All posts tagged tropicalgringo

  • June 20, 2015

    These top startup CEOs from Colombia have created over $250M in shareholder value

    Colombia-startup-snapshot-2015

    Note: I updated this post with the actual interviews. It goes without saying that I’m extremely proud of being able to interview these 5 awesome entreprenuers in order to provide a great 2015 snapshot of some of the country’s top CEO/founders at this point time (think of it as a time capsule). These guys have easily created over $250M in shareholder value up to now.  If you’re from other countries, this will give you a sense of the talent of top Colombian entreprenuers. If you live here, it’s a shame you didn’t attend these interviews (we had low attendance) and take advantage of meeting and talking with these incredibly open founders, but watch the videos and learn a ton!

    A couple months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Claus Rosenberg, a serial entrepreneur from Denmark, thanks to a friend named Juan Velez. During our meeting, he made a very persuasive case for why I should become Director of Startup Grind in Bogota.  Long story, short, I agreed because I see this as an opportunity to take a snapshot in 2015 of the top Startup CEOs from Colombia through a series of YouTube video interviews.

    As I’ve written before, it’s become harder and harder to sacrifice family time and take on extra initiatives such as these.  Also, although some may find it hard to believe, I just don’t really enjoy the spotlight in Colombia anymore.   The only thing that drives me to do these types of things is the fact that I really see a big impact resulting from this initiative.  Also,  I just really admire talented entrepreneurs and enjoy talking with them.

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  • June 19, 2015

    Do you really want to boil the ocean?

    Boil the oceanThroughout my professional career, I’ve observed how those with tons of resources and outsized ambitions, try to execute Hail Mary initiatives with very limited results. On the other hand, focusing on high quality, low quantity results (e.g., get a few fanatical users of a product versus thousands of site visitors), is much more effective. Later, they are able to build upon these successes.  Startups should really resist the temptation and pressure to ignore this key principle in pursuit of the “boil the ocean” strategy.

    I’m still surprised by the strong voices that startup founders hear leading them down a road that will dilute their efforts and produce negligible or incredibly costly results.  These voices take the form of their own desires, of criticisms for not being ambitious enough or “thinking too small.”  My personal experience has been anecdotal, but there are actual studies that confirm this even more.

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  • December 4, 2013

    My speech at eNet Expo on the digital opportunities in Latin America

    TropicalGringo eNetExpoYesterday, I had a great time as a panelist for eNet Expo.  Also, it was such a pleasure to be on the stage with Dan Gertzacov, CEO Americas of Lenddo.  He’s a cool guy whose advice I value on many matters.  During the panel discussion, we spoke about the opportunities in Colombia and Latin America from an investment perspective as well as the obstacles.  We had a great moderator in Marcos Pueyrredon who is an accomplished entrepreneur and investor.

    Before our panel, I was able to hook up with a lot of my colleagues here in Latin America and also meet interesting entrepreneurs from so many different countries such as France, Spain, Chile and Argentina.  I really like to present my perspective and thesis on the industry in front of large groups of people, but it’s tough to beat meeting amazing entrepreneurs in person.

    For instance, I was able to quickly chat with Alberto Pardo, CEO of Ads Movil.  A few months ago, Alberto took the company that he founded, Millenial Media and joined forces with Ads Movil, which is backed by the Cisneros Group.  Since then, they’ve accelerated their growth in an incredibly exciting, but competitive market for mobile ads.  Alberto, who likes to be called “Banano”, knows how to get things done and it’s a real pleasure to talk when the opportunity lends itself.

    There were other companies at the event such as my friends from Medellin at ComprandoFacil who not only help merchants get online, but also sell merchandise through their own store.   Aside from being a great group of guys, the recently launched and are already experiencing amazing growth in both business lines.  Exciting stuff.  I also got to see Andres Murcia, CEO of Saberes Plus who went through the accelerator program I run and is building a comprehensive library of educational content that parents and schools can purchase online. The founders of Yoky were also there, which are going through the acceleration program I’m running right now and are offering fashion retailers access to two managed channels: 1. eCommerce and 2. a specialized direct, commision-based sales force.   Lastly, it was great to see Carolina Cruz from WomyAds, a graduate of the Incubator I run called Founder Institute and who is building a reputation and influencer platform across all of Latin America.  These are all companies to watch and it’s always great to talk with them.  I topped the day off with an appearance on my favorite show called Martes de Marcas with two incomparable hosts! :)

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  • November 8, 2013

    Global digital innovation masters

    Digital Innovation Masters I’ve been thinking more about what really stimulates me at the same time that I’ve been considering the meaning of the word: “TropicalGringo.”  I think I’m coming up with an answer to both questions at the same time.  I’ll have to write more about each topic separately, but let me use this post as first pass to see what you think.

    What really stimulates me is meeting talented, passionate people who are great at creating new things. In general, I like to meet impressive people in all industries, but, being such a nerd, I really am intrigued by those that accomplish this in the digital space.  I’m talking about a great business builder, coder, designer or whatever.  Someone who has achieved mastery in one of the crafts necessary to engender digital innovation and, who call it, “creating cool shit.” :)

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