Musings from Mexico City #7
Welcome to the seventh edition of Musings from Mexico City. A personal newsletter on tech, community, and happenings in Mexico City & Latin America! Thank you for following along with me.
What a month. September was a quick reminder of earthquake season in Mexico. I hope everyone stayed calm and safe. I found a very informative write-up on earthquake history & what you should know by Casai (you can read more here).
On a brighter note, Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! Last night I celebrated with peers in Mexico City at a dinner hosted by VC Familia. Thank you to Andrea Araneda and Carlos Torres for hosting!
Beyond the tremors, Mexico City had a strong week of community events like the WIRED Summit, AWS Summit Mexico City, and of course, Dua Lipa’s concert (more here). I hope to see many of you next week at the Money20/20 World Event in CDMX and the North Capital Forum (more details below).
📈 Trends
Latinometrics shares graphic of LatAm’s 32 unicorns, with ofc concentration in Fintech (more here)
LAVCA’s Mid-Year 2022 Industry Data & Analysis (more here)
VC Trends in Latin America H1 2022 by SVB (watch & listen here)
💫 Funding
Plerk raised a $12M Series A led by Upload Ventures (more here)
MEDU Raises US$4 Million To Produce Sustainable Medical Apparel (more here)
🚀 Startup Opportunities
Techstars Payments Accelerator: Apply by September 28th (more here)
Startup Academy for Women Founders by Google. Apply here by Septemeber 23rd
Softbank joined the Distrito innovation platform to create a mapping of Latam Startups (sign up here to be included)
📅 Upcoming Events
9/23: Gin & Talking by Mujer Financiera (more here)
9/27: Khora + Pacto + Amig@s Cocktail Hour (event at capacity)
9/28: Money20/20 World Tour Event, hosted by Clara (RSVP here)
9/28-9/30: North Capital Forum (details here)
9/29: From Corporate to Entrepreneurship by Woo Woo Co (RSVP here)
10/3-10/4: H20 Partner Summit 2022 (invite only)
10/12-10/14: LAVCA Conference in New York City (RSVP here, message me if you’ll be in town!)
10/13: Stripe Local Mexico (More here)
10/13: Village Capital - Backing LatAm's Middle Class Happy Hour (RSVP here)
📚 What I’m Reading…
Atlantico’s Latin America Digital Transformation Report (read more here)
Best practices for building a fintech by Stripe (read more here)
More Latin American Startups Make Y Combinator’s Newest Top Companies List (more here)
🎙️ What I’m Listening to…
Fintech Leaders Podcast by Miguel Armaza featuring Alfonso de los Ríos, CEO of Nowports (listen here)
Burning Man Sunrise Set 2022 by Tycho (listen here)
Latitud Podcast: Network effects and startup growth strategies: James Currier, NFX (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
😺 Dog of the Month: Senda (Adopt Him!)
Please consider adopting or sharing in your network that Senda is looking for his forever home. Feel free to share the tweet and if someone is interested, I can put you in touch with his current foster family.
More about Senda: Senda is an 11-month-old Lab mix looking for his forever home. He can be shy at first, but when he warms up he’ll be your best friend, following you around the house wherever you go! He is quick to learn, and highly food motivated. He’s fully house-trained and working on crate and leash training. Senda would do best in a home with some dog experience that can continue working on his manners. Senda’s very affectionate; he adores head scratches, belly rubs, and snuggles.
💜 Gratitude
Thank you to the many friends, peers, and mentors that have supported me in my Latam journey. A special shout out to Belen Rodriguez Galvez, Diana Klatt, Mafer Carrillo, Heston Berkman, Alex Santana, Elizabeth Becerril Wong, Magdalena Jensen, Johnny Hwin, Eli Burger, Alex González Ormerod, Liliana Medina, and more. We are stronger together.
Abrazos,
Kate Kiewel