Juan Pablo Cappello met well-known Argentine entrepreneur Wenceslao Casares when he was “living out of a backpack in New York.” After a brief career in traditional law, Juan Pablo’s career took off when he was on the founding team of Patagon, Latin America’s first online bank, with Casares and two other entrepreneurs. A few years later, in 1999, Patagon was acquired for $750M, becoming one of Latin America’s first large exits. Despite the company’s massive success, he admits to making every mistake in the book along the way. Few other lawyers, especially in Latin American venture law, have such direct experience in founding, growing, and selling businesses.
In this episode of Crossing Borders, I sat down with Juan Pablo Cappello to talk about the Latin American tech ecosystem in the late-1990s, what it was like to be part of a skyrocketing startup, and the lessons he learned while founding a startup. We also discuss his decision to found PAG.law in Miami, common mistakes made by Latin American founders, and his current view on opportunities in the Latin American ecosystem. Juan Pablo has been active in the Latin American tech ecosystem for over 20 years; check out this episode to hear a veteran’s perspective on recent changes in Latin American tech and venture capital, especially given Softbank’s recent investment announcement.
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