Miguel Armaza is joined by Alex Lazarow, Investment Director at Cathay Innovation, Kauffman Fellow, Professor, and recent author of Out-Innovate: How Global Entrepreneurs - from Delhi to Detroit - Are Rewriting the Rules of Silicon Valley (HBR Press).

Out-Innovate: How Global Entrepreneurs - from Delhi to Detroit - Are Rewriting the Rules of Silicon Valley

In recent memory, the concept of entrepreneurship has been popularized by the explosive success of Silicon Valley startups. While the Valley's framework of building lean startups that "move fast and break things" has done wonders in their ecosystem, this model hasn't necessarily translated to outside the Valley. In his book, Alex Lazarow explores the framework of dozens of successful entrepreneurs and investors from around the world, acknowledging that entrepreneurship is never a one size fits all approach.

Out-Innovate comes out at an especially relevant time as the COVID-19 crisis threatens VC investing volumes in emerging markets. Armed with data and real-life examples, Alex presents a compelling case to invest in emerging market ecosystems with startups that look a lot more like Camels rather than Unicorns -built for sustainability and resilience to navigate frequent shocks and survive droughts.

Mr. Lazarow also reminds us that some of the best technology innovations increasingly come from outside of Silicon Valley. In fact, average returns for emerging-market VCs have outperformed their peers in traditional entrepreneurial hubs over the last fifteen years. By the same token, some of the most relevant fintech startups were born outside of the US. Nubank, a Brazilian company, is the largest independent digital bank in the world, and Ant Financial, a Chinese company, is considered the largest private fintech company worldwide.

Out-Innovate is a must-read for any investor, entrepreneur, and aspiring builder interested in learning about some of the most resourceful founders around the world who are building lasting companies and improving their communities in the process.

Alex Lazarow

Alex Lazarow has worked at the intersection of investing, innovation, and economic development across the public, private, and social sectors for more than a decade. He is a venture capitalist with Cathay Innovation and was previously with Omidyar Network. He is a Kauffman Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations term member, and an adjunct professor specializing in social impact investment and entrepreneurship at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School and the University of Manitoba.