"Cut The Check" with Mack Meyer | VC Mx

Ryan Croft, few people have a background as diverse at the intersection of baseball and tech, from scouting baseball talent in the Dominican Republic to founding multiple tech companies. In 2013, Ryan co-founded TransitScreen, a mobility data platform that scaled across 40 plus cities in the United States. 

Now he's back in the founder seat, building Pacto, an enterprise fintech startup in Mexico with backing from Dila Capital, Femsa Ventures, 500 Global, and several other prominent investors. 

In our conversation, we'll explore the parallels between baseball scouting and startups, the challenges of building a company in Mexico as a foreigner, what it's like to be a second time founder, what's easier, harder, and why he wanted to build another company, and much more. 

Chapters

00:00 Who is Ryan Croft?
00:46 Early Years
08:25 Parallels between MLB Scouting & Building a Startup
10:44 Building TransitScreen: The Intersection of Mobility and Technology
12:51 What is TransitScreen?
16:26 TransitScreens' Product Evolution
18:22 The TAM Wasn't Big Enough
19:17 Why Launch Another Startup? Why Mexico? 
20:47 Pacto: The Toast / Square for LATAM?
22:02 Experience as a 1st vs. 2nd Time Founder 
23:05 Nuances of Building in Mexico
25:09 Evolution of Leadership Style
26:07 Regulatory & Fx Challenges in Mexico 
27:37 How do you Hire a Great Team?
29:03 Final Thoughts

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Cut The Check w/ Mack Meyer is a podcast about venture capital, startups, and entrepreneurship in Latin America and beyond.

New episodes drop every week.

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Summary

In this conversation, Sebastian Kreis, co-founder of Xepelin, shares the journey of building a fintech company aimed at providing financial services to SMEs in Latin America. He discusses the inception of Xepelin, the challenges faced in the early days, the strategic expansion into Mexico, and the innovative products developed to meet market needs. Kreis emphasizes the importance of team dynamics and the future aspirations of Xepelin in becoming a leading B2B digital bank in the region.

Chapters

00:00 Sebastian Kreis, Co Founder & CEO of Xepelin
01:03 Xepelin's Inception Story
04:29 Early Challenges in Latam Ecosystem
05:46 Early Vision: "It was not about why expand to Mexico, but when"
07:11 "Instead of Mexicanize a Chilean Product, we built a Mexican product"
07:38 Expansion into Mexico and Market Nuances
08:04 "Amazing teams can be able to balance ambition, while also being comfortable not having all the answers"
09:22 "For our customers, the most important relationships are their customers"
11:48 Xepelins' Products in Mexico 
13:02 "XData"- Empowering our Customers  
13:28 What's ahead for Xepelin?
14:16 Xepelin & AI 
15:26 Final Thoughts
17:43 Outro

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Cut The Check w/ Mack Meyer is a podcast about venture capital, startups, and entrepreneurship in Latin America and beyond.

New episodes drop every week.

Subscribe on Spotify

Stay connected with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram,

Have a guest suggestion? Email us at [email protected]

Summary

Luis Enriquez co-founded Cultura Colectiva over a decade ago, turning it into one of Mexico’s most influential digital media platforms. Now, as a Partner at Bridge Latam, a leading venture fund focused on early-stage startups, he is backing the next generation of high-growth companies in fintech, AI, agtech, and beyond. Luis brings a unique perspective as both a founder and an investor. 

Today, we’ll explore how he evaluates companies before product-market fit, the role of WhatsApp in AI-driven commerce, the future of media and the creator economy, the biggest challenges facing founders in Latin America today, and more.

Chapters

00:00 The Journey of Luis Enriquez: From Founder to Investor
06:46 Initial phase: Entrepreneurs started reaching out to me  
07:58 How has the startup ecosystem evolved? 
09:06 Bridge Latam's Inception
09:56 Bridge Latams' Thesis
18:56 AI-Driven Commerce: The WhatsApp Opportunity
19:45 Conversational Neobanks?
21:41 AI commoditization and where is the value?
23:25 Challenges for Traditional Financial Institutions
24:43 The Evolution of the Creator Economy
27:04 Building Brands in the Creator Economy
29:30 The importance of content in a startups GTM strategy
31:17 Navigating the Startup Landscape in Latin America
32:24 2025 Predictions
33:41 Mistakes as an Entrepreneur and Investor 

Send us Fan Mail

Cut The Check w/ Mack Meyer is a podcast about venture capital, startups, and entrepreneurship in Latin America and beyond.

New episodes drop every week.

Subscribe on Spotify

Stay connected with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram,

Have a guest suggestion? Email us at [email protected]

Today, we’re joined by Aldo Piaggio, co-founder and CEO of Polo, an end-to-end solution that helps restaurants seamlessly connect all aspects of their business, from inventory to accounting, through a single, centralized platform.

After graduating from the University of Michigan, he began his career as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs before launching Polo.

In this episode, Aldo shares the inception story of Polo, the key differences between iterating and pivoting, why he strongly believes in product-led sales, how startups can overcome customer unwillingness to pay, and more.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to PoloTab and Its Founders
02:34 Why Mexico?
05:05 Challenges in the Restaurant Tech Space
08:24 The false notion: Our MVP wasn't enough
09:11 Learnings from YC
09:52 The Evolution of PoloTab's Product Offering
10:19 The concept of "pivoting"
12:25 The Importance of Intentions & Naiveness
14:44 Launching our first POS in 2.5 Months
15:34 Navigating Fear and Innovation in Product Development
16:47 Simplicity as a Competitive Advantage
17:47 Polos' Product Vision 
18:13 Understanding Customer Profiles and Market Focus
19:08 Customer Retention and Churn Management
20:28 Facing Rejection and Building Resilience
22:01 Market Opportunities and Future Expansion
23:53 Growth Strategies and Team Dynamics
23:55 Sales vs. Product Lead Teams
25:17 Misconceptions in the Startup Ecosystem
26:25 "If we dont achieve our dreams, its our fault we didn't execute correctly"

Send us Fan Mail

Cut The Check w/ Mack Meyer is a podcast about venture capital, startups, and entrepreneurship in Latin America and beyond.

New episodes drop every week.

Subscribe on Spotify

Stay connected with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram,

Have a guest suggestion? Email us at [email protected]

Today, we’re joined by Álvaro Álvarez del Río, Managing Partner at Boost Capital Partners, a venture capital firm backing early-stage companies that are solving real-world problems in emerging markets with intuitive solutions.

Originally from Spain, Álvaro’s career began in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and UBS before transitioning into venture capital. In 2011, he co-founded Initial Capital, a fund specializing in gaming, consumer services, and technology enablers, delivering top 1% returns on its $40 million fund. His investment track record includes early investments in Hutch Games, Nexmo, Tenor, Magmatic Games, and Supercell, acquired by Tencent in 2020. His angel portfolio includes investments in Deliveroo, Zencargo, and Peanut.

In this episode, Álvaro dives into why Boost Capital is betting on Latin America, why venture capital is fundamentally a "local business," how his experience investing in consumer gaming companies has shaped his approach across other verticals, why he believes there can be a 100 billion dollar startup in Latin America, and much more.

Chapters

00:00 Alvaro Alvarez del Rio, Background
01:53 The Entrepreneurial Spirit in Latin America
02:49 How Boost Capital Partners is Structured
03:48 Boost Capital's Perspective on LATAM
05:06 Alvaro's Perspective on Innovation in LATAM
05:51 "LATAM has a incredibly large pool of very talented People" 
07:04 Two Ways to look at the "Lack of resources in the Region"
08:04 Bridging the gap with International Markets
08:32 Transitioning from Investment Banking to Venture Capital
09:30 Early Days at Initial Capital
12:29 Initial Capital Returns
13:28 The Birth of Boost Capital Partners
15:53 Navigating Investor Perceptions of LATAM
18:37 Access and Support for Entrepreneurs in LATAM
19:15 Entrepreneurial Humility and Learning
20:03 Entrepreneurs in the Region: "Have more Confidence"
20:29 Understanding Local Markets
20:57 Valuation Dynamics in LATAM
21:45 LATAM VS. EUROPE
22:23 The Rise of Founders in LATAM
23:34 Investment Opportunities in Mexico
23:50 We are the Customer Experience Fund
24:34 The Power of Gamification Mechanics
26:55 The Growing Middle Class and Health Services
27:18 Why are we investing in LATAM?
29:20 Consumer Behavior in LATAM
30:40 Lessons Learned in Venture Capital

Send us Fan Mail

Cut The Check w/ Mack Meyer is a podcast about venture capital, startups, and entrepreneurship in Latin America and beyond.

New episodes drop every week.

Subscribe on Spotify

Stay connected with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram,

Have a guest suggestion? Email us at [email protected]