Carao Ventures
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Allan openly admits there's 'a lot of BS in the funds stating they are value add' and says VCs should be humble about when to take board seats - in many cases Carao doesn't ask for board seats, preferring to get engaged through other means. This is refreshingly honest for a VC. Allan had no prior venture track record when starting Carao, which was 'even harder to get off the ground,' but managed to build momentum and grow their LP base to 40 members over 3 years. They've had limited exits so far (just 2 portfolio exits, latest being Megabite in March 2024), but they do bring real value through regional market expansion expertise and corporate structures knowledge from their PE backgrounds, plus a strategic alliance with EY. They're betting on an underserved market that could pay off big if Latin America's startup ecosystem matures as expected.
- —Best for: LatAm founders seeking genuine regional expertise and honest partners who don't oversell
- —Watch out for: Limited exit track record and still-developing fund performance metrics
- —Known for: Refreshingly candid approach to value-add and strategic corporate structuring support
Carao Ventures invests in early-stage startups led by founders from or operating in Latin America's small and medium markets, targeting distinctive entrepreneurs that have the creative drive, leadership and execution capacity necessary to tackle the region's most relevant challenges and most ambitious business opportunities. They believe that pretty much every industry in their region is uncompetitive and in severe need of an innovation overhaul, meaning every industry represents tremendous opportunity for value creation, attributable to a lack of smart early-stage venture funding for Latin America's talented entrepreneurs.
Carao has made 10 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $2.24M, 3 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $11.4M, focusing primarily on Spanish-speaking Latin America, with particular interest in Central America, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Their portfolio is diverse across Enterprise Applications, FinTech, Consumer, High Tech and Financial Services, with investments in 26 Tech companies, 21 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 16 Software companies and at least 13 SaaS-focused companies.
Prior to founding Carao Ventures, Allan was an Associate at Mesoamerica Investments, a leading M&A advisory, strategy consulting and private equity firm in Central America and the Andean Region, with previous experience at UBS Wealth Management US. He has a B.Sc. degree in Business Management with concentration in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Babson College. Allan didn't have prior track record in venture when starting Carao, working in Private Equity for 6 years before deciding to help other entrepreneurs rather than starting his own company.
He has invested and worked with early stage startups based in Latin America and US for the past 10 years, with recent experience including companies in the SaaS, consumer software, marketplaces, fintech, and education industries. His background includes roles as Senior Program Manager at Amazon, Innovation Committee Member at GBM, and various board positions including at Böëna Wilderness Lodges. Before founding Carao Ventures, Adrián was Associate at Mesoamerica.
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