http://idcee.org/p/jose-marin-ig-expansion/
Jose started his professional career as a consultant at The Boston Consulting Group.
In 1999 he co-founded DeRemate.com (eBay model for Latin America). The company raised 75 M USD, did a partial cash-out sale to Terra and later merged with Mercado Libre that went Public in Nasdaq .
Currently Jose is co-Founder and co-CEO of IG Expansion. IG takes successful internet business models into emerging markets (main focus Brazil). IG builds one project per year and will not build more than 6 (investing the first 3 to 5 M USD per project). 5 of the 6 are already operating being Viajanet (Expedia for Latam) its biggest success. Jose is also starting to look into project building in disruptive spaces in the US.
Jose is also founder of Serendipity Investments, company that has invested in >100 start-ups globally. Before this, Jose invested in projects such as Bazee (auctions sold to eBay in 2005) and eDreams (European Travel site sold to TA Associates in 2006) obtaining top tier returns.
Jose is a Mechanical and Electrical Engineer and holds an MBA and an MA in International development Economics from Stanford. Additionally, Jose is a marathon runner, and he is keen on extreme sports such as flying, skiing and skydiving. He also plays the piano since the age of 5.
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11. Biggest dilution happens before you even start
Clear terms among founders is key. Vesting
matters a LOT
12. Bad Developers cost more
Confiden)al
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Kinnevik
2013
12
Bad
Developers
Good
Developers
Get
Lousy
Work
Done
Fire
Bad
Developers
Hire
Good
Developers
Get
Work
Done
Right
Get
Work
Done
Right
26. • Don’t Overthink
• Iterate from Plan A
to Plan that Works
• Avoid Paralysis of
Analysis
Confiden)al
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2013
26
Confiden)al
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31. Investors play for your team
Don’t take money from investors you don’t trust
Investors should be your mentors
Reach out often and for concrete help
Make them happy by making a great business!
Confiden)al
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2013
31
32. Spend too much
≠
Raise too little
Confiden)al
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32
33. THE BEST MOMENT FOR
FUNDRAISING IS WHEN
YOU DON’T NEED IT
Confiden)al
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2013
33
34. User Growth is Important
But…Building a Profitable
Company is ImportantER
Confiden)al
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2013
34
35. Set Realistic Expectations
35
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
>
$100
million
Exits
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Few Exits > $100M
Most Exits < $30M
Most Exits > 5 years
36. Series A Crunch
Confiden)al
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36
Source:
PitchBook
As there are increasingly more
companies funding Seed
Rounds, there is a crunch at the
Series A stage that threatens
survival
38. VC-Backed Growth is faster
Source:
“Building
Sustainable
High-‐Growth
Startup
Companies”
–
A.
Davila,
G.
Foster,
N.
Jia
Confiden)al
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2013
38
39. Growth can bring problems
Confiden)al
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39
• Operational complexity
• Dealing with increasing SKUs, new logistics requirements, etc, increase the complexity of
running larger businesses efficiently
• Personnel structure is rarely prepared for rapid growth before growth occurs (timing is key)
• Overspend
• Capex increases require new funding
• Companies that raise more capital than is required have a tendency to overspend
• Hiring is expensive (make every hire count)
• Capital needs
• Need to deviate attention away from operations into fundraising
• More complicated rounds that might backfire the entrepreneur
40. Discipline makes you better prepared
Businesses that adopt
professional management
systems earlier are more able to
raise VC funds and grown into
successful companies
Source:
“Building
Sustainable
High-‐Growth
Startup
Companies”
–
A.
Davila,
G.
Foster,
N.
Jia
Confiden)al
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2013
40
41. The Power of Ecosystems
Confiden)al
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2013
41
There are 65 million
companies in the
World but only 200k
create 60% of total
Value
Top 3% of
entrepreneurs have an
influence on 80% of
the local ecosystem
Source:
Endeavor
42. The PayPal Mafia
Confiden)al
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Total Valuations:
Total Money Raised:
Jobs Created:
VC Money Raised:
$67.5 Billion
$813 Million
+10,000
$2.5 Billion
Source:
Endeavor,
Crunchbase
52. Don’t do everything yourself – Delegate!
Prioritization is very important
Focus on one revenue stream and make it profitable
before considering diversification
Confiden)al
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2013
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Key Learning
Leer mails
Best Practices
Act local and adapt to every market
Use local payment methods to have higher
penetration
LATAM is much more than Brazil. Great opportunities
in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Chile.
Key Challenges
Different cultures for every market
Things move slowly in certain markets
Red Tape: 6 months to create a company in Brazil
Success Drivers
Fast expansion – Actively seize opportunities
Fast execution – Operating in 20 countries in 3
months with limited funds
Right team – Know your limitations and hire talent for
areas you are not an expert
54. Hire slow, fire fast – No senior people needed early
Hire hungry young talent at the beginning to reach
product / market fit and then senior talent to scale
Focus and define goals for every employee
Have a long-term vision but don’t plan too far ahead
Confiden)al
-‐
Kinnevik
2013
54
Key Learning
Leer mails
Best Practices
Iterate, iterate, iterate
Talk to your customers often and do it authentically
Set defined goals and attract the best people
Key Challenges
Understanding that the original business model might
not be the best one.
It’s hard to get to product / market fit
Success Drivers
Picking the right market
Perseverance and resilience. You only fail once you
stop trying
Not being afraid to be wrong
56. Don’t do too many things at the same time! Amazon
only sold books for 4 years before expanding
Focus on things that matter the most. As the CEO you
need to set the example
Confiden)al
-‐
Kinnevik
2013
56
Key Learning
Leer mails
Best Practices
Hire the best team and more importantly, think about
upgrading the team all the time. Just because
business is doing well does not mean every executive
is doing well too.
Key Challenges
Success Drivers
Product, product, product. It is really hard to make a
product stand out in the market and that solves the
problem better than the alternatives.
Having the best team.
Building a great product is hard
Keep the dynamism within the team and the
company
58. Overestimated market growth at early stages. As a
consequence over invested in Marketing
Underestimated market growth once the ‘S’ curve
ramped up.
Confiden)al
-‐
Kinnevik
2013
58
Key Learning
Leer mails
Best Practices
Hire the best people. Ideally with a combination of
local knowledge and global mindset.
Build robust technology from day 1, otherwise you
will pay more later.
Common Pitfalls
Entrepreneurs think too small and lack global
experience.
Don’t create a ‘hunger culture’ in the company. You
need to transmit your enthusiasm and ambition.
Success Drivers
Focus on getting a AAA team on board. All successful
company have amazing teams.
Replicate a proven model to reduce overall risk of the
venture
Get relevant backers, investors and mentors early on.
60. Cash determines survival and scale for ecommerce
If you need cash early on, then fundraise aggressively
Manage cash balance professionally and responsibly
Having more cash in the bank will give you more time
to figure things out.
Confiden)al
-‐
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2013
60
Key Learning
Leer mails
Best Practices
Great people drive great operational success
Make super stars form an ‘all-star’ team. Companies
run on teams and not individualities.
Hire for the next 12 months and not next 5 years
People in Emerging Markets value cash more than
stock options. Keep it simple.
Key Challenges
Success Drivers
Bet on the long run and set ambitious objectives.
Transmitted same mindset to key employees who
had the same vision as founders.
Build trust with early investors
Investor relations is a full time job and it is really hard
to manage that and operational duties at the same
time.
Bring together people from different big companies
because the team becomes dysfunctional.
62. LESSONS LEARNT
Get Informed Do it with Passion Stay Focused
Confiden)al
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63. “Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it
must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it most outrun the
slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.
When the sun comes up, you better be running.”
- African Proverb
Confiden)al
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2013
63