Latin America is ripe for social and economic transformation. With its rapidly growing and digitizing middle class, we are facing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring our empathy, ingenuity, and grit to design and scale vibrant solutions for this traditionally underserved demographic. A growing and empowered middle class is the foundation of a more equal, stable, and prosperous society.

 

In this episode, we speak with Wenyi Cai, the successful entrepreneur Co-founder, and CEO of Polymath Ventures. Wenyi shares her insights on the challenges of raising funds for startups and her solution to the problem: hiring top software development talent from Latin America. She also shares her experiences working in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and other emerging markets during the mid-2000s. She discusses the transformative technology in these regions and how, with the right technology and distribution models, it can generate profitable and exponential growth, as well as better jobs and income for the entire value chain.

 

If your company is looking to scale its AI initiatives, head over to Tesoro AI (www.tesoroai.com). We are experts in AI strategy, staff augmentation, and AI product development. 

 

Founder Bio:

 

Wenyi Cai is the Founder & CEO of Polymath Ventures, a venture studio that builds digital platforms to empower the middle class of Latin America. Prior to founding Polymath, Wenyi was an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. As the COO of Milo.com, a consumer internet startup that sold to eBay in 2010, Wenyi led business development efforts with major technology companies like Microsoft and eBay and oversaw the product and engineering teams. Earlier in her career, Wenyi was a consultant with McKinsey & Company in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Preceding her business career, Wenyi helped build a quantitative trading hedge fund and was a published researcher in applied physics. Wenyi graduated cum laude from Harvard College and studied philosophy and physics. Wenyi was born in China and grew up between China and the United States.

 

 

02:57 Wenyi Cai Background and professional experience

06:28 Exploring the Transformative Power of Technology in Emerging Markets

08:23 Summary of the professional journey from McKinsey to Silicon Valley and beyond

10:37 Benefits of doing business in Colombia

14:05 The untapped potential of Colombia’s talent pool

16:43 Polymath venture studio model and investment strategy

19:19 Discussion on business designers and the transition to the founder role

22:16 Benefits of a venture studio model for business model innovation

24:17 Conversation on the entrepreneurial drive and business models in Latin America

29:14 Enterprise SAAS in China and Latin America talent pool

33:45 Benefits of the venture studio model with Polymath ventures

36:43 Process of fundraising for Polymath Venture.

38:51 Benefits of being multilingual in the Latin American startup ecosystem

43:04 How to get in contact with the Polymath Venture team

Resources

 

Company website: https://polymathv.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polymathventures/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polymath-ventures/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/polymathdigital