Musings from Mexico City #5
Welcome to the fifth edition of Musings from Mexico City. A personal newsletter on tech, community, and happenings in Mexico City & Latin America! A special welcome to the 434 new Musings from Mexico City subscribers who have joined us since the last issue. Join a community of 4,150 friends by subscribing below.
Mexico City is the #1 city in Spanish-speaking Latin America for Startups (according to Bloomberg Linea). Who doesn’t love a good, I told you so.
Since my last musing, I published a VC database that includes 250+ funds that invest in Mexico-based startups. The community resource was created after many founders asked me for help with fundraising. With the rise of the region, there are new players that are writing checks. You can access the database here.
In June, I flew to NYC to attend the 40th Annual Americas Society Spring Party, where Marcelo Claure was given a gold medal alongside Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer (details here). Speaking of the big apple, I will be hosting a Latam Summer Social for Founders, Investors, and Friends in New York City on July 20th (RSVP here)❗
📈 LatAm Stats
LatAm VC investment growth in the quarter was 67% YoY for Q1 '22. $2.8B invested across 190 transactions (more here)
Women make up just 22% of Latin America VC fund partner count. In the fourth quarter of 2021, Endeavor interviewed more than 120 general partners of VC funds investing in the region and found that, on average, women make up 22% of the total partner count (more here)
In 2021, venture capitalists invested $14.8 billion into startups in Latin America. The nearly $15 billion was more than the previous six years of venture investment combined, according to PitchBook (more here)
💫 Big News
Bitso Names Barbara Gonzalez as Mexico Country Manager (more here)
MAYA Capital raises a $100M Fund II to invest in early-stage Latin American companies (more here)
JOKR is going all-in on Latin America and shuts down U.S. operations (more here)
🚀 Startup Opportunities
Latitud Fellowship is accepting applications for their Fellowship Program until July 15th for their 8th cohort. Apply here
Sequoia Arc Program, Latam & U.S. Founders can apply to Sequoia’s Arc program. The program will last from September 12 to October 26 and includes on-site & remote programming and is open to seed-stage founders actively working on an idea, product, and company. Apply by July 22nd here
Platanus Ventures has a 3-month program with a $100k USD investment. More details & Apply here
500 Startups Latam, Batch 17 applications are open until July 31st. The program is 4 months with a $60k investment. More details & Apply here
📚 What I’m Reading…
Overview of Venture Capital in Latin America by Endeavor (more here)
VC investment in Latin America ballooned in 2021. Can it survive the downturn? (more here)
Mexican startup Verqor raises $2.5M to provide credit for farmers struggling with inflation (more here)
🎙️ What I’m Listening to…
Fintech Leaders Podcast by Miguel Armanza, Dan Westgarth, COO of Deel – From $1-$100 Million ARR in 20 Months, Powering the Global Hiring Revolution, & What it Means to be COO (listen here)
Latitud Podcast #99 - Why investors are not trying to game you right now: Paulo Passoni, ex-Softbank (listen here)
The Joe Rogan Experience #1840 - Marc Andreessen (listen here)
🌟 Khora Community Perks
Scape: use code KHORA25 for 25% off for at-home massage, facials, and beauty products
VIOO: use code KHORA15 for a 15% discount on all corporate photography services
Trendi: use code KHORA for 20% off of digital education programs
🐶 Dogs of the Month
I couldn’t just pick just one this month. Please meet the 10 ‘Dogs of the Month’ featuring: Row 1: Pup of Alex Galvez, Güero the pup of Tobi Frieder, Romina the pup of Juan Pablo, Sansa pup of Matias Gath of Pulppo, and Maca the pup of Israel Cauich Viñas.
Row 2: Zito the pup of Ana Caro Mexia, Nina the pup of Ezequiel Mina, Lola pup of Cristian Raygoza, Sansa pup of Carlos Torres, and Mika pup of Joe Merengues.
💜 Gratitude
The Khora community continues to grow and I learn more every day. Thank you to the many friends, peers, and mentors that have supported me in my Latam journey. Additionally, thank you to the hundreds of individuals that shared the VC Fund Database, you’re helping build more visibility for the resources we are putting together for the community. I wanted to give a shout-out to those who have been exceptionally incredible: Alex Santana, Shu Nyatta, Taylor Foxman, Johnny Hwin, Mo Mahmood, and Amit Kumar.
Abrazos,
Kate Kiewel