Ep. 41: Will startup founders be nicer with corporate ventures now?
Welcome to Miranda Scenius: Your weekly newsletter on technology, innovation, and startups in Mexico.
I recently read an article about the growing importance of corporate venture investors in Mexico and Latin America. Seems like the writer was well informed as this week heavy players in the CVC world, FEMSA Ventures and Grupo Fame, announced new investments.
In the case of FEMSA Ventures, they made their intention clear - following the company’s initial success with its new debit card, SPIN, they want to double down on financial services market in Mexico using its store network to offer financial services.
From the rest of the world, a very cool startup that uses AI to optimize agricultural pollination is making a stop in Mexico on its way to the US market and German giant TeamViewer opened an office in Guadalajara.
Equity Funding Rounds
Pacto closes US$4 Million Seed funding round
The startup offers point-of-sale software for restaurants and the hospitality sector. The funding will help the team expand and develop its cloud-based platform and payment options enabling restaurants and bars to manage their operations and grow their revenue by providing a seamless checkout experience for their customers. With the support of a range of investors across Latin America and the US, including the CVC Grupo Fame, Pacto plans to win the Mexican point-of-sale market for the restaurant industry. The company previously announced a $2 million pre-seed round in April 2022 and has now raised $6 million to date.
Sector: FinTech - POS
Total raised to date: US$6 million
Founders: Ryan Croft, Gordon Whitehouse
Investors: FEMSA Ventures, 500 Global, August Hill, Polymath Ventures, Grupo Fame
Startups News
FEMSA announced it plans to enter the financial services market
Femsa operates over 20,000 convenience stores in Mexico under the OXXO brand. It recently announced it plans to enter the financial services market in Mexico using its store network to offer financial services. The company's initial success with its new debit card, SPIN, which has attracted nearly four million customers since its launch in 2021, has encouraged the company to expand its services further. At the time, Femsa had no intention of applying for a license to become a full bank, but it may explore partnering with other financial institutions.
Hey, hom! launches an interactive map
The PropTech announced the release of its interactive real estate map with more than 2 million properties. Inspired by what Zillow is doing in the US, the company’s map not only displays information about single properties but also statistics by geographic areas like average selling prices, historic values, and average return on investment. With its new release, the startup wants to make the real estate market more transparent and accessible in Mexico.
VC - M&A News
Digital supermarket Jüsto is hungry for deals
Jüsto plans to grow through mergers and acquisitions in both Mexico and Latin America. The company stated that they are not only looking to acquire technology players but modern and traditional channels. In the past year, Jüsto has seen a 400% increase in revenue, improved operational efficiency, and has achieved positive margins in the markets where it operates. Jüsto is evaluating opportunities for expansion, including the acquisition of assets from its competitor Jokr, which recently exited the Mexican market. Jüsto has already entered the Peruvian market through the acquisition of Freshmart and plans to further expand into other cities in Brazil and Mexico. The company aims to become one of the leading digital supermarket companies in the region.
Rest of the World
A.I. Startup The Earth Says lands in Mexico
Chilean startup The Earth Says developed an AI-based technological solution to optimize agricultural pollination with bees, allowing farmers to improve the profitability of their crops, make early and informed decisions, improve the traceability of the production process and reduce the risks of poor pollination, and, as an added, benefit save more bees which are dying at alarming rates. With a US launched planned for 2024, the founding team decided to take a long layover in the Mexican market before making the jump further north.
TeamViewer opens an office in Guadalajara
You might have first heard of them when the IT guy from your company asked you to download a software so they could do some maintenance work on your computer without leaving their desk. The German software has now been installed on more than two billion devices worldwide. Now its Latin American expansion effort will be led from Jalisco, Mexico.
Spanish TaxDown comes to Mexico
TaxDown, a startup offering tax declaration services, has closed a €5.8 million funding round to expand to Mexico. The team plans to use the funds to develop its digital platform and increase its customer base. The company uses artificial intelligence to analyze each user's tax situation and make tax declaration and compliance simpler. TaxDown soft-landed in the Mexican market last year and aims to reach two million users and strengthen its presence in Latin America in 2023.
Fernando Perez, is the co-founder and CEO of sommos, an app that makes it easier to connect with sustainable services and products. He is passionate about sustainability and he believes that technology is our best tool to solve our environmental and social problems.
What would you have liked to know before starting your company?
Distribution is key to achieving revenue goals. Even if you have little to no added value, when you master distribution you can get ahead in your market. Add innovation, great customer service and a team of elite performers on top of that and you'll be off the charts.
What outsiders often fail to understand about your company?
The current supermarket industry is full of flaws. Focusing on one issue in this system is not enough. If we want to solve it, we need to redesign the supply chain of fast moving consumer goods, from production to waste management. That's what we do at sommos.
What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?
Jacobo Grinberg. A Mexican scientist that studied the link between Mexican shamanism and conventional science. He was teaching kids to read blindfolded.
One day, right before an experiment in which he would have demonstrated real-time telepathic communication with another researcher in India, he disappeared. His whereabouts remain unknown. This case makes me excited about the immense potential of the human mind.
What’s the weirdest job you’ve ever had to do?
When I was 16 I worked as a clerk at now extinct Blockbuster. It wasn't weird back then, but nowadays it sounds absurd to spend eight hours in a day helping people find physical movies in a store.
What makes you bullish on the Mexican startup ecosystem?
Mexico is one of the most privileged countries in the world. Great weather, happy and talented people, solid economic foundations and infrastructure.
I strongly believe that sustainability is the future and we have ideal natural conditions to become the international leader in terms of regeneration, conservation and innovation, all combined.
If you want to work or invest in sustainability, Mexico is the place to be.
See you for the next edition. Have a question or any feedback? Just hit reply. We'd love to chat!