The catamaran sailed through the small waves of the Mexican Caribbean. A few drops of water seeped into the boat, but it was perfectly possible to stand without swaying, which made the deck of the boat a dance floor.
From the stern appeared a figure known to all those who were already dancing to the rhythm of Luis Miguel between the seats of the boat. He was Zev Sieglwho founded together with Gordon Bowker Y Jerry Baldwin global coffee chain starbucks in 1971 and was now preparing to travel the starboard side to the rhythm of La Gasolina, daddy yankeeor Dare-te-te, of 13TH StreetI do not remember well.
The figure of the founder of one of the biggest global brands had become a constant on the stage of Pitch at the Beacha meeting of investors and entrepreneurs on the beaches of Isla de la Pasión, a small arm of land located a few kilometers from Cozumel, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.
For three days, with the help of a bucket hat that protected him from the intense Caribbean sun, round yellow sunglasses and sandals, the founder of starbucks shared with the attendees the main reasons for the success of the company and several keys so that a startup can access capital more easily.
Caffeine, which for many was one of the driving factors of Industrial Revolution, is also the latest secret to Starbucks success: an addictive substance that encourages focus and provides some energy. But beyond coffee, it was a diverse team of people who managed to build a minimum viable product (a coffee shop) during the explosion of gourmet products in USAwhich engineered the success of Starbucks.
With an expert mentor in the coffee market, Alfred Peetthe Starbucks product had a story to tell with which aggressive consumer education could be carried out, with the added bonus that the margins left by a cup of coffee were extremely attractive.
serial entrepreneurs
Many of the entrepreneurs who listened to Siegl on the beach are entrepreneurs serial, that is, people who experiment with new business models serially. Also part of the investors have passed through this stage in the ecosystem of the entrepreneurship.
Lorraine Sanchez is perhaps one of the greatest serial entrepreneurs in Latin America. He is also an investor. She was part of the founding team of Linium and after the of rappi. Lorena is now Vice President of Product Marketing for the Mexican credit card fintech Storydirector in Mexico of the Founders Institute and partner of the fund Venture Capital Billioneurons.
One of Lorena’s most forceful answers in front of the public of Pitch at the Beach was the one he gave by recognizing the privilege in which many of those attending the event find themselves and the awareness of using that privilege to solve problems that characterize the entire region, such as the financial inclusionthe access to education and health.
Entrepreneurs from Latin American and Caribbean countries such as the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Chile, Bolivia and from other regions, such as Europe, the United States and Canada, told the hidden stories or the first stories of a phenomenon that is happening in Latin America: the growth of venture capital investment (venture capital) in startups with considerable scalability potential.
Not only do you have to turn to see the winners, but also the 30 startups that participated in the Pitch at the Beach 2022. emonkan online store between businesses that eliminates all procedures and surcharges for importing and exporting merchandise, took first place in the contest.
He followed grow-farmother marketplace but in this case dedicated to agribusiness that also provides factoring tools. In third place was Plus V Techa technology that develops therapeutic treatments to treat some types of cancer.
The investment platform Sherpa; free programming school hackademythe spatial mapping app for the visually impaired guide; the app that offers employment benefits to independent workers nippy; the business-to-business inventory bartering club Barta; the edtech platform that allows you to train sales teams through artificial intelligence RolePlay; the application that allows you to digitize small shops Tind Mobile and the fully digital factoring firm Kred-Feed These are just some of the startups that showed up at Pitch at the Beach with a disruptive business model idea.
To the presentation of these startups was also added the announcement of the emergence of ISA Capital Corporate Venture, the venture capital fund of the advertising corporation ISA. As well as the announcement that the next editions of Pitch at the Beach will be held in Oeiras, Portugal, and in the Dominican Republic. Maybe we’ll see the founder of starbucks dance fado or, again, reggaeton.