1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Hernan Fernandez of Angel Ventures Mexico (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: How relevant do you think is Silicon Valley to the B2C side of the Mexican venture ecosystem? Not just Mexican – Latin America. If you’re doing B2C, how relevant is Silicon Valley for you?

Hernan Fernandez: I think it’s growing in terms of relevance. I really wished Silicon Valley took a little bit more time to understand Latin America. I have seen many entrepreneurs with heartbreaking emails, “We always go with the big market.”

Brazil will try to pursue a global Latin America play. That’s something really crazy. That’s saying, “We’ll go to China. From China, we’ll probably go to other markets.” Brazilians have been very bad at scaling companies out of Brazil.

How many companies have actually successfully scaled from Brazil to Latin America? I could probably think of one. Rappi has raised $1 billion from Softbank. The thing is, there is an insecurity. If you go to Mexico City, you’re actually safer than even some cities in the US.

Sramana Mitra: What you’re saying is correct. There is not a lot of awareness. I’m even asking a little more fundamental question. Do you need Silicon Valley to be successful in what you’re trying to do?

Softbank is interested, but Softbank is a Japanese company with Middle Eastern money. They’re interested in the big market. They understand that Mexico and Latin America are big markets and they’re willing to work with you. Maybe Tigers Global wants to work with you.

These are the emerging markets venture funds that are interested in these bigger emerging markets. I imagine all of them are willing to work with you. What do you need Silicon Valley for?

Hernan Fernandez: That’s actually an accurate point. We have worked with GIE and Softbank. This is something interesting to understand.

I went to school in the US. I have so many US friends. I would love to see Silicon Valley open a bit more towards Latin America and Mexico and understand the fundamentals.

Sramana Mitra: When are you going to be in Silicon Valley the next time?

Hernand Fernandez: Once every three months. I hope to build those bridges. I will not lose hope of Silicon Valley. I just hope that next time that they’re trying to fund something that, in my opinion, might be as trivial as the third app for on-demand valet service, why don’t they think of something more fundamental that can change people’s lives.

Sramana Mitra: I’m a huge fan of Latin America. I’ve spent time in Latin America. I love Latin America. I’m thrilled to see all the things that are happening. I worked very closely with MercadoLibre a long time ago. Thank you for your time.

This segment is part 5 in the series : 1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Hernan Fernandez of Angel Ventures Mexico
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