Tech Talents LatAm #21
Enter, ex-CTO & Partner at Turbi, ex-Chief of Staff at Educbank, ex-Managing Director & Country Head at Shopee, and much more...
Welcome to Tech Talents! In this newsletter, I share real-time key talent movements in the LatAm tech ecosystem, including founders entering and exiting stealth mode, executive-level movements in unicorns, and partner-level changes in local VC firms.
Before we dive in, here’s a breakdown of what I’ve been reading recently. Feel free to skip directly to this week’s talent movements by clicking here.
A few weeks ago, payment processing giant Stripe released its Annual Letter which includes valuable insights into trends revealed by their data. With a total payment volume now equivalent to 1.3% of global GDP, Stripe has a unique vantage point—not just on the payments industry, but on the broader tech landscape. Notable trends highlighted in the letter include the rapid growth enabled by AI (with Cursor reaching $100M in recurring revenue in just three years), the rise of vertical SaaS (as 60% of US small businesses now rely on such platforms), and how bullish Stripe is on real-world use cases of stablecoins, going as far as acquiring a stablecoin infrastructure provider called Bridge.
Speaking of AI reshaping the status quo, startups emerging from Y Combinator’s acceleration program seem to be raising less money. This trend was evident during the accelerator’s Winter 2025 demo day last week, signaling a potential shift in the tech industry. AI tools are enabling founders to build faster and accomplish more with fewer people/resources, reducing the need for large early stage funding. Alternatively, this decline in funding could reflect increased investor caution amid ongoing liquidity constraints in the market.
The pipeline of US tech IPOs continues to grow, with Klarna being the latest high-profile company to file for a public listing. It joins other notable names, including AI infrastructure provider CoreWeave and telehealth company Hinge Health. Public listings play a crucial role in the venture capital ecosystem, providing liquidity for early investors and Limited Partners while also serving as key valuation benchmarks for portfolio companies and new investments. However, recent market volatility has left investors questioning if and when these IPOs will materialize.
🎊 Startup Launches
Founders who have just publicly announced what they are working on.
Enter
Overview
Startup Description: Enter combines human expertise with AI efficiency to help large companies in Latin America optimize critical, high-volume, manual-intensive processes.
Industry: AI, SaaS
Team Size: 30
Time in Stealth: 1 year, 6 months
Funding Round: $5.5M Seed led by Sequoia Capital with participation from ONEVC and Atlantico | Announcement Post
Founders Profiles
Michael Mac-Vicar - Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer at Enter
Featured as a Stealth Founder in Tech Talents #3 over 7 months ago.
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Top University, Ex-Big Tech, Unicorn Experience
Previous Experience: Ex-CTO and co-founder of Wildlife Studios, ex-Technical Staff Member at Groupon, ex-Energy Acquisition Engineer at Emel, ex-Advisor to the Minister of the Interior at the Ministério do Interior in Chile, former Project Engineer at SHIFT-UC, graduated in Electrical Engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and in Computer Engineering and Operations Research from École Polytechnique.
Headquarters: Brazil
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Mateus Costa-Ribeiro – Co-founder and CEO at Enter
Founder Highlights: Masters, Top University
Previous Experience: Ex-Product at Quansa, ex-U.S. Associate at Milbank LLP, ex-Associate at Costa Ribeiro Advogados, Master of Laws - LLM from Harvard Law School, Bachelor of Laws - LLB from Universidade de Brasília, Honors in Mathematics from The Johns Hopkins University.
Headquarters: United States
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Henrique Vaz – Co-founder & Chief Product Officer at Enter
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Technical Founder, Masters, Ex-Big Tech, Scaleup Experience, Top University
Previous Experience: Ex-Chief Marketing Officer at Wildlife Studios, ex-Co-Founder at ScaleMonk, ex-Entrepreneur In Residence at Bessemer Venture Partners, ex-Software Engineer at Tesla, ex-Software Engineer at Wildlife Studios, Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Statistics from Harvard University, Master's degree course in Combinatorics, focus on Probabilistic Method from Instituto de Matemática Pura e Aplicada - IMPA.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Pong
Overview
Startup Description: Pong helps medium and large companies gain control, visibility and cost reduction with software as a service (SaaS) and tools.
Industry: SaaS
Team Size: 2
Time in Stealth: 5 months
Founder Profile
Carlos Moura - Founder & CEO at Pong
Previously featured as a Stealth Founder in Tech Talents #10 over 5 months ago.
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Investor, Scaleup Experience
Previous Experience: Ex-Chief Marketing Officer at Conta Simples, ex-Chief Product Officer at B2B Stack, ex-Ideator of Superlógica Xperience and ex-Head of Subscriptions at Superlógica, ex-Analyst at Superlógica, ex-Founder of Happy Hour Comunicação, ex-Analyst at Templum Consultoria Online, ex-Partner and Director of Operations at NetBuzz, ex-Founder and Editor at Jornal Semana 3. Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas graduate in Journalism.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Ask for an Intro: Click here
DeepFire
Overview
Startup Description: DeepFire’s AI analyzes every client signal—chats, calls, videos, news—along with CRM and ERP data to deliver the most optimized sales recommendations, helping reps close deals faster and smarter.
Industry: AI
Team Size: 6
Time in Stealth: 6 months
Founders Profiles
Natalie Setton Weintraub Co-Founder - CPO & Head of Sales at DeepFire
Previously featured as a Stealth Founder in Tech Talents #17 over 2 months ago.
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Corporate Experience, Top University
Previous Experience: Ex-Sales and Strategy Leader at Wiser Educação, ex-Country Director at Communispace Corporation, ex-Co-Founder at USACupom.com.br, ex-Brand Manager at Unilever.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Co-Founders: Fabio Narita, Hermes Lapa (CTO)
Ask for an Intro: Click here
🤫 Talents Entering Stealth
Talents with relevant experiences who have just entered stealth mode.
Marcio Pedrozo de Oliveira – Co-Founder | CTO | CPTO at Stealth Startup
Founder Highlights: Technical Founder, Scaleup Experience, Ex-Big Tech
Previous Experience: Ex-CTO & Partner at Turbi, ex-Software Engineering Manager at Mercado Livre Brasil, ex-IT Manager at KPL, ex-Software Engineering & Database Manager at TIVIT, Post-Graduate in Project Management from ITA, Graduate in System Information from ITA.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Time in Current Position: 7 months
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Lucas Juffo – Founder at Stealth Startup
Founder Highlights: Ex-Corporate, Scaleup Experience, Ex-Consultant, Top University
Previous Experience: Ex-Chief of Staff at Educbank, ex-Gerente de Novos Negócios at SOMOS Educação, ex-Analista de Planejamento Comercial at Itaú Unibanco, ex-Consultant at Neuding Consultoria. Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from FGV.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Time in Current Position: 3 months
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Julian M. – Founder at Stealth Startup
Founder Highlights: Masters, Ex-Consultant, Ex-Corporate, Unicorn Experience, Latitud Fellow
Previous Experience: Ex-Project Leader at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), ex-Managing Director & Country Head at Shopee, ex-Chief Revenue Officer at Leal, ex-CEO & Co-founder at Malva Partners, ex-Head of CPGs at Rappi, ex-Senior Associate at McKinsey & Company. MBA from Duke University, Master's in Finance and Industrial Engineering from Universidad de Los Andes.
Headquarters: Bogotá, Colombia
Time in Current Position: 1 year, 4 months
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Victor Bolonha – Building at Stealth Startup
Founder Highlights: Serial Founder, Scaleup Experience, Masters, Top University
Previous Experience: Ex-General Manager at Nido, ex-Líder da área de Novos Negócios Digitais at OR, ex-Co-Founder at Jogo Justo, ex-Head of Operations at Muni Tienda, ex-Regional Manager at Grow Mobility, ex-Operations at Grin Scooters, ex-Account Manager at Claritas Investimentos, ex-Equity Analyst at Claritas Investimentos.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Time in Current Position: 9 months
Ask for an Intro: Click here
Nathan Torres – Co-Founder at Stealth Startup
Founder Highlights: Masters, Unicorn Experience
Previous Experience: Ex-Business Intelligence Manager at RappiCard México, ex-Data & Analytics Manager at Pagaloop, ex-Business Intelligence Developer at Kavak.com, ex-Business Intelligence Senior Manager at AlphaCredit, ex-Business Intelligence Manager at AlphaCredit.
Headquarters: Querétaro, Mexico
Time in Current Position: 1 month
Ask for an Intro: Click here
🚀 Early Stage Highlights
Early stage startups with strong momentum.
Elephan.ai 🐘
Startup Description: Elephan.ai boosts sales conversion, predicts revenue, and reduces operational work by merging qualitative and quantitative data.
Industry: AI
Previous Funding: $125k Pre-Seed round from Antler in April 2024
Signal: From 9 to 14 employees in three months
Co-Founders: Henrique Machado (CTO & CPO), Thais Sterenberg (CEO)
🦄 Unicorn Movements
Promotions, new hires, and other movements in local unicorns’ executive-level.
Marco Mordehachvili – Chief Financial Officer at QuintoAndar
Previous Role: Director at Farallon Capital Management
Previous Experience: Ex-Associate at Gávea Investimentos.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Time in Current Position: 1 month
Erik O. – Chief Information Security Officer at QI Tech
Previous Role: Director Cyber Security at PwC Brazil
Previous Experience: Ex-Senior Security Consultant at IBM, ex-Senior Consultant at PwC.
Headquarters: São Paulo, Brazil
Time in Current Position: 4 months
Reminder: I’m giving away access to a structured database of key executives in LatAm unicorns. This database currently features over 120 profiles from 20 organizations, including all the usual Tech Talents information — tags, previous experience, LinkedIn links, time in current position, and more.
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