Musings from Mexico City #11
Welcome to the eleventh edition of Musings from Mexico City. A personal newsletter on tech, community, and happenings in Mexico City & Latin America!
I had so much fun hosting the Founders & Builders Mixer in CDMX last week! It was incredible to see so many community members and to welcome new friends in CDMX. Thank you to our partners & sponsors: BBVA Spark, Scouter, Crauzy, and Cuota for helping make the event possible. A special shout out to Javier for kicking off our new workshop series with a ‘How to Win Sales in 2023’ session. Check out more photos of the event here.
While this year has brought uncertainty, we are still seeing activity in the ecosystem that is encouraging and a positive indicator of the year to come. Congratulations to DILA Capital & Amplifica Capital on the official closing of your funds! On the startup side – Congratulations to Pamela Valdes & Guillermo Sequeira on closing your $13M Series A led by Lightspeed!
📈 Big News
Beek raises a $13M round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners (more here)
Taiwan's Foxconn and others accelerate investment in Mexico (more here)
DILA Capital closes $115M Fund IV (more here)
Zenfi, a consumer financial health platform, raised an $8.5 round led by Magma Partners (more here)
Credix and Addem Capital announce partnership to bring more than $100M in liquidity to LATAM (more here)
Amplifica Capital closed their first fund of $11M (more here)
LatAm-Focused Valor Capital Transfers Shares to StepStone, Invests In New Fund (more here)
Mendel announced the acquisition of TeFacturo, the digital tax receipts company (more here)
📈 Trends
As of 2023, Mexico has 650 fintechs identified in the Finnovista Fintech Radar, representing a 26% growth compared to 2021, with the lending and payments segment being the most representative (more here)
Economic and Investment Outlook for 2023 by Top Investment Banks (more here)
The Next Big Thing LatAm 2023 by Weekly Tech Update (more here)
Top 10 FinTech predictions for 2023 by Lina’s Newsletter (more here)
🚀 Startup Opportunities
Apply to Y Combinator Summer 2023 Batch by April 7, 2023 (apply here)
Reshaping Consumer Behavior in Latin America by Village Capital, the deadline is February 17, 2023 (more details & apply here)
Fintech Open Challenge 2.0 - InnovaRed (more details & apply here)
Host Interns from Georgetown University through Global Startup Interns (GSI) Global Program (more details here)
Raise Seed Program by Mercury, deadline to apply is February 7, 2023 (more here)
📅 Upcoming Events…
2/1: Maya Capital Matching Program in CDMX (RSVP here)
2/2: Mexico VC Day by AMEXCAP in New York City (RSVP here)
2/2: 4Founders presents Meet the Founders: Mujeres Invirtiendo in CDMX(RSVP here)
2/14-2/17: FINNOSUMMIT Connect in Cancun (RSVP here)
2/16: E-Power Day: How to win user trust in 2023? in CDMX(RSVP here)
2/28-3/2: Latin American Impact Investing Forum in Merida (RSVP here)
📚 What I’m Reading…
Real-time Real Talk: A Real-time Payments Download by Jenny Johnston (more here)
2023: A Year for Fintech M&A by a16z (read more here)
Latin America: The Next Frontier in Supply Chain Innovation by Menlo Ventures (more here)
Yale Case Study: On the Nature of Modeling and Valuation in a
Search Fund Acquisition (more here)‘OK, Mexico, Save Me’: After China, This Is Where Globalization May Lead (more here)
Venture Capital Fund Toolkit: A guide to set up a VC fund in Latin America and the Caribbean (more here)
The 3 Phases of Product-Led Growth: The Triple Whale Method (more here)
🎙️ What I’m Listening to…
Founders Podcast: #275 Paul Graham’s Essay (listen here)
Fintech Leaders Podcast: Aron Schwarzkopf, CEO of Kushki - Ecuador's First Unicorn, Hidden Benefits of a Digital Economy, & Why We Should Get Rid of Cash (listen here)
20VC: Homebrew’s Hunter Walk and Satya Patel on Why $100M is Not Enough To Execute a Seed Strategy Today (listen here)
👩💻 VC Firms & Startups Hiring
Investor Relations Manager @ Angel Ventures (apply & more details here)
Product Associate Director @ Clip (apply & more details here)
Intern - Investment Analyst @ Bridge Partners in Mexico City (apply & more details here)
Fintech Innovation Manager @ Finnovista (apply & more details here)
Financial Analyst @ NXTP Ventures (apply & more details here)
Product Associate @ Pacto in (apply & more details here)
Site Reliability Engineer II @ Resilia (apply & more details here)
🧘🏻♀️ Wellness Favorites
Vagus Nerve Stimulation – 3 Tricks to Stop Anxiety Fast (more here)
Bedtime Yoga (20 Minutes) by Yoga With Adriene (more here)
Huberman Lab: How to Optimize Fertility in Males & Females (more here)
🌟 Khora Community Perks
Scouter: Book any space through the platform: scouter.com.mx with a 15% discount using KHORA15
Perfekto: Recieve 20% off your first box of imperfect food, home-delivered. Help reduce food loss while saving time and money by using code: KHORA20
Dolar App: use code: KHORA_CARD for a free DolarCard ($4.99 USD value) OR Use code KHORA_TRANSFERS for 1 free transfer per month from/to any US account (ACH or Wire)
Scape: use code KHORA25 for 25% off for at-home massages, facials, and beauty products
😋 Favorite *New* Spots in CDMX
Martinez, New go-to spot for wine while in Roma
Pargot, Tasting menu is a must. Opened by the Chef from Tacos los Alexis
NIV, Brand new wine bar. Fun activtation coming for Zona Maco
El Tigre Silencioso, excellent vibe in one of my favorite houses
Somsaa, cutest new wine & tea room in the city, opened by owners of Galanga
Babero, one of my new favorite dinner spots on Durango
🐶 Dogs of the Month: Lil Dante
Congratulations to pup, Lil Dante, for winning Dog of the Month! You are the fluffiest cutie! Puppers of Patricio Gonzalez of DILA Capital!
💜 Gratitude
Thank you to the many friends, peers, and mentors that have supported me in my Latam journey. A special shout-out to Enrique Perrett, Magdalena Jensen, Miguel Bárcena Garza, Magdalena Jensen, Jan Heinvirta, Helle Jeppsson, Javier Ramirez Lugo, Callum Booker, Andrew Yueng, and Cynthia Butler.
Abrazos,
Kate Kiewel