Francisco Garcia, Associate at Melek VC | Host at Levantando Podcast

We continue to expand hour network as AmixTech – AmigGo!

Let’s meet Francisco Garcias Osuna, who studied a major in Economics at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). In 2020 he joined Dux Capital, a VC fund based out of Mexico City. He co-founded a community of emerging investors in Latin America called Rising LatAm VCs. In 2022, he launched Levantando Podcast, where he talks with the Partners of the most important Venture Capital firms in Latin America with the aim of discovering their experiences as investors. He is currently an investor at Melek Capital, a Venture Capital fund that makes early-stage investments in Latin American startups.

1. When did you decide to become a VC, could you explain to us your journey? Does Rio Hondo has a lot to do with your decision?

I consider myself an extremely lucky guy because I joined Venture Capital in November 2020 not knowing much about the industry. I was in my 7th out of 9 semesters at college and I decided to start looking for a job. Due to my background, I was inclined to look for something related to finance. At first I started applying to a variety of roles including Corporate Finance, Investment Banking, Private Equity and Search Funds. In the midst of the job search I came across an opening at Dux Capital. I sent my resumé and I got an interview for the following week. I remember that the day before my interview I was googling what Venture Capital was, I had no idea of what it was. Thankfully, I landed a unique job where I had the opportunity to learn and grow in a fast paced environment. In retrospect, the only effect ITAM had on starting my VC career was that I found the opening at a Facebook ITAM group.

2. How did you meet Ari Goldstein es Co-Founder & Partner en Melek Capital?

As you may know, the Venture Capital industry is very much about relationships. For you to get access to the best deals you need to have a great network of founders and VCs. During my first six months at Dux Capital I realized this, so I started growing my professional network in order to get access to better deals, make introductions to our portfolio companies, and learn the best practices from other VC funds. I’ve met a lot of amazing people in my career as a VC, one of them is Stevon Darling from H20 Capital. He was the one who introduced me to Ari, because at Melek they were looking for someone to lead the fund, so I did not think twice about it and we scheduled a call. After various zoom meetings I was offered to join Melek Capital.

3. How would you describe your work as VC? How has been this experience so far?

My work as a VC consists of many things, and it mainly revolves around relationships. First, as a VC you need to fundraise from individuals or institutions that will trust in your ability to allocate capital. One of the main parts of my job is to know what startups are out there and to analyze if they are a fit for Melek Capital. I get to know what startups are being built thanks to the fact that I constantly engage within the Latin American tech ecosystem through events, Twitter, meetings, Linkedin, VC communities and more. My work as a VC has been one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had. My job is to talk to visionaries trying to build the next big company that will shape how society will be in the future. When I describe my job to my friends that have no idea what VC is, I tell them that I’m on the search to find the next Uber, Google, Tesla, Facebook.

4. You describe your mission focused on high-impact entrepreneurs. Can you explain more the concept?

One of the things that I love about Venture Capital is that you have an enormous impact on shaping the future. As a VC I get to invest in entrepreneurs that will solve real problems with their startups. At Melek Capital we invest in high-impact entrepreneurs, this means that we back founders that are willing to go the extra mile to solve a problem that will have positive effects on people’s lives. Problems can range from financial inclusion to the optimization of processes in a certain industry. So, Melek invests in entrepreneurs that are solving problems that will have an impact on creating a better future.  

5. We saw a podcast in Spotify, is something regular? What is the focus about that?

Levantando Podcast is a new project I recently launched. The objective is to give visibility to the Venture Capital industry in Latin America through conversations with Partners of the top Venture Capital funds in the region. Levantando Podcast is released on a weekly basis with the idea to democratize content in Spanish for everyone that wants to get involved from the industry. One of the main focuses of the podcast is to learn about the fundraising of a VC fund. Like startups, VC funds go to the same process of fundraising and this process tends to be really tough for fund managers. In general, I want more people to learn about this amazing industry.

6. What do you think about the fact that many countries like Chile,Mexico or Argentina are pushing new founders to start expanding to Texas in many areas. Do you see that the communications with them is open or there is a gap to solve?

Many Latin American founders are not just building regional solutions, they are building global solutions. With these solutions it comes the need for expansion to other regions. The United States is a natural place for expanding Latin American businesses, thanks to the proximity. And one of the best markets to start the expansion is Texas, thanks to the similarities in the culture and the high population of Latinos in that state. I think there is a small gap in communications between the Texas ecosystem and the Latin American one, but it is reducing each day thanks to all cross border funds and accelerators based out of Texas that look actively into Latin America. 

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