Looking backwards and connecting the dots
This week on How to be the Difference we sat down with Cesar Salazar, a serial entrepreneur and an authority in the venture capital world in Latam. Johanna and Paul talk to Cesar about his experience founding more than six companies and investing in over 100 early stage startups in Latin America.
Having come from a family of university professors, Cesar has held on to the values instilled by his upbringing of curiosity, creativity and intellectual development. From being socially anxious to organizing hackathons and building communities, Cesar is used to getting out of his comfort zone over and over again.
In conversation with Johanna and Paul, Cesar shares his experience on pushing through and breaking mental models to allow for self awareness, curiosity, adaptability and resilience to permeate throughout his life and ultimately into his latest company, Beyond, where he connects creative problem solvers in Mexico with some of the brightest founders in the US.
Outline of this episode:
[0:50] - Johanna’s birthday
[1:45] - Introducing César Salazar
[3:45] - Following intuition
[5:43] - Building community
[9:35] - Starting a venture fund
[12:36] - A simple life
[13:30] - The vibe of Hackathons
[15:14] - Break through
[19:23] - Expressing who you are
[23:00] - The Startup Weekend impact
[25:32] - The learning experience
[30:52] - A career change
[34:38] - The inspiring experience of internship
[39:41] - A good cup of coffee
[41:36] - What’s next for César Salazar?
Resources & people mentioned:
César Salazar
Beyond.dev
Mexican.vc
500 startups
Johanna Molina
Paul Lynskey
The Intern Group
