The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.
For Latin Americans, it is still hard to dream of creating global companies, because we are not used to seeing examples in our day to day, unlike other countries.
But this is a limiting belief that several Latin founders have torn down over the last 20 years.
One of them is Ricardo Villadiego, CEO and cofounder of Lumu Technologies, a startup that lets companies measure cybersecurity risks in real time and, to date, has raised more than 17 million dollars from investors such as Panoramic Ventures, Forgepoint Capital, Softbank, Simma Capital, and AVP Ventures.
We talked about recent advances in the cybersecurity industry and how he created a product that responds to those needs. We also talked about how to design a successful B2B sales process, product-led growth, and pricing. Toward the end, Ricardo told us how he overcame his own limiting beliefs about the possibility of creating a global company from Colombia.
Youtube Timestamps*
[1:37] - Intro to Cybersecurity
-
How did Ricardo arrive at the fascinating world of startups?
-
What makes a company vulnerable, and who is responsible for preventing attacks?
-
Before starting a company, Ricardo spent about 15 years working in computer security. What was the cybersecurity industry like when he saw it for the first time?
-
How did the pandemic change the cybersecurity industry, and how did that affect Lumu’s initial conception?
[19:35] - Go to Market and B2B Sales
-
Ricardo’s first company served corporate customers. At Lumu they serve smaller or mid-sized companies, which can try and buy the product directly on its website. What are the advantages of both sales models, and what were the business reasons that led Ricardo to choose a product-led growth model for Lumu?
-
What characteristics must a product have in order to generate adoption effectively (as opposed to a product that is sold through a representative)?
-
What is the role of the sales team in a product-led growth strategy, and how do they complement each other?
-
What has Ricardo learned about how to do “good” pricing, and at what moment does price discipline become key? What are the risks of not doing it?
[37:28] - Lessons from a Serial Entrepreneur
-
In past interviews, Ricardo mentions that Latin Americans are not used to dreaming of global companies. In the early stages of a startup, what decisions are key to being able to build a global company in terms of team, culture, mindset, and so on?
-
Ricardo commented that people told him that, in cybersecurity, technology could only come from developed countries. How did he overcome this pressure and these limiting beliefs? And more importantly, how did he pass that on to his team?
[43:39] - Rapid-Fire Questions
-
If he had to start a company from scratch, what is the main piece of advice Ricardo would give himself?
-
What has been the most influential book on Ricardo’s path through the world of startups?
-
Changes Ricardo would like to see in Latin America’s startup ecosystem
Episode Mentions
You can find Ricardo on LinkedIn
Recommended books: Inside the Tornado by Geoffrey A. Moore & What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith
Discover More from the Startupeable Podcast
Listen to every episode at startupeable.com/podcast.
Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when a new one comes out.
Follow Enzo Cavalie on X: @enzocavalie.