- Gerry initially found himself in the Bay Area, started an MBA at Stanford, and worked in tech in SF.
- Inspired by the evolving mobility landscape, he saw an opportunity for shared bikes and scooters in LATAM with higher density and traffic issues.
- Gerry founded a micro-mobility startup in LATAM, which later merged into Grow Mobility, achieving rapid growth across 7 countries.
- Despite market success, Grow Mobility faced challenges in financial practices, access to funds, and resource traceability.
- Gerry's transition to the B2B payment space and commercial credit cards was driven by the need for financial agility and sound practices in the mobility industry.
- The experience highlighted the importance of financial efficiency for business operations and employee needs.
- Dan inquires about the initial focus of Clara on fast-growth startup customers, given Gerry's background in the startup ecosystem.
- Gerry mentions that startups in the ecosystem were among the first to recognize the need for financial controls, visibility, and agility.
- Clara initially resonated with startup customers, with over 80% of the top hundred startups in Mexico using Clara.
- However, Gerry emphasizes the broader opportunity beyond startups, with 90% of Clara's business today coming from non-startup customers.
- Clara has expanded its focus beyond startups to include a wide range of companies, and 90% of the current business growth is outside the startup segment.
- Clara's underwriting process has led them to primarily work with mid-sized SMEs and above, avoiding the smallest companies or individuals.
- Over time, Clara's products have become more robust, meeting the needs of even the largest enterprises operating in LATAM.
- Clara is the only company offering locally issued credit cards in multiple markets, citing an example of a customer, Smart Feet, a gym chain in Brazil.
- Clara aims to evolve into a platform where companies not only make payments but also receive payments, creating a comprehensive financial ecosystem.
- Establishing a multi-country LATAM solution for credit cards is challenging due to the region's lacking infrastructure, requiring Clara to build much of the solution from scratch.
- Existing market enablers were not equipped to meet Clara's needs, lacking capabilities in credit, business collaboration, and having functional shortcomings in APIs.
- Clara overcame these challenges by investing eight months in building its solution, operating under its principal member license, and establishing a direct relationship with card schemes, primarily MasterCard.
- Presently, the company is concentrated on developing a robust payment solution, encompassing all payment methods utilized by businesses.
- The future vision includes potential expansion into more countries, serving a broader customer base while maintaining the core focus on enhancing payment solutions for businesses.
- Gerry cites Gary Kelly, co-founder of Southwest Airlines, as an admired business leader for steering the challenging airline industry with a remarkable 40-year profitability record.
- Southwest's success, according to Gerry, stems from its approach of using first principles, reimagining the entire industry beyond customer-facing aspects like seat assignments and lower fares.
- In the absence of Clara, Gerry envisions himself exploring other ideas, maintaining a reservoir of concepts waiting to be pursued or kickstarted to address unmet needs.
- Despite having multiple ideas, Gerry's present focus is solely on Clara, dedicating every waking second to the company and its mission.
- Gerry advises founders to be crystal clear upfront about the type of company they want to build, acknowledging the honor and dignity in running a well-managed small business, a prevalent model in Latin America.
