Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Alexia Ventures

Former silicon valley entrepreneur and Founding Partner of Alexia Ventures. He is also Venture Partner of 2 VC funds that he led in Brazil (together with DGF’s partners), where he backed and helped build some of the top tech companies in the region. Earlier, in Silicon Valley, he founded a mobile payments startup and investment group Delphis Capital, after co-founding and selling a lead­ing e-health company in Brazil. Patrick spent 20 years building and investing in high-growth innovative companies, after working for entrepreneurial thought leaders at the Monitor Company, Seer Technologies, and at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Q1. What are some of the changes and strategies you have noticed in the Latin American Industries?

Latin Americans can be innovative and can creatively tackle their adversities. There have been many methodological changes around companies that build concepts & skills, but the driving force behind every start-up is their talent. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic factor has percolated to global normality wherein employees are working remotely. This is allowing talent to be poached by international companies from all around the world. In the last two-three years, we’ve seen a shift where there’s been the digitization of the small and medium businesses that make up the majority of the Latin American economy. The room for opportunities has also drastically increased, paving the way to easy access to finance for better logistics. This shift in current recruitment policies has also broken a psychological barrier which the Latin Americans were confined by, increasing the quality of products and customer success.

 The global fundraising landscape is changing 

Q2. How has the Latin American region progressed in the industry?

Statistics and Data Science have been successful in countries like China and India, but South America is still an emerging market. However, with the right amount of model retention and exploration, work ethic, and research, this will be a market that will see significant growth. Fintech is yet another industry that has seen significant growth thanks to talent acquiring policies. Heavy investments and inter-market arbitrages were used to source the best talents available globally. There have been many competitors in the market competing for our financial products. Construction, block-chain technology, and core-technology areas implementing Artificial intelligence, crypto, and cyber security have been our primary focus. Some of our clients from these areas have become global leaders in their respective streams. Therefore, we at Alexia ventures seek out companies to invest in these streams. Some companies in the region are looking to provide better health care and decision-making abilities by utilizing AI and machine learning; this will also be an area that will garner significant growth. Furthermore, many investors are getting involved in the start-ups in the region. As a result, there are more options for the founders to choose from, affording them the freedom to contact references and pick an investor that best fits their phase and company in terms of added value, founder friendliness. Some of the most popular investor options available in Latin America are direct investors, angel investors, and international investors.

Q3. What would be a core piece of advice and insights you would like to give the start-ups in the Latin American region?

Some great technologies are coming out from the Latin American region with global ambition in mind. With great talent available globally in the remote working mode, these start-ups can soon gain global status. Additionally, it is important to develop talent from within with senior talent using their experience to mend them. Having the right network to develop capable talent in the region will also play a powerful role. My advice would be to take risks and put their best self forward. On the contrary, this would turn into a challenge for the companies that haven’t yet raised a reasonable amount of capital because they have a harder time.