20VC: Why Greed is the #1 Enemy of Venture Returns, Why Not Enough VCs Play to Win and Lessons from Scaling to $100M and 1,200 Employees and Then Cratering with Julio Vasconcellos, Founder @ Atlantico

LATAM Potential

Julio Vasconcellos, founder of Atlantico, highlights the immense potential in the Latin American tech market. He notes that while tech penetration in LATAM is currently low compared to regions like the US and China, it presents a significant opportunity for growth, potentially leading to trillions in value creation over the next decade 1. Julio's commitment to LATAM stems from this long-term vision, as he believes the region will eventually catch up to the tech penetration levels of India and China 1.

We're talking about value creation that's measured in the trillions of dollars.

--- Julio Vasconcellos

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital adoption in LATAM, pushing the region three years ahead in terms of e-commerce and telemedicine, unlike the reversion seen in more developed markets 1.

   

Capital Dynamics

Concerns about growth capital in LATAM are prevalent, but Julio Vasconcellos offers a different perspective. He acknowledges the reduction in crossover funds but emphasizes the presence of dedicated growth capital from global funds with local offices, which he believes is sufficient for the current market size 2. Julio argues that the recent reduction in capital will normalize the market, leading to healthier loss ratios and preventing companies from raising funds indefinitely without progress 2.

The reduction of capital is going to bring us to something that looks much more like, I think, the long term averages of loss ratios.

--- Julio Vasconcellos

He also shares his strategy on taking cash off the table, suggesting that selling a small portion of a position can secure returns while maintaining exposure to potential upside 3.