What Latam’s Main Fintech Conference Left Me
3 Lessons From Finnosummit:
Tech, Optimism, and Community
Two weeks ago I started my first international work experience as part of Dalus Capital Investment Team, a Latin American VC firm. Lucky enough, the most important Fintech conference in the region was being held in Mexico City on the same week I arrived — couldn’t have had a better way to start my journey on Mexico’s startup ecosystem.
I met a bunch of interesting people, took tons of notes and learned a lot. So I couldn’t wait to share my takeaways from this vibrant summit:
1. “We are tech companies, not banks”
I might’ve heard this statement more than a couple of times during the Finnosummit. Not only from the successful founders and CEOs of Nubank and Creditas, but also from those of earlier Fintech startups whom I met with (Vexi and Quotanda).
Building proprietary tech is something successful founders are proud of. Yes, it can be expensive and require a longer time to market but for them, it explains a significant part of their company’s edge:
It allows you to scale and implement new products way faster than banks.
— David Velez
Solve problems banks can’t because of their overhead.
— Sergio Furio
Not relying on 3rd party providers or banks when deploying new pilots is key to iterate faster, learn and improve your solution.
2. Optimism
Probably a few other places like the Finnosummit offer the opportunity to listen to leading VCs like Monashees, Kaszek, Vostok, and Dalus discuss Latam’s ecosystem lookout.
— What’s their sentiment?
There hasn’t been a better time to build tech startups in Latam. We are facing a historic opportunity.
On one side, Latino's tech adoption is growing at record speed rates being among top users of smartphones and mobile services like Facebook, Spotify or Uber.
On the other side, international investors ranging from Silicon Valley VC such as Sequoia up to legacy institutions like Goldman Sachs and the giant player Softbank are optimistic about our region. Not even unstable political landscapes frighten them, they know the unattended markets’ opportunity within financial inclusion and other sectors is huge and compensates for that risk.
— The takeaway?
Foreign US investors double-clicked on the need to be down in the field. Latam has great market opportunities, but having a chance at winning them requires being close in order to truly understand the problems Latinos face in their everyday life.
3. Value of Community
I was amazed by the diversity of people addressing Fintech related problems from different angles. People from Mexico, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, UK, Spain and Italy working for startups, banks, VC funds, accelerators — everyone was aware of Latam’s financial inclusion challenges and were willing to contribute.
In an industry that tends to over exhibit successes and cover up failures, building a community that supports entrepreneurs especially for the majority that still hasn’t made it is valuable. Events like the Finnosummit show an increasing level of involvement in the startup ecosystem from different sectors of society and that’s something to be excited about.
Tipping Point
Just a couple weeks ago I was still at Lima, Peru and had a different perspective about what was going in Latam’s startup ecosystem. Being in a nascent ecosystem such as my home country clouds the possibility of understanding the big picture.
No one likes being unrealistically optimistic and sure the giant pools of capital flowing into Latin America startups aren’t whatsoever a proof of a successful tech ecosystem. However, we might now have some reasons — talent, support, and a few success stories — to ignite even more people’s entrepreneurial spirit.
As a Latino, you sure as hell complaint once about something in your community, city or country. Good news — it’s never been easier to stand up and offer a solution!
*Originally published in Startupeable. You can read the full article and find more resources for your startup (in Spanish) going to the following link: 3 Lessons from Finnosummit”
About the author
Enzo Cavalie is a startup investor and advisor, supporting companies in Latin America. Currently part of Dalus Capital’s Investment Team. You can connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
