Sergio Saravia, Remitee | Jumping from Corporate to Founder, and Why Fintechs Don't Grow in LatAm

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

Today I spoke with Sergio Saravia, cofounder and CEO of Remitee, a B2B platform that allows financial institutions to offer international remittances. Remitee generates millions of dollars in revenue and has grown 500% in the last year. It has more than 70 customers, including Santander and some of the largest banks in the region. In addition, they recently managed to reach profitability.

Youtube Timestamps*

[1:13] - Personal Story

Sergio started Remitee to solve a problem his own family faced when he was a child.

Could Sergio tell us about his dad and what he had to do to send money to his family?

In the U.S., people talk a lot about “first gen college students” because of the effort and the challenges that come with it.

Sergio was the first in his family to go to university.

How would Sergio say this has shaped him as a founder, both in strengths and in challenges he has had to overcome?

[15:02] - Transition from Executive to Founder

Sergio resigned from Western Union at 40, as CFO for LatAm, even though they made him a counteroffer to be CEO of the region, in order to go do an MBA with the idea of eventually starting a company.

How does Sergio make a decision of this kind? Was an MBA necessary given the track record he already had?

In LatAm, cases like Sergio’s are rare: executives with long experience and credibility making the jump into starting a company.

Could Sergio tell us more about the personal side of the decision? What mental barriers did he have to overcome to take that last step?

As a good CFO, Sergio planned his transition to founder in a very methodical way, especially around personal and family finances.

What practical tips does Sergio have to ease the transition from executive to founder, especially for professionals with expenses and family responsibilities?
What did Sergio learn during his time as an executive that has helped him as a founder? And the other way around, what has he had to unlearn?

[33:31] - Evolution of the Business Model

Could Sergio give us a quick class on the remittances market? How does it work, who are the players, and what are the biggest problems? Why is it so expensive to send money internationally?

Today, Remitee is B2B software that allows other financial institutions to offer remittances, but they started as an app for sending money.

Could Sergio tell us what Remitee’s initial business was like and what factors led him to the decision to leave the B2C business?

Banks tend, in general, to prefer developing technology internally.

What has Sergio’s experience been selling to large banks?

About the pivot from B2C to B2B, although the underlying technology was similar, it implies significant changes: very different users, an Enterprise product, a different sales strategy, and even the culture.

What was the hardest part of making a pivot of this style? Any lesson on how to handle such a drastic change in strategy?

[49:23] - Fintech Learnings

Sergio has built a very capital-efficient business, comparing the amount of sales with the capital they have raised, in a sector like fintech that is known for being capital intensive.

What are some of the factors that have allowed Sergio to build a business of that size with relatively few resources?