulo played a protagonic role in developing LatAm’s growth equity ecosystem as a Managing Partner at SoftBank, managing their $8 billion LatAm Fund. Paulo invested and acted as a board member of several Brazilian unicorns including VTEX, Loggi and Creditas. He also invested over a decade in Latin America’s public and private equities at Third Point Management and Eton Park. In this episode, we talked about the non-obvious investing principles he’s learned over his career, why he’s bullish on LatAm’s venture and growth ecosystem, unlike other investors, and his reflections from his time at Softbank. We also d iscussed his frameworks for investing in growth-stage companies in Brazil and LatAm, including markets, regulatory tailwinds, business models, metrics, and teams; and how this has changed since 2020 and 2021. GET THE BEST OF THE INTERVIEWS IN OUR NEWSLETTER🗞️  Read it: https://rebrand.ly/tssnwsrss [https://rebrand.ly/tssnwsrss]

The AI Investing Strategy of Uber’s 1st Head of Data Science | Kevin Novak, Rackhouse Ventures

My guest is Kevin Novak, the founder and Managing Partner of Rackhouse Ventures, an early-stage venture firm focused on the intersection between AI and the real world.  Kevin has had a long and respected career in Data Science and AI, serving as Uber’s first head of data science and inventing Uber's dynamic pricing feature. Before Rackhouse, he was the Chief Data Officer of Tala Financial, advised several VC firms, and personally supported over 50 companies as an angel investor. We discussed all aspects of AI investing, from identifying when data and AI are core to a business model to distinguishing between wrappers and new applications. We also talked about the common characteristics of industries most ripe for AI solutions. In addition, we explored how AI will shape the future of company formation and the venture capital industry itself. Kevin is a Silicon Valley insider when it comes to AI and Data Science, so our conversation offered many insights into what leading tech companies and investors think about AI. I hope you enjoy it. GET THE BEST OF THE INTERVIEWS IN OUR NEWSLETTER🗞️   Read it: https://rebrand.ly/tssnwsrss [https://rebrand.ly/tssnwsrss]

The Past, Present and Future of Brazil’s Venture Ecosystem | Rodrigo Baer, Upload Ventures

My guest today is Rodrigo Baer, co-founder and General Partner at Upload Ventures. I met Rodrigo a year ago during a trip to Brazil and was impressed by his knowledge of the history of the Brazilian market and the trends of where it is going. Rodrigo  investing in Brazilian startups in 2010, then went on to become a Managing Director for Redpoint eventures and a Partner at SoftBank's Early Stage fund for LatAm. In the process, he's invested in over 6 unicorns, including iFood, CargoX, and Pismo. Today, we talked about the history and trends of the Brazilian venture ecosystem, the lessons has learned from investing in multiple unicorns, why he decided to start his own fund, and his approach to helping startups.   This conversation was a masterclass in the Brazilian startup ecosystem. I hope you enjoy it.   GET THE BEST OF THE INTERVIEWS IN OUR NEWSLETTER🗞️  Read it: https://rebrand.ly/tssnwsrss [https://rebrand.ly/tssnwsrss]

How to Raise from Emerging LPs: A Guide for GPs | David Zhou, Alchemist

This week I talked to David Zhou, Head of Investor Relations at Alchemist Accelerator, to understand who emerging Limited Partners (LPs) are and what motivates them, and how General Partners (GPs) can raise capital from them. Over a year ago, David wrote “The Non-Obvious Emerging LP Playbook [https://cupofzhou.com/the-non-obvious-emerging-lp-playbook/]”, which has become one of the best blog posts on the somewhat obscure world of Limited Partners, the money behind the Venture Capital industry.  Since then, David has become one of the best community builders in Silicon Valley, focused on helping emerging Limited Partners think and invest like the most established Limited Partners. David also hosts a fabulous podcast called Superclusters, focused on demystifying the world of Limited Partners. GET THE BEST OF THE INTERVIEWS IN OUR NEWSLETTER 🗞️ Register here: https://rebrand.ly/tssnwsrss [https://rebrand.ly/tssnwsrss]