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The Latin American Startup Opportunity | Sequoia Capital US/Europe

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Just over a decade ago, a bright young MBA student from Stanford walked into Sequoia’s offices on Sand Hill Road and fervently articulated the opportunity for startups in Latin America. That student was David Vélez. We were immediately taken by David’s presence, ambition, and intelligence, and hired him to chart out a course for Sequoia in Latin America. Having grown up in Colombia, David viscerally understood the opportunity ahead in Latin America: while the real economy was rife with problems, the digital economy held enormous potential, supported by some of the highest rates of internet penetration and social media engagement globally. However, as David dug in and met dozens of startups in the region, he gradually reached an uncomfortable conclusion: despite the compelling market opportunity, the startup ecosystem was underwhelming. Most founders weren’t thinking big. They were importing “X for LatAm” ideas from the U.S., without solving real local problems. There wasn’t enough tech

The Latin American Startup Opportunity We believe LatAm is the ideal setting for the internet economy to disrupt the real economy. By Sonya Huang Published July 7, 2021 Just over a decade ago, a bright young MBA student from Stanford walked into Sequoia’s offices on Sand Hill Road and fervently articulated the opportunity for startups in Latin America. That student was David Vélez. We were immediately taken by David’s presence, ambition, and intelligence, and hired him to chart out a course for Sequoia in Latin America. Having grown up in Colombia, David viscerally understood the opportunity a

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