Awesome experience at Stanford University
QuintoAndar + Buildpeer + NuMundo Ventures + Stanford University Last night I was lucky to join Larissa Fontaine and Mauricio Valdes on a panel about property tech and construction tech in Latin America at Nelson Koen's class at Stanford. Larissa is a Silicon Valley veteran having worked at Google for many years and now leads product at QuintoAndar, arguably the most successful proptech in LatAm. Her personal story is very compelling on how she grew up in Illinois, was an elite gymnast, coached for many years, and eventually made her way into the world of technology where she continues to excel. She highlighted the friction involved in renting, buying, and living in homes in Latin America and how technology can play a crucial role in solving these problems. I was very impressed with the scope and ambition of QuintoAndar and the close ties to Stanford given the founders Gabriel Braga and Andre Penha are Stanford University Graduate School of Business grads. Mauricio Valdes is the CEO of Buildpeer, a construction tech company based in Monterrey, MX that helps General Contractors and other builders improve how they collaborate and manage construction projects. I am a proud investor in Buildpeer and it was very impressive to see Mauricio in a different context share his founder story and the opportunity to digitize construction in Latin America. Most importantly, I am extremely grateful to Nelson Koen for giving me the opportunity to attend his class this quarter and present in the final session. It was the first time I have been in a classroom at Stanford in 25 years and it was the highlight of every week for the past few months. I learned a ton, was inspired by the students, and built several new friendships. Stanford is an incredible community that continues to make a big impact on entrepreneurship in LatAm!
