Tag: direct to consumer latin america startup

Mariana Castillo, Ben & Frank: Direct-to-Consumer Eyewear for Mexicans, Ep 124

Category : Crossing Borders Podcast
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You can now find the full show notes of the Crossing Borders podcast on LatamList.com’s new podcast section. I’ll still post the audio of the podcast on my blog and I’m planning to start writing more again on my blog, like I used to.

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Thanks for listening to Crossing Borders all these years! If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to reach out here, or contact me on social media.

Outline of this episode:

  • [2:10] – About Ben & Frank
  • [2:36] – Traditional retail experience for eyewear in Mexico
  • [3:55] – Mexican roots, nomadic upbringing
  • [4:53] – Entrepreneurial journey
  • [5:40] – Internship at ALLVP
  • [7:38] – Lessons learned at the Central Bank and ALLVP
  • [8:36] – Why tackle this specific problem?
  • [9:42] – Ben & Frank’s inflection point
  • [12:26] – Building a brand in Mexico
  • [13:58] – Insights into Latam’s direct-to-consumer category
  • [15:14] – Competing with traditional retailers
  • [18:13] – Expanding Mexican direct-to-consumer brands
  • [19:05] – Advice to Mariana’s younger self
  • [19:33] – Fundraising for a direct-to-consumer startup
  • [24:14] – Being a female founder in Latam
  • [27:26] – Avoiding biases in the VC ecosystem 
  • [30:00] – What’s next for Mariana and Ben & Frank?

Show notes on Latamlist.com.

Victor Santos, Liv Up: A Healthy Approach to Food Delivery in Brazil, Ep 90

Category : Brazil, Crossing Borders Podcast
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Despite Brazil’s amazing abundance in raw materials for food, Victor Santos was finding that many delivery options in large cities like Sao Paulo offered mostly highly processed foods. Liv Up is a direct-to-consumer startup that uses local Brazilian ingredients to produce high-quality and healthy frozen meals that get delivered right to customers’ doors.

Founded in March 2016 in Sao Paulo, Liv Up’s product portfolio is continuously evolving. With over 80 different SKUs to offer, from snacks to spreads, Liv Up’s team is constantly tweaking and improving their products based on customer feedback.

I sat down with Liv Up’s founder, Victor Santos, to talk about his decision to leave the finance world to start a food e-commerce, as well as how he raised $10M from some of the top venture capital firms in Latin America, including Kaszek Ventures. We also cover why investors should be looking into the Brazilian market, touching on both the opportunities and challenges the market has to offer.

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