Welcome to Season 3 of The J Curve, a podcast about entrepreneurship in Latin America. My guest today is ⁠Dave Nangle⁠, founder and CEO of ⁠VEF⁠, an emerging markets-focused, growth-stage fintech investment firm. VEF's Latam portfolio includes the likes of Creditas, Solfacil, Gringo and Konfio.
We talked about Dave’s investment strategy, focusing on growth-stage companies that have nailed unit economics and product-market fit. We discussed the most common mistakes founders make when pitching to VEF, what makes Brazil one of the most attractive markets in the world from a venture capital perspective, why trying to predict exit timing in emerging markets is often a losing game, and why Dave prefers M&A over IPO as the go-to exit strategy. Dave also shared his perspective on the most underrated tech company in Latin America.


In today's episode we discuss:

1. VEF’s investment strategy playbook: single country, single product focus and big scale up market 

2. Build for exit: how to make M&A a viable exit strategy in VC and why an IPO might be less attractive than you think? 

3. The holy grail of private markets: the pros and cons of a permanent capital vehicle structure in venture capital 

4. Emerging markets are not all the same: what makes some particularly attractive for venture capital investors?

5. Brazil deconstructed: key factors making it a top tech investment market


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Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:42 - Observations on Emerging Markets
04:15 - Dave’s Journey in emerging markets
05:47 - How has Dave's experience shaped his perspective on emerging markets
06:21 - Where is the future?
09:17 - Digitization impact
12:12 - Building VEF: A Strategic Approach
14:12 - Main learnings
18:12- How to raise for your first fund?
22:55- Emerging Markets
25:32 - VC Investor Prism
27:59 - IPO in emerging markets
32:32 - Exit cycle
35:50 - Local funds importance
37:52 - Price mindset
40:13 - Avoiding herd mentality
43:21 - What are the most attractive sectors now?
46:18 - Business valuation as a global investor
48:56 - The thinking behind Creditas
51:12 - IPO or M&A?
54:20 - Price Discipline
01:01:56 - Rapid Fire Questions

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Olga is an entrepreneur, venture capital investor, mentor at Techstars and founder at The J Curve, Latin America's leading English speaking podcast about tech builders. She's been investing in the USA, SEA and Latin America for over 13 years. Companies she backed include tech unicorn ClassPass (acquired by Mindbody) and Vitalk (acquired by Gympass).

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