If you're Brazilian or have lived in Brazil but you've never heard of Dr. Consulta, you've probably been living under a rock. So many people in the world don't have access to healthcare plans, and this is definitely the case in Brazil.Over a decade ago, Thomaz Srougi started working on this problem. And now, Dr. Consulta has already supported over 6 million Brazilians. Thomaz recently embarked on a new startup journey to disrupt healthcare once again. With the help of artificial intelligence and backed by a16z, Carecode is a personal assistant for those who already have health insurance.But to every A side, there's also a B side. This episode wouldn't be a masterclass on how to build a startup serving large and complex markets in LatAm without Thomaz sharing both ups and downs. As many who have attempted to build world-changing startups know, it's now always that you see hockey-stick growth in your first two years – but things can suddenly fire up with the right approach. What you'll hear in this episode:– Why Thomaz entered the startup and health worlds;– How he views building in the US vs building in LatAm; – The challenges faced at the beginning of Dr. Consulta, including how Thomaz worked through its initial growth problem;– Thomaz's view on traditional healthcare and the challenge of making preventive care a habit;– Thomaz's new healthcare startup built with the help of artificial intelligence, Carecode;– And the gaps and opportunities he still sees in LatAm healthtech.I'm Gina Gotthilf and this is the Latitud Podcast. Vamos, LatAm!Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Download Atlantico’s Latin America Digital Report 2024: https://www.atlantico.vcThe new edition of Atlantico’s Latin America Digital Report is out today — and it’s all about how LatAm does it best when it comes to creating winners in tech.Ana Martins, Julio Vasconcellos, and I sat down and chatted about the biggest findings from the report, and what they mean for founders and investors in the region. Mercado Libre, iFood, and Nubank are just the beginning for Latin America. What you’ll hear in this episode:— What changed in this year’s Atlantico Digital Transformation Index;— Why LatAm does it best, and how regional constraints affect this in the middle to long term;— What made the big three in LatAm: Mercado Libre, Nubank, and iFood;— How and why venture capital investors in LatAm have outsized returns;— How artificial intelligence development and adoption has been growing in the region;— What surprised Ana and Julio the most as they finished the report.My name’s Brian Requarth and this is the Latitud Podcast. Vamos, LatAm!Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Lautaro Schiaffino and Ezequiel Sculli are two startup founders with a clear mission: enabling small and medium businesses to compete with players of all sizes. Working with these SMBs for over a decade in Latin America, they've conquered both an exit and a new frontier to work on: artificial intelligence. Darwin AI brings companies not only software, but an employee capable of making decisions that'll boost their sales.Darwin AI has raised 2.5 million dollars with investors, Latitud included, and it's on its way to processing over a million conversations by the end of the year. In this episode, Lautaro gives a masterclass on creating an AI-first startup and seeing the real challenges and opportunities for artificial intelligence in LatAm. What you'll hear in this episode:– The start of Lautaro's journey supporting SMBs with Sirena;– The creation and traction of Darwin AI;– How to train AI to become like an employee;– Where's the sweet spot in LatAm between AI foundational models x integration tools x applications;– The constant discussion of building either horizontal or vertical solutions;– What is the Meta Sandwich and why it matters;– Darwin AI's go-to-market strategy, inc. biggest value delivered and biggest challenge;– What's next for Darwin AI;– And what makes Lautaro the most excited about building in AI and supporting SMBs across LatAm.I'm your host Tomas Roggio, and this is the Latitud Podcast. Vamos LatAm!Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

The Latitud Podcast is back with a new season — but that’s not all. We’re entering a new phase: Tomas Roggio will join me, Brian Requarth, as we uncover the playbooks used by founders and investors transforming Latin America. We hope you’ll leave each episode with a new approach to take your startup to 0, 1, and beyond.We couldn’t have found a better first guest than André Penha — the computer scientist who saw metrics that were better than he ever forecasted when he co-founded and became the CTO of Quinto Andar.In the beginning, you only have a dream. So you’ll have to take the lead and do things that don’t scale, just like André did. Now, Quinto Andar has over forty thousand active listings. Every three minutes, there's a new property ad on their website. This chat was a masterclass in how to build an exceptional product from scratch and scale through excellent user experience. What you'll hear in this episode:– The early days of André Penha and Quinto Andar;– Doing things that don't scale: a necessity for initial traction;– Impactful product tweaks for user acquisition and retention;– Optimizing unit economics and dealing with investor skepticism;– Finding partners and overcoming resistance between incumbents;– AI as an exception handler;– Building IPO-readiness;– Which startup André would build if he were to start today.I'm Brian Requarth and this is the Latitud Podcast. Vamos, LatAm!Building good sh*t in Latin America? Learn about how Latitud can help you at latitud.com Discover and pitch Latitud Ventures, your partner from 0 to 1 and beyond Sign up for our weekly newsletter for founder insights and some tough love And follow us on Linkedin / Instagram / Spotify to stay in the loop

Over a decade ago, Matias Recchia created a startup to take home maintenance services online. IguanaFix expanded across Latin America, and eventually attracted the Brazilian unicorn Madeira Madeira.After the sale, Matias dived into a new challenge: bringing more efficiency to the US real estate market. Keyway uses data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to improve how Americans manage investments in commercial properties.In this episode, Matias and I talk about:— Whether it's harder to operate a startup in LatAm or the US;— His company-building lessons, including how to efficiently use AI in your startup;— And how to divide roles between co-founders.My name's Brian Requarth and this is the Latitud Podcast. Vamos, LatAm!Building good sh*t in Latin America?Find out how to pen your startup the right wayRequest early access to the Meridian international business account Or simply sign up for our newsletter for more content on navigating the LatAm startup ecosystem.Follow us on Linkedin / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify.

AI has been the talk of the town for a while. But have you seen it in your run-of-the-mill bank yet? Well, Hyperplane is changing that.About a dozen banks in Brazil are already getting all the information they have, running it by the startup's artificial intelligence, and then predicting customer behavior and building personalized experiences.The startup finally came out of stealth a few weeks ago, with a USD 6M round to boot. We're over the moon about being early investors in Hyperplane and participating in this new round as well.In this episode, co-founder Rohan Ramanath and I talk about:The problems Hyperplane is solving through artificial intelligence;The benefits of taking your time to learn and develop your startup;What companies investing in AI often overlook, and how the convergence between AI and fintech will play out in the next few years.My name's Brian Requarth and this is the Latitud Podcast. Vamos, LatAm!Building good sh*t in Latin America?Find out how to pen your startup the right wayRequest early access to the Meridian international business account Or simply sign up for our newsletter for more content on navigating the LatAm startup ecosystem.Follow us on Linkedin / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify.