Bernardo Cordero | What Mexican Startups Are Still Missing

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

Today I spoke with Bernardo Cordero, co-founder of Clau, an all-in-one platform for the Mexican real estate market. Before Clau, Bernardo founded Linio, one of the first e-commerce companies in Mexico, sold to Falabella for $138M, and he was also a founder of AMVO, the association that promotes electronic commerce in the country. Today he also invests in startups through the fund Nascent VC and leads Mexico Tech Week, the largest technology event in the country. To date, Clau has raised +$49M from funds such as Hi Ventures, Anthemis, and 500 Global.

1:00 - Lessons from Linio and the Start in Startups

Bernardo bet on the digital world from his days at Grupo Posadas. The MBA at Berkeley connected him with Silicon Valley and led him to co-found Linio.

What did he learn from building one of the first large startups in Mexico?
How did the Berkeley ecosystem influence his entrepreneurial vision?
How crucial was hiring for scaling the team at Linio?

9:00 - Technology and Operational Efficiency

One of Linio’s biggest mistakes was solving problems by hiring people instead of building internal technology.

How do you balance external technology versus internal operational efficiency?
What did they learn about scaling with discipline and focus?
Why does the Mexican ecosystem tend to grow with too much staff?

14:00 - Lessons as an Investor

Bernardo invests actively through Nascent VC, with a focus on fintech, proptech, and e-commerce.

What does he look for in a startup when he evaluates the founding team?
Which industries in Mexico have higher barriers to entry, and why?
How do his two hats, as founder and as investor, complement each other?

20:00 - Raising Capital

Bernardo emphasizes that raising capital is easier if you build relationships ahead of time.

What is his strategy for raising capital in good markets and in bad ones?
How have the rules of fundraising changed in recent years?
What does he recommend to founders in the early stages?

26:00 - Problems in the Real Estate Sector in Mexico

Selling or buying a property in Mexico is long and complex. Clau aims to solve that by bringing together data, agents, and financing.

Why is there so little transparency in property prices?
What role do real estate agents play in his vision?
How does the user experience change when all the information is integrated?

34:00 - Artificial Intelligence Applied to Proptech

Clau is using AI to accompany the customer through the entire purchase process, from discovery to the mortgage.

What challenges does AI solve in the real estate industry?
How do digital tools combine with the human touch that is needed?
Which use cases excite them the most?

40:00 - Clau’s Evolution and Pivots

Clau started as an iBuyer and has evolved toward a lighter model based on a portal and data.

What did they learn when they changed the business model?
How did they handle communication with the team and with investors during pivots?
What role does internal transparency play during growth?