Roundtable Recap: July 18 – A Conversation About India’s Next 400 Million Consumers and the Startups Targeting Them

During this week’s roundtable, we had Rahul Chandra, Managing Director at Unitary Helion Ventures, as our guest. Rahul provided an excellent overview of the opportunity around India’s next 400 million consumers.

The pitches today were all from women entrepreneurs.

Empower

First up, we had Soya Somanathan from Chennai, India, pitch Empower, a digital service for helping non-STEM kids find their career paths through content and mentoring.

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1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Jose Deustua of UTEC Ventures (Part 3)

Jose Deustua: We also have a platform called Anvi. They teach English. Currently, we know that most people in Latin America are not good in speaking English. They need to speak English to progress in their work. Even though there are a lot of solutions about how to learn English, this platform is new in the sense that it incorporates both the coaching, coach, and the student.

They also focus on specific segments that are not well-addressed by these huge brands of English courses. There’s another option that’s made for cooking lessons.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Hernan Fernandez of Angel Ventures Mexico (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Is FinTech a sector that you have invested more in? This is a global trend.

Hernan Fernandez: Yes. We were lucky enough to be in the middle of the FinTech wave. When we started the fund in 2013, we had no idea that we were going to see FinTech deals. When we started seeing the trends, we realized we needed to build a proper FinTech capacity.

Out of our first fund, we invested in 21 companies, six of which are in FinTech. Two of the top performers are in FinTech. Mexicans banks are getting better, but they are so expensive.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Jose Deustua of UTEC Ventures (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: Talk about the companies. What problems are they solving?

Jose Duestua: We have one startup that’s focusing on changing the way teachers teach in K12. In Latin America, we’re lagging behind in using technology in classrooms.

This startup is trying to put all textbooks on a platform where you can learn from the platform but also incorporate artificial intelligence. You can customize educational training and programs for each student.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Hernan Fernandez of Angel Ventures Mexico (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: You said you invest in Mexico, Chile, Peru, and Colombia. Are the angel investors also from all the four countries or are they all Mexican investors?

Hernan Fernandez: We have a very broad base of angel investors that represents 15 nationalities. We do have investors from the US and Canada, but the core is certainly Mexico. Colombia might be a close second. We have Germany, Spain, Japan, Thailand, and Australia.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Jose Deustua of UTEC Ventures (Part 1)

Responding to a popular request, we are now sharing transcripts of our investor podcast interviews in this new series. The following interview with Jose Deustua was recorded in May 2019.

Jose Deustua, Managing Director at UTEC Ventures, talks about Peru’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s get to know you. Let’s get you introduced to our audience. Tell us about yourself as well as UTEC Ventures.

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

Responding to a popular request, we are now sharing transcripts of our investor podcast interviews in this new series. The following interview with Hernan Fernandez was recorded in May 2019.

Hernan Fernandez is Managing Partner at Angel Ventures Mexico, a firm  that invests in Mexico, Chile, Peru, and Colombia. This is an excellent discussion on trends in Latin America.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s get to know you and let’s get to know Angel Ventures Mexico. Tell us about the fund. Tell us about your activities. Where do you invest? What size fund do you run?

180th 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast With Alain le Loux, Cottonwood Technology Fund

Alain le Loux is General Partner at Cottonwood Technology Fund. The firm invests in hardcore technology startups in Northern Europe and the South West of United States.

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