ArpexCapital

Dream, People, Culture

Weekly News May 27, 2011

Filed under News by

 

Brazil:  

  • Dafiti, a Brazilian Zappos, launched recently.  Consumers buy clothes and shoes online and can exchange them or receive their money back within 30 days.  The closest competitor Netshoes had sales over R$ 200MM in 2010.

o   http://bit.ly/lcNM1Z

  • Cielo bought Braspag (100%), a payment solutions and financial services firm, from the Silivio Santos Group.  Braspag’s value was not released.  Braspag is used for about 65% of the e-commerce transacted in Brazil. The move increases Cielo portfolio and power in the space.

o   http://glo.bo/k1SSK8

  • Redpoint Ventures & General Catalyst invested $17.8 MM in Viaja.net, an online travel company. The company had sales over $30 MM in 2010 and employs over 120 people. The funds will expand product offering, improve site experience, and advance growth plans.

o   http://bit.ly/iwq8WJ 

o   http://bit.ly/kchqiF

  • FINEP is hosting its first Angels Workshop. It aims to teach investors the necessary knowledge and tools for prospecting, valuating, negotiating, and choosing an investment. The event is May 27, at the BM&F Bovespa auditorium.

o   http://bit.ly/l81SlK

  • On June 8th and 9th, Manaus will host the Second International Innovation Workshop of Amazonas.  It is free to the public and aims to incentivize innovation in companies and to unite business with universities and research firms.

o   http://bit.ly/izmaZk

  • Parana-FIEP is promoting a contest: Challenge C2i Innovative Entrepreneurs.  The mission of the contest is to get entrepreneurs to use business plans as a tool for raising funds. The prizes include R$ 25K in funding, R$ 100K in consulting, advancement to national contests, and more.

o   http://bit.ly/m3gB9L

 

United States:

  • Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and J.P. Morgan Chase have launched services that let people use their checking accounts to send each other money with an e-mail address or cellphone number, taking aim at Paypal and its peers. Currently the service is free.

o   http://on.wsj.com/ikHoBM

  • Kohort revealed that it is a community and group management platform. Kohort’s structure is ideal for hierarchical groups. Kohort’s revenue comes from sponsored groups and premium groups. The first sponsor is American Express OPEN Forum. 

o   http://bit.ly/kqG2B3

o   http://tcrn.ch/iiscnT

  • Google launched Google Wallet, a digital wallet that allows people to make purchases and get deals (Google Deals integration) by using their smartphones at the the point of sale in San Francisco and New York City.  Google receives revenue only from adverting and its Offers discount system.

o   http://on.wsj.com/iCJxS1

  • Accel Partners led a $12 MM round for Supercell, a year old Finnish social gaming company.  The company is focused on making games that are bigger in scope than most social for a more hardcore audience.

o   http://bit.ly/mM2DuP

  • Multiple sources indicate that Zynga is ready to file for an IPO next week.

o   http://bit.ly/jktxhE

  • Ron Conway’s SV Angels has entered into a formal partnership with Lerer Ventures in New York to invest in one another’s deals.  The funds are still separate and everything is still at the entrepreneur’s discretion. 

o   http://tcrn.ch/ksDMwN

  • Groupon and Foursquare are considering a distribution deal.  Groupon deals would be targeted to Foursquare’s check-ins. This would utilize Groupon’s strength at recruiting customers and Foursquare’s strength at building loyalty and retaining customers.

o   http://bit.ly/kVBXHn

  • DFJ backed Altly is trying to become an alternative to Facebook.  Poor Facebook privacy controls and on overblown social graph are the official motivators for its creation.

o   http://tcrn.ch/jmwj0L

  • ProjectSlice launched this week after raising $9.4 MM in a Series A led by DCM and Lightspeed Venture Partners.  The company aims to help users organize their online shopping by analyzing their inbox.  It is a currently available as a free app for Yahoo Mail.

o   http://tcrn.ch/kpkP5f

 

VC/Industry:

 

  • Eduardo Vassimon and Fernando Reinach have founded a VC fund named Pitanga. with R$ 100MM from eight total investors.  The fund seeks to invest in 10-20 companies in any sector. Reinach is a biologist so med tech could become a focus.

·         http://bit.ly/mO3oXQ

  • Redpoint Ventures & General Catalyst’s recent investment in Brazil (see Brazil section) highlights the growing trend of American VCs getting serious about Brazilian VC. The biggest challenge cited is finding experienced local talent in a small entrepreneurial and venture community.

·         http://bit.ly/iwq8WJ 

·         http://tcrn.ch/jwN70k

  • TinyCo (mobile gaming), backed by Andreessen Horowitz launched a new $5 MM investment fund, TinyFund, to help support mobile game developers. TinyFund will give up to $500K per title.

·         http://tcrn.ch/iDcgJG

 

May 27, 2011 at 14:10 Comments (0)

Some Tips for Gringos

Filed under Brazilian Venture Capital, posts, Random Posts by

 
I once got advice from a successful businessman in Rio Grande do Sul: Leave business in Brazil to Brazilians.
 
I haven’t taken his advice, although there is a lot of wisdom in it. I guess I like to do things the hard way and, anyway, since I love Brazil and my wife and kids are dual citizens, I’m involved in this country no matter what.
 
The businessman’s point, however, is well-taken: business in Brazil is indirect, complex and multi-layered. Each of those layers represent ways to lose money. 
 
Some Gringos ask, “Can’t you just get a good lawyer to navigate?” Not really. You need a good lawyer, yes, but you also need a good and honest business partner, a good and honest accountant and a willingness to be present and vigilant yourself.
 
Few people can find that combination, which makes doing business here highly risky. On the other hand, for those who do find those resources, their businesses operate in a fertile market with high barriers to entry.
 
Even if one overcomes the bureaucratic/structural challenges to doing business in Brazil, however, cultural differences present a persistent challenge.  So I am going to highlight a few historical/cultural differences that may help Americans to better understand Brazil and vice versa. (Unfortunately, since I have not done business in other than those two countries, I cannot include, e.g., Europe and Asia in the comparison).
 
·      Both the US and Brazil are immigrant countries but the two “melting pots” have produced different cultural outputs.  
 
Anglo-Saxon religious refugees founded the US, while Portuguese monarchs founded Brazil. The former brought Protestantism, capitalism and a suspicion of centralized authority – religious or governmental – to the US. The latter brought a strong Catholic culture, suspicion of individualism and profit-seeking, and centralized authority to Brazil. 
 
These differences remain important. In Brazil, businesspeople, even young entrepreneurs, must overcome societal suspicion of individualism and profit. In the US, businesspeople and especially entrepreneurs get cultural support, often to the point of hero worship (see, e.g., Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg).
 
Anyway, don't flaunt wealth, or a desire to attain it, in Brazil. A little humility goes a long way.
 
·      Despite historical differences, the popular cultures of the two countries have converged. 
 
American movies, TV, music and even sports are extremely popular here.  I am still, after many years, surprised by the pervasiveness of US pop culture in Brazil.
 
At the same time, Brazilian culture has increasingly strong influence in the US. For example, Brazilian cuisine, sports, fashion (and fashion models) have a strong cache in America right now.
 
More generally, both countries have strong “consumer cultures”, both are heavy online and mobile users and both are early-adopters of new technologies.
 
These cultural similarities between the US and Brazil have a big impact on venture capital, as a given startup can potentially address the market in both countries (see, e.g. Foursquare) . In addition, a business idea in one country can be cloned in the other (see, e.g. Peixe Urbano).
 
At the same time, a business in one country can fall victim to a competitor from the other (see, e.g., several Brazilian startup competitors to LinkedIn that will not survive). Keep that in mind and check to see what competitors in the other country are doing.
 
·      In Brazil, historically, the far left is seen as a liberator, the right as a threat.  In the US, the far left is seen as the greatest threat.
 
To be honest, I am not sure how to draw the direct connection between this point and business, much less venture capital but I feel it is deeply important to understand.
 
Many Brazilians have not forgotten that, during the Cold War, the US often aligned itself with brutal right-wing dictators in Latin America; a lingering resentment remains and can easily be connected to a separate perception of Americans as arrogant and spoiled.
 
On the other hand, most Americans believe we fought the Cold War, at the risk of nuclear annihilation, to preserve liberty against a totalitarian ideology.  For many Americans, seeing a hammer and sickle on political campaign commercials (which happens regularly in Brazil) is equivalent to seeing a swastika.
 
This divergent political history heavily impacts the relationship between Brazil and the US and between individual Brazilians and Americans.  I guess I hope that, by understanding our mutual histories – why we think the way we do – Americans and Brazilians can sympathize with each other and overcome differences.
 
More generally, by understanding basic cultural similarities and differences, we can do business more successfully with each other.
May 23, 2011 at 06:53 Comments (4)

Weekly News May 20, 2011

Filed under News by

 
Brazil
 
·     ArpexCapital became a partner in Site Blindado. Site Blindado said that the move consolidates Site Blindado as the leading web security company in e-commerce and structured to act in new markets such as Latin America.
o   http://bit.ly/kaE12A
 
·     On June 15th there will be a Startup Meeting in Rio de Janeiro. It is promoted by Assespro-RJ and Cemp (of PUC-RJ). NascenTI will be the VC speaker with Gustavo Reis of HelpSaude as the entrepreneur speaker.
o   http://bit.ly/m8YfD8
 
·     The growth of Facebook may bury Orkut; as part of Google’s defense of Orkut, the social network has changed its logo. It is more “mature, daring, and thicker”.
o   http://bit.ly/kv4pwr
 
·     The Startup Lessons Learned Conference in San Francisco will be available via live video stream in eight Brazilian cities: Floranopolis, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Recife, Brasilia, and Belo Horizonte.
o   http://bit.ly/iFBDDt
 
 
United States
 
·     The LinkedIn IPO was the news of the week; the company doubled in value in its first day of trading, signaling strong investor appetite for social media companies.
o   http://bit.ly/kZkgCQ
 
·     Eventbrite raised a $50MM round led by Tiger GlobalCore. The money will go to growing the startup's product and engineering teams; spreading Eventbrite's reach internationally–roughly 20% of its sales come from outside the U.S. already; ramping up its customer service and support efforts for ticket sales; and lastly, acquisitions.
o   http://bit.ly/mdnSSY
 
·     Sequoia Capital led a $3MM Series A round for Onavo. Onavo provides data management apps for smartphones and tablets. It essentially compresses the data to save consumers on their data plans.
o   http://bit.ly/m8r2xd
 
·     Insight Venture Partners led a $31MM round for Dealfind. It is a Groupon rival in 40 US and 28 Canadian cities. The funding will allow further expansion.
o   http://bit.ly/iQJepe
 
·     Uma has raised $1.1MM from various European investors.   Uma has released new semantic web (Web 3.0 tech) technology, specifically a display product for digital content.
o   http://bit.ly/iYZ0Gu
 
·     Zynga bought San Francisco-based DNA Games, Zynga’s 14th acquisition in the last year. The DNA team will form the core of a studio creating new games.
o   http://tcrn.ch/kTIVL4
 
·     Jibe raised $6MM in a Series A round. The social recruiting company leverages, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter for finding the best jobs. The funds are for personnel, expansion, and product development.
o   http://tcrn.ch/iuB0tf
 
·     Zarrly has launched. It is a real time Web and mobile location based platform that uses itself, Facebook, and Twitter to be a local commerce facilitator. Cash or the Zarrly integrated payment system.
o   http://rww.to/mTqq3k
 
·     BilltoMobile is now global with over 200 mobile carriers in 60 countries. The company is a mobile payments provider that has partnered up with leading mobile payment companies to expand in a fragmented market.
o   http://t.co/XeUB902
 
 
Industry Trends & News
 
·     Khosla Ventures is raising $1B for its fourth fund (the same size as its third fund).
o   http://tcrn.ch/iCHJhf
 
·     According to MasterCard’s survey, 63% of 18 to 34 year olds would be comfortable using mobile phones to make purchases. This is an improvement from last year, validating more moves toward Near Field Communication (NFC).
o   http://rww.to/iSKZi5
 
·     SAP AG has placed mobile apps at the center of its new growth strategy. SAP is launching a revised Sybase platform and 19 mobile business apps.
o   http://on.wsj.com/kUHpTV
 
 
 
 
May 20, 2011 at 06:41 Comments (0)

Weekly News May 14, 2011

Filed under News by

 
Brazil:
      
·       UOL, the principal portal in Brazil, bought a majority stake in Boa Compra, an electronic payments tool specifically designed for games. This adds to UOL’s stakes in the electronic payment market as it already owns PagSeguro.
o   http://bit.ly/lljUI1
 
·       Brazilian startup Organizze hired Fabio Seixas (founder of Camiseteria) and is the inaugural deal for StartupBase Ofertas (see Weekly News May 6). The company is a Brazilian Mint.com.
o   http://bit.ly/lflMBE
 
·       At FEEC (Computer Electric Engineering College) in Campinas there is a Startup Weekend. The purpose of the event is to energize and strengthen the regional ecosystem. Speakers and one minute company pitches will drive the event.
o   http://bit.ly/iJSp6G
o   http://bit.ly/kgDz3E
 
·       Dr. Leandro de Lemos of PUCRS (University in Rio Grande do Sul) has launched EDGE, a new investment fund for emerging companies that is based in TechnoPUC, an incubator.
o   http://bit.ly/jmGy0i
 
United States:
 
 ·     Cake Health is a startup aspiring to be the ‘Mint for health insurance’. The service plans to recommend insurance plans, monitor claims, and recommend certain health services. It is still in private beta, as it attempts to work through the highly fragmented healthcare landscape.
o   http://tcrn.ch/kV9HTd
 
·       Claratics, cloud-based analytics firm, has raised $1.5M. The company provides a suite of social analytics applications that essentially organizes and prioritizes the mountains of social data companies have on their consumers. The company will soon switch from private beta to open.
o   http://tcrn.ch/iSZfZD
 
·       Gobble launched its Bay Area beta this week. The company creates an online marketplace linking consumers to the best neighborhood chefs. The company has raised $1.2M from Greylock’s angel fund (led by Reid Hoffman) and others as it expands.
o   http://mwne.ws/kgpAfA
 
·       Tabbedout has raised $5.75M from New Enterprise Associates. The Austin company developed an app that lets users view and pay bar and restaurant tabs via a smartphone. The app is free and expanding.
o   http://bit.ly/iT0Xm0
 
·       Pageonce, a mobile finance app, closed $15M in a round led by Morgenthaler Ventures. The service is similar to Mint, but it has more of a budgeting focus.
o   http://bit.ly/iK97Ag
 
·       Branchout, the professional networking service for Facebook raised $18M in Series B funding.   Branchout does permit “professional profile” to avoid too much overlap between the professional social graph and the personal social graph.
o   http://bit.ly/jSeTeg
 
·       OpenTable co-founder Chuck Templeton has launched OhSoWe. OhSoWe is an online version of a block association, a network for neighborhoods. For now, the site lacks Facebook integration.
o   http://tcrn.ch/jyjJqp
 
Venture Capital Industry:
  
    ·   The National Broadband Plan has failed to be significantly realized in Brazil up to this point, with multiple setbacks. No municipalities have been linked to the public high speed internet. The first six cities slated to be linked: Brasilia, Samambaia, Pirineus, Bandeirantes, Morrinhos.
o   http://bit.ly/lIn4Hx
 
·       ComScore revealed that 7.1% of the entire US mobile phone population uses check-in services. Check-in usage is much more common with smartphones and is expected to rise as smartphone use grows and the early adopter segment matures.
o   http://rww.to/mBENuW
 
·       Y Combinator has accepted an unusually large group, 60 startups, for its summer round of investments.
o   http://bit.ly/iGOQJk
 
·       Venture Capital has shifted from business-oriented tech startups to consumer oriented. Consumer Tech investments tripled while business oriented investments rose less than 25%. 
o   http://on.wsj.com/k674Aa
May 14, 2011 at 12:54 Comments (0)

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