Alejandro Guizar, Billpocket | From a Brutal Raise to an Exit, and Winning in Fintech on Little Money [Ep. 92]

The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.

The companies that raise the most capital are not always the ones that grow the most in customers and sales.

This was the case of Billpocket, one of the largest point-of-sale terminal fintechs in Mexico by number of customers and payment volume, despite being one of those that received the least investment among its competitors. A few months ago Billpocket was acquired by Kushki, the fintech unicorn from Ecuador.

We spoke with its CEO and founder, Alejandro Guizar, who told us why it was hard for him to raise capital in the early days and how that difficulty translated into an advantage for Billpocket. We also talked about go to market strategy, team building, and finally, we talked about how to handle pressure and risk.

Youtube Timestamps*

[1:30] - Difficulties Raising Capital

How did Alejandro arrive at the fascinating world of startups?
Why does Alejandro believe it was difficult to raise capital for Billpocket in its early years?
What is the value of NOT being able to raise capital at the start, according to Alejandro? How does he believe that difficulty translated into strength for him and for Billpocket?
Jose Vielma told us that if Alejandro had had as much capital as other fintechs, he might not have been as successful, and that the more difficulties, the more one grows. Where does Alejandro’s resilience for facing difficulties come from?
What advice does Alejandro give entrepreneurs who are having problems when it comes time to raise capital?
What were the keys that allowed Billpocket to build such a large business in a sector with such well-funded competitors?

[23:42] - Go to Market and Capital Efficiency

Billpocket’s success is due to the decision to focus on large customers, since investing in small businesses required investing more capital, which they did not have, in customer acquisition. What is the reasoning behind focusing on large customers, and why did it allow them to grow so efficiently?
What other decisions were key for Billpocket to be highly efficient in the use of capital?
Billpocket raised a Series A of close to 7 million dollars in 2019. How did Alejandro change his execution style and mindset when going from scarcity to the abundance of venture capital? Was it easy to prioritize growth over profitability?

[37:31] - Managing Pressure and Leadership

Billpocket had several problems. In 2013, they were close to running out of money, and in 2016, they had a problem with Mexico’s payments system. How does Alejandro handle pressure as a leader today, and how has that evolved over time?
How does Alejandro think about risk today? How much is too risky, and what is his decision-making process like?
Alejandro often says that his greatest strength is his ability to select the right people for his team. How does he define the right person? What characteristics does he look for in a new member of his team?
How does Alejandro measure the conviction of a person he is going to hire? And what questions reveal that conviction?
Alejandro believes it is important to ask uncomfortable questions in order to recruit people and solve team problems. In this context, how much time does he give someone with low performance, and how does he know when to let them go?

[57:38] - Rapid-Fire Round

Books recommended by Alejandro
Changes Alejandro would like to see in Latin America’s startup ecosystem
Entrepreneur Alejandro recommends interviewing

Episode Mentions

You can find Alejandro on LinkedIn and Twitter

Recommended books: Zero to One by Piter Thiel, The Ride of a Lifetime, by Robert Iger,