Eric Perez Grovas, Wollef | Leaving McKinsey for Mercado Libre, the MBA Question, and Lessons from Investing in Nubank

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

Eric Perez Grovas decided to go work at McKinsey because of the chance to receive a scholarship to study for a master’s in the United States. But, 2 weeks after finishing his MBA, he quit McKinsey to become the first employee in Mexico of a startup just getting started in the year 2000, Mercado Libre.

Today, Eric is cofounder and partner at Wollef Ventures, an early-stage startup investment fund that has invested in companies such as Nubank, Kavak, and Konfio.

In this episode, we talk about:

How he makes investment decisions and the mistakes he has made in the past
What the best founders in his portfolio do when selling and recruiting talent

Thanks to Cristobal Perdomo, Luis Garza, and David Noel for their help preparing this interview. I learned a lot from my conversation with Eric, and I hope you enjoy it too.

Youtube Timestamps*

[1:01] - Career and MBA

How did he arrive at the fascinating world of startups?
Why did the possibility of doing an MBA mean so much to him?
Does Eric consider doing an MBA good preparation for founding a company?
What went through his head when he quit McKinsey to join Mercado Libre as the first employee and Country Manager in Mexico?

[10:00] - Lessons from Mercado Libre

What did he see in Mercado Libre that convinced him to leave McKinsey to join Mercado Libre?
What led him to make the decision to leave Mercado Libre after 3 years?
Why does Eric believe it took Mexico approximately a decade, compared with Brazil, to reach the digital wave?
How did Eric feel in 2007, when Mercado Libre goes public and he becomes, probably, one of the first Mexicans who sees his shares as an employee of a startup turn into a sum of money that “changes your life”? Was it a surprise, or was he already aware of the value of his shares in the company?
How does he recommend that a professional evaluate which startup to work at, and how to negotiate their compensation in shares, knowing there are unicorns whose shares have lost their value significantly?
What were the most important lessons Eric took from his time at Mercado Libre?
Why is it hard to find talent in Mexico?

[30:04] - Lessons from VC

How would Eric say that the image of his mom, being his main inspiration for entrepreneurship, has influenced what he looks for in a founder?
In what has he made a mistake, or what has he changed his mind about, when evaluating a person?
How does Eric think about the balance between the ability to sell and the ability to execute, especially in the current market with a more limited supply of capital?
What does Eric review in a founder’s Excel?
What has he seen the best founders in his portfolio do when recruiting talent? Knowing that Eric has invested in founders such as David Vélez of Nubank and David Arana of Konfío, whom he describes as “talent collectors”.
How does he advise a founder on having more focus? What does a focused company do versus one that is not?
What does he call a “good” investment decision process and a “bad” one? Knowing that they could have invested in Rappi and Cornershop, but the decisions to pass were correct with the information they had at that moment. Passing on Bitso, on the other hand, was a mistake, and the decision process failed.
Does he regret anything as a startup investor? What would he change or do differently?
How does he think about valuations at the early stage?

[55:02] Rapid-Fire Round

If Eric had the chance to go back to the night before starting Wollef, what would be the main piece of advice he would give himself?
What has been the most influential book on his path through the world of startups?
What would he like to change about the world of startups in Latin America?