Miguel Armaza, Gilgamesh Ventures | From Podcast to Venture Capital, Adding Value as an Investor, and the Future of Fintech [Ep. 62]

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

The venture capital industry is evolving quickly at a global level and, with it, the profile of investors. In the past, venture capital investors usually came mainly from careers such as investment banking, private equity, or consulting. Today, a good share of the new investors are former founders, executives, and even content creators, like our guest in this episode.

Miguel Armaza is, on one hand, partner and founder of Gilgamesh Ventures, a Venture Capital fund specialized in fintech in the Americas, that has invested in Latin American companies such as Pomelo, Xepelin, Palenca, and Reworth. On the other hand, Miguel is a well-known podcaster in the fintech ecosystem at a global level, since he played a key role in scaling the Wharton Fintech Podcast and today he hosts his own podcast, Fintech Leaders.

We talked about how podcasting allowed him to enter the venture capital industry, and how it has helped him as an investor to create a unique value proposition for founders. Miguel also told us the state of fintech and which verticals excite him the most for the future.

Thanks to Howard Katzenberg of Glean and Nicolás de Camino of Xepelin for the excellent question suggestions.

What You Can Learn Today

Strategies for entering the Venture Capital industry
How to differentiate yourself as an investor
Current state and future of fintech

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Youtube Timestamps*

How to Enter the Venture Capital Industry

[1:39] - How did Miguel arrive in the world of startups?
- He had a first encounter when he started studying in the United States
- He created a Facebook page and it went viral
- He started monetizing his content on the internet, which brought him closer to the concept of a startup
[5:54] - Miguel’s career as a podcaster
- He worked in banking for almost a decade, and that is how he connected with fintech
- He decided to start an MBA at Wharton School
- Miguel went on to lead Wharton’s podcast, which covered fintech topics
- He recorded almost 150 episodes with Wharton Fintech Podcast
- He developed relationships with many founders in the fintech ecosystem
[12:00] - Strategies for entering the Venture Capital industry
- It is crucial to network with founders and investors
- It is necessary to trust yourself
- Tell mentors your intentions in order to receive feedback
[16:09] - Recommendations for starting a career in Venture Capital
- Think about the way you would look for companies to invest in
- Take advantage of fellowships, internships, and other programs
- Create a “ghost portfolio” to define the companies you would invest in
[18:56] - Lessons and learnings as a podcaster
- Lose the fear of talking to anyone
- Prepare interviews in detail
- Go deep into the company of the person you are talking with

Added Value as an Investor

[21:47] - What is Gilgamesh Ventures and what is your investment thesis?
- A Venture Capital fund focused on fintech
- Focus on companies in Latin America
- Investment in early-stage startups
[24:05] - How to position an emerging Venture Capital fund?
- It is key to specialize in a sector or investment stage
- Earning founders’ respect is essential
- Agility in decision-making
[26:47] - What sets Gilgamesh Ventures apart?
- Support with Fintech Leaders Podcast content
- A community of fintech founders and investors
- Understanding how you can help and how you cannot
- Miguel’s partner’s role as founder of his own startup
[29:55] - Startup valuations
- Valuations have started to come down for Series C companies and beyond
- Gilgamesh Ventures invests in startups at the initial stage
- The construction of the investment portfolio has to make sense

The Future of Fintech

[34:04] - Interesting fintech verticals
- 80% of Gilgamesh Ventures’ portfolio is made up of B2B startups
- Corporate financial services (B2B)
- Solutions for SMEs and startups
- Financial technology infrastructure
- “Fintechs for fintechs” solutions
[39:06] - Financial innovation with fintech
- It is better to specialize than to offer many services
- The largest fintechs have more coverage by offering multiple financial products
[42:45] - Is raising capital a competitive advantage for LatAm fintechs?
- Fintech is an extremely regulated sector
- Fintech products must meet many quality standards
- To scale in fintech you need to raise capital and build a great team

Tweet Round

[46:39] -
- Recommended book: Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, by Ron Chernow
- Changes in Latin America’s startup ecosystem: give greater importance to the role of Chief People Officer (CPO) in startups
- Investor to interview: Marcelo Lima of Monashees