All posts in Case Studies

  • May 30, 2016

    My favorite Colombian startups!

    1DOC3 Facebook F8

    I’ve titled this post “my favorite Colombian startups” though, I must say, this is not an objective moniker since I am also an advisor to these companies and their CEO’s.  That said, they are my favorite Colombian startups and it’s an honor to be a small part of their future success.  As  you’ll read below, I’m incredibly excited about their current successes (see photo of Mark Zuckerberg talking about 1Doc3 during F8 2016) and those to come.

    There is something that I find so impressive about founders in general and, particularly, those that I advise.  It’s the fact that they’ve been able to build growing businesses (something I haven’t been able to do myself), but are also open to listening to advice.  This opens them up to new points of view and, in my opinion, increases their chances of building an even bigger company.  My advisory sessions can be racked up to an occasional evening phone call, which takes very little time each month, this activity is incredibly rewarding for me.

    Read more

    3 Comments / Case Studies, English /

  • January 12, 2016

    Platzi closes $2.1M seed round

    Platzi seed roundI’m happy to report (as did the Wall Street Journal) that Platzi has closed a $2.1M seed round.  It’s CEO and co-founder, Freddy Vega, is pictured above during my recent interview with him in Colombia.  Freddy is Colombian and his talented co-founder, Christian Van Der Henst, hails from Guatemala. Nonetheless, both are true blue global startup guys (citizens of the world).

    I’ve always felt that these guys are valuable role models particularly for entrepreneurs in the region because of their having been able to bootstrap their business through sheer talent, desire and hard work.  I see this as extremely valuable in terms of a model that a large portion of Latin American entrepreneurs (that don’t have access to initial capital or highly placed business connections) can emulate.

    Read more

    6 Comments / Case Studies, English /

  • January 8, 2016

    TropicalGringo Portfolio: Tappsi exit good news for ecosystem

    Tappsi ExitAs some of you know, one of the startups that I advise is Tappsi, the leading taxi-hailing company in Colombia. Recently, the company announced their merger with Easy Taxi.  Not only is this a good outcome for the company’s talented founders, shareholders (such as myself) and the Colombian startup ecosystem (particularly, for investors and potential investors), but it is a logical next step in the company’s evolution and allows it to play the long (regional) game as part of bigger company.

    Though this outcome may have been a surprise to some, it was a scenario that the founders (and myself) always saw as one of several probabilities down the road. This space was quite obviously destined for consolidation (especially, from a regional perspective).  In such a market, as many know, you can be the consolidator of several markets (countries) or, if you can build dominance in one lucrative market (country), you can, later, join forces with that same consolidator through a merger, acquisition, etc.

    Read more

    2 Comments / Case Studies, English /

  • December 3, 2015

    TropicalGringo Portfolio Update 2015

    TropicalGringo Portfolio 2015

    Well it’s the end of the year and it probably makes sense to talk about the last year.  So as not to be so broad, I decided to focus on the companies that I advise.  I am an advisor to and shareholder in five startups.  I, presumptuously, call this group of companies, my “portfolio.”  Obviously, I’m bullish on each and every one of them.  Fortunately, all five have plenty of runway (funds) left for the foreseeable future and I expect them to continue increasing in value.

    One of the startups (Magnolia) is based out of Peru (although it is regional) and the others are headquartered in Colombia.  Some of these companies are much more well-known and several have already gone on to close a seed round.  When I began working with them, they either only consisted of the founders (Tappsi and Kiwi) or only had a few people working for them (1Doc3, Acsendo and Magnolia).  Identifying talent (especially in startup founders) early on is a very difficult thing to do and, in Latin America, it’s even tougher.

    Read more

    No Comments / Case Studies, English /
← Older Entries