BRAVO Symposium 2024: What It Takes to Build Billion Dollar Companies in the Next Phase
BRAVO Symposium 2024: What It Takes to Build Billion Dollar Companies in the Next Phase
AS/COA's Susan Segal moderated two discussions with the leaders of Riverwood Capital, Rappi, and VTEX on entrepreneurship.
Speakers:
- Francisco Alvarez-Demalde, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Riverwood Capital
- Sebastian Mejia, Co-Founder & President, Rappi
- Mariano Gomide de Faria, Founder & Co-CEO, VTEX
- Susan Segal, President & CEO, AS/COA (moderator)
"I think that, for Latin America, as long as we facilitate the free markets and private enterprise, we're going to continue to see more and more company creation, more and more activity driven by technology," said Francisco Alvarez-Demalde of Riverwood Capital in conversation with AS/COA's Susan Segal about the future of investment opportunities in Latin America at the 2024 COA Symposium. Alvarez-Demalde, the 2024 BRAVO Investor of the Year, conveyed optimism regarding an uptick in capital flows into the region in the context of falling interest rates in the United States and globally, and the ready adoption of emerging technologies by Latin American start-ups in particular.
Segal and Alvarez-Demalde were then joined by Sebastian Mejia of Rappi and Mariano Gomide de Faria of VTEX for a discussion on the shifting environment for entrepreneurs in the region. While acknowledging that capital is the catalyst for establishing and growing a company, panelists also stressed the significance of forging strong relationships with various stakeholder groups.
De Faria spoke to the importance of cultivating a personal rapport with investors that goes beyond the financial value they add to a business saying, "We don't choose investors; we choose partners." Mejia advocated for a consumer-driven model adapted to the local market but also drawing on expertise from around the world.
The panel emphasized the necessity of having a big vision and committing to it. "There's just a beauty of being a founder, that you're so optimistic and you completely disregard how hard it's going to be," said Mejia, "You have to have that naiveté. Otherwise, you wouldn't just go and build the company." In closing, Segal encouraged entrepreneurs to think about being "not just the best in Latin America, but in the world."
