Ep 49: A Case Study of Ecommerce Opportunities in Chile and Latin America

Category : Chile, Crossing Borders Podcast
Posted on by

One of my most popular blog posts is my ecommerce case study from when some friends and I started an ecommerce business in 2012. It gets hundreds of people viewing it each month and leads to lots of questions on twitter, linkedin and my blog.

I covered how we decided to launch an ecommerce, how we picked a product and how we validated the idea without spending lots money out of pocket. My goal was to share how we see the market and how you can validate any business idea without spending months and thousands of dollars to do it.

So what did we sell and what was the store called? We sold condoms on La Condonería.

In this episode, we cover the original case study, along with changes since I wrote the original post in 2015 and Magma Partners view on ecommerce in the region.

I hope you enjoy this style of episode of Crossing Borders. Please give me feedback in the comments or on social media on whether you did. If enough people like it, I can go through other industries that are popular in Latin America.

(more…)

Increasing Transparency in Mexico through the Blockchain

Category : Mexico
Posted on by

Earlier this year, Mexico became one of the first countries in Latin America to regulate financial technology, including blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The Mexican Congress officially recognized cryptocurrencies as digital assets – but not as currency – and set up rules to control exchanges to prevent corruption and money laundering. The law puts the Mexican Central Bank in charge of monitoring companies working with cryptocurrencies.

The Mexican government as a whole is also investigating multiple uses for the blockchain to increase transparency, reduce corruption, and prevent illegal activity throughout the country. Mexico currently ranks 135th out of 180 on the global corruption index, according to Transparency International.

In early April 2018, the Mexican government released news that they are currently developing a project called Blockchain HACKMX that uses the blockchain to track and validate bids for public contracts. This system, proposed by a group of university graduates last year, will increase transparency in the federal hiring process and help organize the post-contract auditing process. (more…)

Ep 48: How Mayer Mizrachi Launched Criptext From a Colombian Prison

Category : Crossing Borders Podcast, Panama
Posted on by

Launching your startup on a waterproof phone from a Colombian prison. It sounds like something out of a movie. But in this case, it’s the true story of Criptext, an encrypted email service, founded by Panamanian entrepreneur Mayer Mizrachi.

How did Mayer end up in a Colombian prison? What was it like? How did he continue working and keeping his team together? How did he raise money and even do an angel investment himself from his prison cell? We cover these questions and many more.

In this podcast Mayer, tells his story in his own words. How he believes a $200k contract with the Panamanian government, political persecution and an unfortunate series of events led him to spend 5 months in a Colombian prison and the past two years stuck in Panama, unable to travel. Through it all, he’s raised money and continues to build his business. We also talk about what he learned during his childhood overcoming a previously untreatable disease, studying in Europe and the US and of course encrypted email and what it’s important.

(more…)

The Funding Rounds of Latin America’s 9 Tech Unicorns

Category : Latin America Startups and Investing
Posted on by

Latin America’s tech ecosystem is maturing rapidly. 2017 was a standout year for foreign investment in Latin American startups, with investors in the US and China taking an interest in tech companies that are solving both local and global problems. Not only are the startups in the region becoming more numerous and innovative, but the older tech companies that started in the mid-2000s are reaching high valuations that allow them to compete globally.

Over the past decade, the number of tech startups reaching billion-dollar valuations, known as ‘unicorns,’ has grown considerably. At least nine of these unicorns were founded in Latin America, concentrated in Argentina and Brazil.

There is a lot to be learned from tech companies that can reach a billion-dollar valuation in a challenging market like Brazil or Argentina. What’s more, building a billion-dollar business in Latin America does not happen overnight.

Here’s a look at how each of Latin America’s billion-dollar tech companies reached their current valuations. (more…)