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DOSSIER Mark Zuckerberg's disaffection invests in startups in latin america

It's been 16 years since the Brazilian Eduardo Saverin lived the most memorable experience of his life when he helped found the social network Facebook, in 2004, with Mark Zuckerberg - until then only a young computer student that Saverin met at Harvard University , where the two studied.
At the time, Saverin invested a few thousand dollars in the venture in exchange for a 30% stake in the business and became responsible for financial management in the early years of the social network. The experience earned the Brazilian the right to own 2% of Facebook shares. Today the value of the papers is enough to make him one of the richest people in the world with an estimated fortune of $14.6 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
The 38-year-old Saverin tries to leave the past behind and look ahead, now helping other novice entrepreneurs create technology companies, just as he did with Facebook. Since 2009, the Brazilian lives in Singapore and in 2015 founded the venture capital firm B Capital Group, along with partner Raj Ganguly, another former Harvard colleague.
B Capital has about $1.4 billion under management and recently raised its second fund, $820 million, in a partnership with the consulting firm Boston Consulting Group. The objective now is to expand operations and seek new investment opportunities around the world. To date, the company has invested in about 30 startups, most of which are based in Asia, Europe or the United States, and has just announced its first investment in Latin America, in the startup Yalochat, in Mexico.
In a rare interview, Saverin spoke exclusively to EXAME TECH MAGAZINE about his experience as an investor, the profile of the companies he is looking to invest in and also his view of the technology market in Brazil and in the world. "I hope not only to build companies that are big in Brazil for the Brazilian market, but to allow entrepreneurs from Brazil, Mexico, Latin America, to build businesses for the world," he said by videoconference, speaking from Singapore. "It is time for Latin America to be the creator of great champion multinationals."
Saverin says he is excited to invest for the first time in a company that has connections with Brazil, a market that he has always looked at with affection. Born in São Paulo, Saverin moved to Miami with his parents when he was 10 and grew up in the United States, but he always maintained a special connection with Brazilian roots.
He avoids talking about Facebook and his years at the company. But he gives his opinion on the criticisms that the technology giants have received in the United States and Europe because of their monopoly power and their action to prevent the emergence of competitors, preventing innovation. In late July, Zuckerberg was asked about the topic at a hearing in Congress.
Saverin tells EXAME TECH MAGAZINE that the more competitors there are in the sector, the better it will be to promote the advancement of the technology industry. But he defends Internet companies, like Facebook, saying that their platforms help promote this competition and innovation. Read below the main parts of the interview.

-What has it been like to work as an investor years after being an entrepreneur on Facebook?
It's been incredible. The possibility of working with entrepreneurs who have a real impact on the world is what moves me. Many people would ask me, since I was so lucky so early in my life, why I don't retire and go to live on the beach. Even, sometimes as a joke, I leave a photo of a beach in my Zoom background image (laughs). But the reality is that I really prefer to work with an entrepreneur who is building the next big technological revolution, like Yalochat, the startup we are investing in now.
The company is rebuilding from scratch the way large companies interact - both with consumers and with their distributors or intermediaries. This is gigantic. It is a tool that allows small businesses and large companies to accelerate their sales and improve customer service. It's a win-win for the world. And it allows traditional companies that are not in the technology industry to have technological advantages.

-Is this the first company to invest in Latin America with its B Capital fund?
Yes. It is the first Latin American company in which we invest. I have a tremendous passion for both Brazil and Latin America, as a whole. And over time we hope to do more and more in the region, meeting with entrepreneurs and making partnerships. And I hope not only to build companies that are big in Brazil for the Brazilian market, but to allow entrepreneurs from Brazil, Mexico, Latin America, to build businesses for the world. As in the case of Yalochat, is there any reason why this type of tool does not apply to India or the United States or Africa or anywhere else in the world? The answer is clearly no. It is time for Latin America to be the creator of great champion multinationals. I hope that I can humbly be a supporter of the entrepreneurs who do this. We at B Capital aim to invest in people who want to create truly international companies.

-His company B Capital raised a second $820 million fund in June. Is the investment in Yalochat the first of this new fund?
No. We have already made other investments as well. We publicly announce that we have more than $ 1 billion under management. And we have partnered with many entrepreneurs in the world. This is the first, however, that marks the beginning of the company in Latin America. We are getting closer and closer to where I was born, which excites me a lot. But we invest in multiple companies around the world.

-How is the investment in Yalochat aligned with the new fund's strategy?
It is deeply and intrinsically aligned. At the center of what we do is what I described earlier. We invest with a global lens. The world of innovation has no borders, no walls. It is possible to have an idea anywhere, as Javier Mata, from Yalochat had in Latin America, and to be successful in India or another country. Second, we believe it is important to help companies to be more agile. And our fund has a partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a major global consultancy that works daily with the largest companies on the planet.
We work together so that our companies can accelerate growth. In the end, a startup's biggest difficulty is not necessarily building a product. It is to conquer the market. Conquer large customers and escalate quickly. The idea is to take advantage of our internal team and our partnership with BCG to help startups get there a little faster. And what is interesting is that we like to invest in entrepreneurs who would do phenomenally well on their own. Being very humble and realistic, Yalochat would be successful regardless of our investment. We are just part of that journey.

-What is the profile of startups and founders you are looking for?
I like to invest in entrepreneurs who are so passionate about what they do that they would be willing to do their best to get what they want. Someone who is intensely focused on solving a problem that your company proposes to solve. They are willing to continue to pursue this in the long run. And the entrepreneur's ethics is also important. Second, it is the type of team that the founder is bringing. Sometimes there are phenomenal founders who are not so willing to build a strong team around them. Of course, we think about technology and the market.
We tend to invest in leading startups. There are markets that are large enough to have two or three highly successful companies. But our tendency is to try to support the leader. And, as I said before, it must also be someone who does not intend to build a company only for the local market. We believe that we need to focus on what we are good at, which is to have a global first.

-What is still missing to have more of your investments in Brazil and Latin America?
We are very interested in investing more and more in the region. Of course, we make one investment at a time and focus. Right now we are focused on this partnership with Yalochat. And so we will learn continuously. As much as I am Brazilian, I look at Brazil, from an investor's point of view, without any presumption of thinking that I know what I'm doing.
We want to know the market, we want to learn. And, of course, as we learn from entrepreneurs in the region, we will start placing bets. Our philosophy - and perhaps I was created that way - is to learn from experience. We will keep your ears ready to listen. And I think that, for me, I would not be complete as an investor if I had not placed Brazil and Latin America as a part of the world in which I have a lot of emphasis. Over time, I hope to see an evolution. But let's do it humbly and slowly.

-At the beginning of the year, it was thought that it would be more difficult to raise capital in 2020 because of the pandemic, but it seems that it has not necessarily been so. How have you seen the venture capital market after Covid-19?
Of course, on a broader level there is a hesitation from investors. Whenever there is a major macroeconomic impact on the world - and in this case it is not only macroeconomic, but personally impacts each individual and society, in a transversal way - there is a retraction. But the venture capital industry is almost always prepared to understand the changes, persevere and leave the other side with a positive outcome.
First, it becomes possible to distinguish between companies that are financially secure from those that have a strategy of growing at all costs, without a good structure. This helps to push the ecosystem in the right direction to grow sustainably. Second, the covid-19 pandemic has triggered the trigger for digital adoption worldwide. The digital medium was practically what kept companies going. And with that came phenomenal growth opportunities. Of course, I don't like to think of the pandemic as an opportunity to make money. But I hope that we will help to create a positive impact on the world from this experience. The entire industry will continue to invest. It will depend and vary according to the DNA of each of the venture capital companies.

-In the United States, major technology companies, including Facebook, have been criticized for acting like monopolies, buying potential competitors and hindering innovation. How have you seen this debate?
I think the big tech companies are looking to be innovative. And in my view they have helped to create innovation in the market. The more competitors there are, the more innovation tends to emerge and the better the industry in general. And more companies in the industry tend to grow. I know that sounds counterintuitive. But competition keeps companies in the lead and also helps them innovate. In fact, I believe that there is a competitive environment in the world of technology today.
I can't speak for all companies, of course. I speak out of any of the big companies. But I believe that they want to encourage competition. Because most companies are at heart platforms. Since the early days of Facebook, the idea was to open its platform and allow other companies to gain projection and engagement. And in the case of Yalochat, the company uses a very established messaging platform, which is WhatsApp. So these companies are better at allowing startups like Yalochat to emerge and succeed. Its platform approach allows the longevity of the business model.

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