64 episodes
The J Curve with Olga Maslikhova Olga Maslikhova
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- Business
Podcast about top entrepreneurs and venture capital investors in Latin America.
The J Curve's creator Olga Maslikhova distills the lessons of LatAm's best entrepreneurs and investors in terms of building, scaling and funding some of the most successful tech companies in the region including iFood, Mercado Libre, Petlove, Globant and Betterfly.
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Alexandre Zolko, Founder at $400M Customer Loyalty Platform CRM&Bonus: Build to Last, Not to Sell
Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Alexandre Zolko, founder and CEO at CRM&BONUS, Brazilian customer loyalty management platform that has just raised $80m in Series B led by Bond Capital with the participation from Valor Capital. This round valued the company at 2.2B Brazilian reais or over $400M dollars, more than doubling its Series A valuation. Bond Capital is the fund that was created by Mary Meeker, a former Kleiner Perkins partner, whose internet trends report is considered one of the most influential reports in the world of tech and venture capital. With CRM&BONUS Bond makes its first bet in Latin America. The list of CRM&BONUS’s prior backers includes the likes of Softbank, Riverwood Capital, Volpe Capital and Igah Ventures. The company, which is Alexandre’s 8th entrepreneurial adventure, was started in 2018, been profitable since the third month of operations and was bootstrapped until the Series A in 2021.
Together we explore Alexandre’s early fascination with sales, learnings from his prior entrepreneurial experiences, his approach towards building the ecosystem of products in customer loyalty space and what it takes to raise capital from some of the best investors in the world.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. Ownership mentality: how to build a company that puts customer first?
2. Profitability as a fundraising strategy: how to attract high quality VC investments in a startup?
3. The CRM&BONUS playbook: how to strategically build a product ecosystem?
4. Speed: The Power of focus in accelerating startup growth
5. Beyond AI: what is the future of customer loyalty market?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Andre Florence and Gui Azevedo, founders at Brazil's largest health-tech startup Alice: The reality is a rollercoaster
Welcome to season three of the J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America with me, Olga Maslikhova. My guests today are Andre Florence and Guilherme Azevedo, co-founders at Brazilian healthcare startup Alice backed by the likes of Softbank, ThornTree Capital Partners, Kaszek and Globo Ventures. Their latest Series C of $127m was the largest funding round raised by a healthtech in Latin America to date. Prior to co-founding Alice Andre was a CFO at Brazilian ride sharing company 99 and led it though the acquisition by Didi and Guilherme was a co-founder of a chain of healthcare clinics Dr. Consulta. We discuss their methodical approach to partnership, shifting focus from growth at all cost towards sustainability and lessons learned from that process and what it actually takes to drive a systematic change in such a complex market as healthcare.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. Alice partnership playbook: how to build a co-founder relationship that lasts
2. Growth at all cost is dead: five lessons learned from pivoting towards efficiency
3. The vicious cycle: why healthcare innovation is broken in Brazil and how tech natives can fix it?
4. Fasten your seatbelts how to build a resilient startup culture in a volatile market?
5. Breaking the mold: the biggest challenges of challenging the status quo
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/olgamaslikhova/message -
Thibaud Lecuyer, CEO at $2B Logistics Startup Loggi: Sustainability Is a Drug
Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Thibaud Lecuyer, CEO at Loggi, Brazilian delivery company that has raised close to $500m over 6 rounds from the likes of Iporanga Ventures, Softbank, Monashees, GGV, CapSur Capital and Microsoft. Prior to that Thibaud was a co-founder at Brazilian online fashion retailer Dafiti.
Together we explore Thibaud’s transition from finance and J.P. Morgan in Europe into entrepreneurship in Brazil. We discuss his experience of launching and scaling Dafiti in the environment in which venture capital was scarce. We also talk about strategies and tactics Thibaud used to put Loggi on a path to profitability while maintaining a high rate of growth and discuss why Brazil represents a lucrative opportunity for global investors.
In today's episode we discuss:
1. From disruption to transformation: how to turnaround a billion dollar tech business?
2. Founders' blind spot: how to think about capital efficiency?
3. The case for optimism: why global investors should invest in Brazil?
4. The last mile delivery challenge: how to win in a crowded market?
5. Doing business in Brazil: what founders need to know?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/olgamaslikhova/message -
Joao Barbosa, Co-Founder at Corporate Wellness Platform Gympass: From Brazil to the World: The $2.4B Gympass Story
Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Joao Barbosa, co-founder at corporate wellness platform Gympass (now Wellhub), that has raised over $600M from the likes of EQT Growth, Softbank, General Atlantic and Valor Capital.
In today's episode we will discuss:
1. The global leap: key challenges of scaling in different markets
2. The art of the pivot: how to find a business model that fits?
3. Building a winning team: how to hire and fire at scale?
4. Pricing strategy in B2B: how to approach it?
5. Economies of scale: what are they really?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/olgamaslikhova/message -
Vitor Torres, Founder and CEO at Accounting Platform Contabilizei: Pioneering the De-bureaucratization of Accounting in Brazil
Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Vitor Torres, Endeavor entrepreneur and founder and CEO at Brazilian accounting platform Contabilizei, that has raised over $100m from the likes of SoftBank, Goldman Sachs, IFC, Kaszek and Endeavor Catalyst.
In today's episode we will discuss:
1. The cultural moat: how Contabilizei has built corporate culture into competitive edge?
2. Responsible innovations: how to disrupt a regulated industry?
3. The future of accounting: the very real impact of AI
4. Word of mouth marketing: how to make it work?
5. Leadership in a startup: how to rise above challenges?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/olgamaslikhova/message -
Michele Levy, Fashion Entrepreneur Behind Melissa USA: How to Build and Sell Consumer Brands
Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is Michele Levy, the private equity investor and banker turned fashion entrepreneur behind the successful growth of the Melissa shoe brand in the USA as well as the premium beauty brand Costa Brazil.
In today's episode we will discuss:
1. How to sell branded commodities?
2. The secret sauce to high-performing teams
3. Creative storytelling strategies for B2C businesses
4. How to find a good problem to solve?
5. Hunger, passion and purpose: how and why to empower women in business?
If you would like to get more insight from LatAm's leading tech founders and investors, subscribe to our new YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify or Apple.
Follow Olga on LinkedIn or Instagram Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/olgamaslikhova/message