Tag: YCombinator

Manuel Olguín, Keynua: Bringing E-signatures to the Latin American market, Ep 127

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

  • [1:18] – About Keynua’s solution
  • [6:35] – Manuel’s nomadic upbringing
  • [7:20] – A serial entrepreneur 
  • [8:38] – Lessons learned from his first ventures
  • [9:39] – Why Cinepapaya?
  • [11:14] – Pivoting due to competition
  • [13:26] – Building a business in Latam in 2012
  • [15:23] – Cinepapaya’s regional expansion
  • [17:47]  – Getting acquired by Fandango
  • [19:55] – Why Keynua?
  • [22:18] – Latam’s notary market
  • [26:00] – The YC experience
  • [27:27] – Getting started with Keynua
  • [29:57] – Advice to Manuel’s younger self
  • [30:56] – Books, blogs, & podcast recommendations
  • [31:46] –  What’s next for Keynua

Show notes on Latamlist.com.

Gonzalo Ucar, Hogaru: Empowering Colombia’s Cleaners to Earn Stable Wages, Ep 103

Category : Crossing Borders Podcast
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As an engineer, Gonzalo Ucar wanted to solve real-world problems. Originally from Spain, he decided to move to Latin America to become an entrepreneur and tap into the region’s opportunities. Today, he lives in Bogota and is co-founder of Hogaru, an on-demand cleaning company in Colombia.

Gonzalo and his partner recognized a huge pain point in Colombia’s cleaning industry: a deeply-rooted informal economy. Most cleaners in Colombia do not have a steady income or a social security number, which restricts their ability to realize their full economic potential. That’s why Hogaru’s cleaning service functions on a direct employment basis and avoids encouraging a gig economy. 

In this episode, I sit down with Gonzalo to talk about how a Spaniard ended up in Colombia, Hogaru’s unique business model, and the lessons he’s learned as an engineer that he applies as an entrepreneur. We also discuss his major takeaways from participating in YCombinator and working with Endeavor.

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YCombinator in Latin America: Advice from 8 LatAm Founders on how to prepare for YC, Ep 96

Category : Crossing Borders Podcast, Latin America Startups and Investing
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YCombinator is one of the leading early-stage US investors in Latin America, and has served as a signal for other US investors to start making their first investments in the region. Since accepting its first Latin American founder in 2013, the region’s presence in the accelerator program has significantly increased. The most recent batch had over 15 companies from Latin America.

In this episode, we’ve gathered advice from 8 founders, some we’ve interviewed previously, and some new ones, that have participated in YCombinator. They talk about their experience going through the program and give tips to founders in the interview process, which can also be useful for other accelerators.

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Daniel Bilbao, Truora: Fighting Fraud in Latin America, Ep 80

Category : Colombia, Crossing Borders Podcast
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Originally from Cali, Colombia, Daniel studied in the US and started a company in Silicon Valley before realizing he wanted to us his experience to solve a pressing Latin American problem: fraud. Truora, a startup that provides instant background checks, was born to fight that problem.

I sat down with Daniel for this episode to talk about why he decided to go after the Latin American market instead of Silicon Valley, how he raised money from Y Combinator, Accel, and Kazsek Ventures, and why he wants to tackle the problem of fraud in Latin America. We also discuss why he based his company in Cali and the lessons he learned building and working for three startups in Latin America and Silicon Valley. Magma has been supporting Truora since before YCombinator, so I’m especially excited to share the story of this ambitious founder from Colombia on the podcast.

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