Shows
La Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasFrom PowerPoint to Series B: The B2B Playbook for Scaling Across LatAm with Juan Fantoni, PomeloIn this episode of La Frontera, we sit down with Juan Fantoni, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Pomelo, one of Latin America’s most ambitious fintech infrastructure startups. Juan walks us through his journey from Mastercard executive to fintech founder, and how he and his co-founders built Pomelo to power card issuance and embedded finance across the region. We dive deep into launching a B2B startup, the strategy behind Pomelo’s rapid multi-country expansion, and what it takes to succeed in complex markets like Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil. Juan also shares his approach to raising capital across boom...2025-07-2955 minLa Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasInvesting Across Borders: Nido’s B2B Thesis for Mexico’s Golden Age with Maria Gutierrez Peñaloza, Nido VenturesIn this episode, we sit down with Maria Gutierrez Peñaloza, co-founding partner of Nido Ventures, to explore why Mexico may be entering its “golden decade” for tech and cross-border innovation. Maria shares how her background working in supply chain in Silicon Valley shaped Nido’s investment thesis, and why they’re backing B2B startups transforming legacy industries. We dive into nearshoring trends turbocharging Mexico’s economy, the specific industries ripe for disruption, and how Nido bridges two worlds – mobilizing U.S. capital to seize opportunities south of the border.You can find show notes, deep...2025-07-1759 minLa Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasFrom Budgeting App to WhatsApp CFO: Zumma’s Bold B2C to B2B Pivot with Marinella Piñate, ZummaIn this episode of La Frontera, we talk with Marinella Piñate, CEO and co-founder of Zumma, a Mexico-based fintech transforming messy manual finance ops with an AI-powered “WhatsApp CFO” for businesses across Latin America. We dive into what led Zumma to pivot from a beloved B2C app to a fast-growing B2B platform, how Marinella’s travels through 60+ countries shaped her entrepreneurial mindset, and why she believes meaning (and mental health) are non-negotiables for founders. She also shares lessons on hiring top engineering talent without a CTO, the resilience that defines LatAm founders, and her candid approach to buil...2025-07-101h 11La Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasBridging the $1T Opportunity: Why Now Is the Time to Invest in LatAm with Luis Enriquez, Bridge LatAmIn this episode of La Frontera 🌵, we sit down with Luis Enriquez, co-founder and GP of Bridge Latam, to explore why now is the moment to invest in Latin America's booming tech scene. Luis breaks down the $1 trillion opportunity, the industries primed for disruption, and how Mexico's cultural nuances shape startup culture. We also dive into the challenges (and opportunities) of Series B liquidity, secondaries, and founder over-dilution—key issues shaping the future of venture in the regionYou can find show notes, deep dives, and other great content in our newsletter 👉 www.lafronterapodcast.com...2025-06-1841 minLa Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasOpen Banking for the People: Redefining Credit Access in Colombia with Andrés Londoño Botero, MonetIn this episode of La Frontera 🌵, we talk with Andrés Londoño Botero, CFO and co-founder of Monet, a Colombian fintech that’s issued over a million loans to users at the base of the pyramid—many receiving credit for the first time. We dig into how Monet ditched the HR data model, built their own open banking rails, and why Andrés thinks social media credit scoring is a step too far. He also shares the challenges of raising capital in LatAm, what it’ll take to unlock more exits, and why Monet still has its sights set on an IPO...2025-05-2844 minLa Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasLatAm VC Trailblazer: Investing Across Borders & Empowering Women with Susana Espinosa De Los Reyes, Dux CapitalIn this episode, we sit down with Susy from DUX Capital to explore the hustle, focus, and luck needed to break into venture capital, the critical role of female investors in the startup ecosystem, and why fundraising in Latin America is facing extreme headwinds. Susy shares actionable tips for founders preparing for early-stage fundraising — from building strong data rooms to managing investor relationships — and reflects on the rapid rise of Mexico City as one of the most exciting and vibrant startup hubs in the world.You can find show notes, deep dives, and other grea...2025-05-2146 minLa Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasBuilding LatAm’s Data Rails from the Ground Up with Nico Yepes, MoffinIn this episode of La Frontera 🌵, we sit down with Nico Yepes, co-founder of Moffin, a fintech infrastructure startup based in Guadalajara that’s quietly transforming how data is shared in Mexico. Nico brings the investor lens—having spent years in private equity focused on emerging market financial services—while his co-founders bring deep engineering and product expertise. Together, they’ve built a platform that integrates messy, fragmented data into automated underwriting pipelines, unlocking faster, smarter credit decisions for lenders of all sizes. Whether you’re a fintech founder, investor, or just curious about the future of financial infrastructure in LatAm, this...2025-05-1459 minLa Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasFrom SMS King to AI Pioneer: Bootstrapping, Exits, and LatAm’s Tech Evolution with Angel Cisneros, SaptivaIn this episode, we sit down with Angel Cisneros, founder and CEO of Saptiva, an AI infrastucture and orchestration platform in LatAm. We explore his remarkable journey of bootstrapping Quiubas and exiting to Twillio, long before a robust ecosystem existed in Mexico, and his insights on how to position a startup for a successful acquisition. We dive deep into why he believes Latin America urgently needs its own AI infrastructure, how Saptiva is taking a decentralized, cloud-agnostic approach to building it, and why local investors still hesitate to back AI-focused startups. Angel’s perspective on AI, bootstrapping, scaling, and navig...2025-04-1742 minLa Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasLatAm VC Playbook: Investing Across Brazil, Colombia & Peru with Alejandro Troll, BVCIn this episode of La Frontera, we sit down with Alejandro Troll, GP at BVC, to unpack the differences between venture ecosystems in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru—and why those nuances matter for startups and investors. We explore how BVC builds trusted deal flow in markets like Peru and Colombia, sources high-potential startups before they hit major accelerators, and works to educate Japanese LPs on the opportunity in LatAm. We also settle a critical debate: does Peru really have the best sushi in the world?You can find show notes, deep dives, and other grea...2025-04-0950 minLa Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasScaling in LatAm: Building Billion-Dollar Startups & Fundraising Like a VC with Courtney McColgan, RunaIn this episode, we chat with Courtney McColgan, Founder and CEO of Runa, about the realities of building and scaling a startup in Latin America as a foreign founder. Courtney shares hard-earned lessons from growing Cabify from $20M to a $1.5B valuation, how she navigated fundraising for Runa during the VC boom, and why thinking like an investor gave her an edge. We also dive into LatAm’s tech talent landscape, why expanding across the region isn’t as simple as market size suggests, and the cultural and operational hurdles that make scaling uniquely challenging.You can find...2025-03-1952 minLa Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasLatAm’s Startup Boom: 500 Global, Angel Investing, and the Next Decade with Rene Lomeli Ojeda, 500 GlobalIn this episode, we sit down with Rene Ojeda, partner at 500 Global, who’s been shaping the LatAm startup ecosystem from day one. We explore the history of 500 LatAm, how the VC and startup landscape has evolved, and what makes for a great angel investor. Rene also pulls back the curtain on 500’s investment process and how they add value—plus, he reveals the biggest risk international VCs worry about when investing in the region. But don’t worry—it’s not all caution signs. Rene shares why he’s bullish on the next 5-10 years in LatAm and why you should be too.2025-03-1259 minLa Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasReimagining Private Debt: Fintech, Fundraising & the Future of LatAm Capital Markets with Valentina Valencia, VaasIn this episode, we talk to Valentina Valencia, founder and CEO of Vaas, about how she’s unlocking capital markets in LatAm by automating asset-backed private debt transactions. As a Latina founder who started in Silicon Valley, Valen shares why she returned to build in Colombia, how she raised early VC funding from Andreessen with just a vision—no product, no traction—and the lessons she learned along the way. We also dive into how Vaas is making private debt markets more efficient in Mexico and Colombia and get an inside look at Colombia’s thriving startup scene.You can...2025-03-0555 minLa Frontera: Bridging Startups and VCs Across the AmericasFrom LPs to Exits: Building a Top-Tier VC Fund with Cristobal Perdomo, Wollef VCIn our very first episode, we sit down with Cristobal Perdomo, co-founder of Wollef VC, to unpack what it takes to build and scale a top VC fund in Latin America. Cristobal shares how he raised his first fund, the key differences between LP bases in Mexico, the U.S., and Brazil, and why foreign investors need strong local partnerships to succeed in the region. We also dive into the challenges of exits in LatAm, the role of IPOs and M&A in creating liquidity, and whether it’s still too early to truly judge the potential for long-term success of...2025-02-2653 min