Bloomberg Línea Ideas — Inclusion, democratization, and impact. These are some of the fundamental shifts that are triggering the next generation of startups in the world, especially those coming out of Latin America, making today the best time to launch –or join— a startup.
I recently moderated a series of masterclasses to help prepare the newest generation of operators to work inside technology startups. In the series of discussions, leading entrepreneurs and operators shared their advice on everything from launching a startup, to building a team, and expanding into new markets.
In the first session, Shu Nyatta, SoftBank Group International managing partner, shared his thoughts on three fundamental shifts in entrepreneurship – and why they are making it the best time to launch a technology startup.
Here are some highlights of what he talked about:
1) A move from disruption to inclusion: Instead of disrupting other companies out of business, the new wave of startups, especially in Latin America, is focused on bringing products and services to underserved markets and enabling more people to participate in the global economy. Fintech Klarna, for example, is enabling more people to buy things in an affordable way; delivery giant Rappi is helping restaurants and other businesses to expand their reach; and Banco Inter, Konfio, and Creditas are expanding access to financial services.
2) A transition from elite to democratized: It used to take a lot of money to launch a startup. Now, anyone can launch a startup from anywhere in the world, at a much lower cost, regardless of their background or network. Moreover, with record-high amounts of venture capital being invested, startups have more access to funding than ever before.
3) A shift from narrow to broad: For a long time, tech meant that startups were focused on retail or advertising. Now, tech startups span across every single industry (healthcare, education, logistics, and beyond).
Additional masterclasses included Rappi co-founder Sebastian Mejia sharing his view on why startup culture is so important. In another, Claudia Woods, WeWork LatAm’s CEO, talked about setting KPIs and goals. Also, Carlos Garcia, co-founder of Kavak, discussed mastering storytelling, and Sergio Furio, founder of Creditas, shared about growing with a startup. The series closed with Meltem Demirors, Chief Strategy Officer of CoinShares, talking about crypto becoming a $100 trillion industry and how Web 3.0 will once again revolutionize the world.
All of this resonates with what I’ve seen in my career. I started my first company when I was 15. It was a cheese and yogurt factory run out of my parents’ farm in my home country, Colombia.
That first endeavor led me to a life-long path in tech entrepreneurship, including a ‘fintech’ launched in 2006, built to democratize access to financial services through platforms such as crowdfunding.
I eventually sold the company, got an MBA at MIT, and concluded that the best way to have a multiplier effect would be by joining global platforms that empower founders to grow and scale. I decided to join Citibank and became Global Head of Fintech Acceleration and continued to become Chief Acceleration Officer at TheVentureCity and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the IDB Lab, eventually landing my current job where I help founders find the best way to accelerate the growth of their startups.
The best entrepreneurs are lifelong learners with an insatiable curiosity and eager to learn from others who have faced similar challenges. Lessons like the one here should trigger something in the upcoming entrepreneurs that will make their journey seem more possible or inspire an idea that they want to pursue.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial boards of Bloomberg Línea, Falic Media or Bloomberg LP and their owners.
