Rodrigo Sánchez-Ríos, La Haus | Proptech in Latin America, Go-to-Market, and Making Decisions [Ep. 12]

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

Buying a house, renting an apartment, or taking out a mortgage are major headaches that we all have to go through. Fortunately, in Latin America proptech companies are emerging, a sector of startups that is using technology to revolutionize all these experiences. One of them is La Haus, a proptech founded by the guest of this episode.

Rodrigo Sánchez-Ríos is cofounder and CFO of La Haus, the Colombian proptech that is digitizing the residential real estate market in Latin America. Before La Haus, Rodrigo was managing partner of Jaguar Capital. At this real estate development fund of 350 million dollars in Colombia, he was able to see up close the problems of the real estate market. La Haus has raised almost 60 million dollars from investors such as Greenspring Associates, NFX, and Kaszek Ventures.

What You Can Learn Today

Opportunities in the Proptech sector in cities in Latin America
Decision-making in times of crisis
Recommendations from an investor for raising capital

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The Proptech Opportunity in Latin America

[2:05] - How did Rodrigo arrive at the world of startups?
- MBA at Stanford and Jaguar Capital
[2:55] - What is La Haus and what problem does it solve within Proptech?
[3:43] - What need existed in the real estate market?
- Lack of mechanisms to democratize access to housing
- Regulation and infrastructure in the U.S. vs LatAm
[6:02] - Comparison of the real estate market of different cities and its influence on the expansion of La Haus
- Cross-cutting problems across all of Latin America
- Lack of trust among players in the real estate market
- Organization of cadastral information: Colombia vs Mexico
- Expansion from Medellín to Bogotá and Mexico City
[10:00] - Problem of the lack of cadastral information
- Government structures
- Restriction of access to information
- Consequences of the lack of available information
- Market network as an alternative solution

Go-to-Market Strategy in Proptech

[12:06] - Why do they focus on new housing as a go-to-market strategy?
- Characteristics of emerging markets
- Experience as real estate developers
- Focus during the first stage of the company
- Scalability of the validation of properties
- Major builders as partners of La Haus
[16:05] - New vs used housing as an entry market
- Importance of the choice of the first market

Decision-Making in Startups

[18:59] - How has the experience at Lehman Brothers in the financial crisis influenced decision-making and risk management within La Haus?
- Permanent vs correctable decisions
- Measures taken during the pandemic
- Modeling of the worst scenarios
[23:34] - Capital allocation
- Financial discipline and awareness of risk
- Ability to say no to attractive opportunities
- Clarity and communication of the objective and the path toward it
- Implications of prioritizing

Investor Mindset for Raising Capital

[27:26] - How did his experience as an investor influence how he raises capital as an entrepreneur?
- Understanding of the motivations and concerns of investors
- Lack of confidence and conviction of Latin American founders
- Importance of people getting to know you and of contrary opinions
[31:57] - What was the process of contacting and convincing Pete Flint, founder of Trulia, to invest in the proptech La Haus like?
- Cold email during Pete’s start at NFX
- In-person knowledge of the La Haus market
[35:26] - Recommendations for finding a “sponsor” like Pete
- Sharing the idea and telling what you do
- Seeking feedback constantly
- Relying on technology for greater reach (Twitter)

Tweet Round

[39:49] -
- Verticals/trends in which Rodrigo would like to see more entrepreneurs: tools that facilitate the accounting and financial management of a regional Latin American startup
- Recommended books: How Will You Measure Your Life, by Clayton M. Christensen
- Changes in the Latin American startup ecosystem: greater diversity and women as leaders of startups and funds
- Entrepreneur to interview: Freddy Vega (Platzi)

Episode Mentions

You can find Rodrigo on Twitter and LinkedIn

Entrepreneurs: Freddy Vega of Platzi

Investors: Pete Flint of NFX

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