In this 119th episode of Fintech Impact, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews Alex Lazarow, Venture Capitalist and Investment Director at Cathay Innovation and Author of the book Out-Innovate: How Global Entrepreneurs--from Delhi to Detroit--Are Rewriting the Rules of Silicon Valley. Alex Lazarow talks about how entrepreneurs around the world approach various problems differently in order to achieve success. 

Episode Highlights: 

● 00:24 – Jason Pereira introduces Alex Lazarow. 

● 01:21 – Alex Lazarow talks about his book Out Innovate. 

● 03:46 – What is a ‘camel’ company? 

● 04:58 – Alex talks about what can be learned from Grubhub. 

● 06:00 – Alex and Jason talk about the concept of ‘blitz scaling’ and Company types that it is applicable to. 

● 09:26 – How many companies did he talk to when writing his book? 

● 10:36 – What is going on in North Korea in the fintech scene? 

● 12:41 – What is the most unconventional story of how a company grew that Alex heard when writing his book? 

● 15:53 – Alex talks about a theme in his book about advantages that emerge from challenges. 

● 17:33 – What are recurring themes did Alex notice when working on his Book Out-Innovate? 

● 22:29 – North America has a lot of problems that need to be solved by companies with lessons learned from around the world. 

● 24:43 – What would Alex Lazarow change in his business or industry? 

● 25:34 – What have been the biggest challenges that Alex has faced? 

● 27:24 – What kept Alex going and not giving up while writing his book? 

3 Key Points 

1. Alex Lazarow’s term ‘the camel’ is like the term ‘unicorn,’ but instead it is 

businesses labeled a ‘real animal’ that can sustain in harshest environments by building a business model that works, managing costs and burn, and by taking a long-term view. 

2. Within a context of adversity, there are advantages that come about. 

3. The best entrepreneurs are creators, not disruptors. 

Tweetable Quotes: 

● “I work for a firm called Cathay Innovation, a globally-focused venture firm that invests across Asia, Europe, North American, and Africa. But, outside of work, I’ve been teaching an MBA class.” – Alex Lazarow 

● “Outside the (Silicon) Valley, I coined the term ‘the camel,’ it is this idea of balanced growth, businesses that still want to grow really fast. But, still infuse their business with sustainability and resilience.” – Alex Lazarow 

● (Out-Innovate book) “This is a 2-year effort. I interviewed about 200 entrepreneurs from around the world.” – Alex Lazarow 

Resources Mentioned: 

● Facebook – Jason Pereira’s Facebook 

● LinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedIn 

● FintechImpact.co – Website for Fintech Impact 

● JasonPereira.ca – Sign up for Jason Pereira’s newsletter 

● Linkedin – Alex Lazarow’s Linkedin 

● Cathay Innovation – Website for Cathay Innovation 

● Out-Innovate – Alex Lazarow’s Book 

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