“Talent has no ZIP code.” In a recent interview, our CEO, Laura González-Estéfani, shared her passion for investing in founders outside the usual tech hubs—a mission at the heart of TheVentureCity. 🌍 Laura discussed the importance of backing entrepreneurs where they are, ensuring talented teams can build impactful companies in their own communities. She also highlighted her interest in under-the-radar sectors like life sciences and agriculture: “I’m fascinated by unsexy, old, not-yet-disrupted industries.” Thank you to Walter Thompson for this inspiring conversation!
Laura González-Estéfani founded a startup in Spain that led her to growth roles at eBay and Facebook in Silicon Valley. In 2016, she moved to Miami to found TheVentureCity, an early-stage VC firm that seeks out entrepreneurs working outside major tech hubs in emerging ecosystems. Our interview touched on a number of topics, including her view that hard-working founders (and early employees) “need to be more liquid” without taking “a 50 percent haircut” in the secondary markets. “They deserve to be able to pay for their mortgages, at least,” said Laura. She also talked about where she’s looking to invest, how she prefers to be pitched, and what happens before and after she takes a discovery meeting with a founder. “I am a huge fan of going for lunch with a founder. I would ask about your vision, your passion, your team,” said Laura. “Are you a talent maximizer? Would I work for this guy or this lady?” #FundBuildScale #Podcast #startups #Tech #SiliconValley #Entrepreneurship #AI #Fundraising #PMF #MVP #PLG #PitchDeck #EarlyStage #Seed #LatAm #LatinAmerica #Miami #TheVentureCity #VentureCapital #VC #Secondary