Unlocking Venture Capital in Latin America | Claudio Barahona, Alaya Capital
Release Date: 01/14/2025
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info_outlineIn this episode of the Build Tech Stack Equity Podcast, we sit with Claudio Barahona, a venture capitalist with Alaya Capital, to explore his journey from an eSports entrepreneur to a prominent VC in Latin America. Claudio shares his background, including growing up in Germany and Chile, building a successful eSports company, and transitioning to the venture capital scene. He reflects on the unique challenges and opportunities in the Latin American startup ecosystem, emphasizing the importance of having an upside in one's career. Claudio discusses Alaya Capital’s investment thesis, focusing on digital startups with proven market fit in Latin America. The episode also highlights trends and success factors for startups in the region, the importance of U.S. education and connections, as well as practical advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
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Founder Bio:
Claudio founded his first startup at 18 years old, which he sold six years later. He is a Civil Industrial Engineer from the Universidad de Chile and has devoted a large part of his career to promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in Chile. In addition, he was director of the Chilean Venture Capital Association from 2018 to 2019. Diario Financiero, one of the main business media in his country, recognized him as one of the "Young Influencers 2017" for his outstanding career in the national innovation ecosystem. From 2011 to 2019 he was the Open Innovation Manager of Movistar Chile and leader of Wayra, the initiative of Telefónica that connects the company with startups and innovation ecosystems and invests as corporate venture capital in innovative technology companies with global scalability. In 2019 he founded the initiative Corporate Venturing Latam, which seeks to map and incentivize CVC in LatAm. In 2021 he founded ComoLevantarCapital.com to teach founders how to fundraise VC. He is currently a Managing Partner of Alaya Capital, a Latin American Venture Capital fund, and dedicates some of his time to promoting and teaching Venture Capital in LatAm and making angel investments in startups.
Time Stamps:
00:25 Claudio's Early Life and Career
06:06 Transition to Angel Investing and Corporate Venture Capital
08:38 Corporate Venture Capital Journey
13:53 Difference between the two types of VCs
15:58 Joining Alaya Capital
20:45 Alaya Investment Philosophy and Criteria
24:49 Fund Sizes and Investment Strategies
27:15 Advantages of Delaware C Corps for Latin American Startups
30:00 Opportunities in the Latin American Market
33:36 Successful Business Models in Latin America
39:14 Challenges and Success Profiles of Latin American Founders
46:09 Challenges and Opportunities for New Founders
49:31 Encouragement and Final Thoughts
Resources
Follow Darius Gant
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-darius-gant-cpa-44650aa/
Company Website - www.tesoroai.com
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Company website: https://alaya-capital.com/
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Twitter (X): https://x.com/AlayaCapital