The Enthusiast: Founders and VCs beyond the Valley

Pat Alex

Emerging Markets

Fintech

Latin America

Financial Inclusion

Private Equity

Entrepreneurship

Venture Capital

Creandum

Technology

Consumer Investing

Investment Strategies

MENA Region

Turkey

Tymebank

Digital Banking

Embedded Fintech

Abhi

Public Policy

Abwaab

JOKR

"Entrepreneurial Talent is Global" - On The Enthusiast, Host Pat Alex chats with some of the most fascinating Founders, Operators and Investors Beyond Silicon Valley. Every two weeks, he sits down with the likes of Arjuna Costa (Flourish), Paulo Passoni, Jeffrey Paine (Golden Gate Ventures), Gerry Giacoman (Clara) and Monica Brand Engel (Quona) to dissect their challenges around scaling, fundraisi... more

20 ratings

Publishes	Twice monthly	Episodes	99	Founded	5 years ago
Number of Listeners		Categories	BusinessEntrepreneurship

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Guests Host Reviews Charts Talking Points

Latest Episodes

Bernardo Garcia (Félix) on doing things that don’t scale, the power of your first 20 customers and getting the flywheel going

On this episode Pat sits down with Bernardo Garcia, Co-Founder of ripping remittances startup Felix Pago to dive into the early days of the business, finding product-market-fit and doing things that don't scale. In particular we chat about how they r... more

16 Sep 2025 • 29 min

Puren Ucar (fmr. Head of Talent @Earlybird) on why founders need to spend 40% of their time on hiring, the unequal impact of AI on startup roles and revenue / employee as a metric

On this episode Pat sits down with Puren Ucar, the fmr Head of Talent at Earlybird Digital East, to dive into building out the talent function at one of Europe's leading VC firms, Earlybird, what does it take to build high performance teams and why f... more

18 Aug 2025 • 32 min

Gaurav Biswas (Trukker) building the uber of trucks in MENA, scaling in a fragmented industry and growing on century old logistic routes from Turkey to Kaszakstan

On this episode Pat sits down with Gaurav Biswas, Co-Founder & CEO of leading freight forwarder and logistics scaleup Trukker. We dive into the company’s journey from their initial launch in India, focusing on MENA scaling to 200M+ in revenues, servi... more

29 Jul 2025 • 30 min

[Operator Stories] Lucas Vargas (Nomad) on diversifying your assets, investing like the 1% and scaling to 100M+ in ARR

On this episode Pat sits down with Lucas Vargas, CEO and Founder of Nomad, a leading cross border account and investment solution for Brazilians that want to reduce their exposure to the local currency investing in US dollar dominated assets. Lucas t... more

15 Jul 2025 • 35 min

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Recent Guests

Gaurav Biswas

Founder and CEO of Trukker, a digital freight forwarder.

Trukker

Episode: Gaurav Biswas (Trukker) building the uber of trucks in MENA, scaling in a fragmented industry and growing on century old logistic routes from Turkey to Kaszakstan

Camila Vieira

Venture capitalist and member of QED

QED

Episode: [Investor Journey] Camila Vieira (QED) on prioritizing moats over themes, the fund’s structure through multiple instruments and know where you land on Liquidity

Milena Oliveira

VC investor at Volpe Capital and former lawyer with a focus on fintechs and early growth investing in Latin America.

Volpe Capital

Episode: [Investor Journey] Milena Oliveira (Volpe Capital) on taking concentrated bets in Latin America, dynamics of early growth investing and lessons on portfolio construction

Alexis Pantazis

Co-founder and co-CEO of Hellas Direct, which specializes in insurtech in Europe.

Hellas Direct

Episode: [Operator Stories] Alexis Pantazis (Hellas Direct) scaling an insurtech, profitable markets vs. TAM, vertical integration as a moat

Pavel Fedorov

Co-founder and chairman of Salmon, a challenger bank in the Philippines

Salmon

Episode: [Operator Stories] Pavel Fedorov (Salmon) on building a challenger bank in the Philippines, the Tinkoff Playbook and why credit first

Alex Lazarow

Investor specializing in fintech in emerging markets and founder of Fluent Ventures.

Fluent Ventures

Episode: [Investor Journey] Alex Lazarow on Emerging Markets Fintech Quo Vadis - Data, Delivery, Distribution

Hamdi Tabbaa

Co-founder and CEO of Abwaab, a leading edtech company in the MENA region.

Abwaab

Episode: [Operator Stories] Hamdi Tabbaa (Abwaab) on scaling edtech in MENA, market expansion for a highly localized product offering and upselling

Ramiro Lauzan

Partner at L Catterton, a leading consumer private equity and growth stage investor.

L Catterton

Episode: [Investor Journey] Ramiro Lauzan (L Catterton) on timing your exit and fundamentals of themes based investing

Omair Ansari

Founder of Abhi, a leading fintech company providing earned wage access and cash flow solutions.

Abhi

Episode: [Operator Stories] Omair Ansari (Abhi) on tackling access to credit in Pakistan and going multi-product and multi-country early on

Host

Pat Alex

Host of conversations with founders and investors, focusing on challenges in scaling and investment beyond Silicon Valley.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 20 ratings

On Point!
My Favorite Podcast on Venture Capital and Company Building in Emerging Markets. Pat Alex has nailed it!
Apple Podcasts
5
Matt Cole CEO, SUMA SaaS
United States3 years ago
Excellent show with diverse guests from all over the globe
Great content for anyone interested in startups & VC in emerging markets!
Apple Podcasts
5
PatAlex8
Germany4 years ago
Great Podcast
Super informative with a great niche topic
Apple Podcasts
5
teddy124567&@@&$$
United States5 years ago

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Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

The diverse range of guests is celebrated, contributing valuable insights from across different markets.

Listeners find the content rich and informative, especially praising the global perspective offered by the guests.

Many appreciate the focus on practical advice for entrepreneurs and investors navigating emerging market challenges.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts	#159	Germany/Business/Entrepreneurship
Apple Podcasts	#21	Austria/Business/Entrepreneurship
Apple Podcasts	#130	Ukraine/Business/Entrepreneurship
Apple Podcasts	#171	Chile/Business/Entrepreneurship
Apple Podcasts	#185	Austria/Business

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Bernardo Garcia (Félix) on doing things that don’t scale, the power of your first 20 customers and getting the flywheel going

Q: When did you realize this was really taking off?

Bernardo reflects that initial product market fit was identified when early customers kept returning regularly, signaling that their needs were being met.

Bernardo Garcia (Félix) on doing things that don’t scale, the power of your first 20 customers and getting the flywheel going

Q: How did you come to realize that remittances were an underserved market?

Bernardo discusses how past research indicated low digital adoption in remittance services and identified various customer needs that were not being effectively met.

Bernardo Garcia (Félix) on doing things that don’t scale, the power of your first 20 customers and getting the flywheel going

Q: How did Manuel and you get together and start Félix Pago? How did your motivation come from?

Bernardo Garcia shares that both he and Manuel met during their MBA, realized they shared similar aspirations, and decided to collaborate on a project that addressed the needs of Latin American immigrants.

[Operator Stories] Lucas Vargas (Nomad) on diversifying your assets, investing like the 1% and scaling to 100M+ in ARR

Q: What gave you the energy to keep going, really having that drive to continue building Nomad for the foreseeable future?

My past experiences running VivaReal gave me a sense of joy in entrepreneurship and a desire to build again, which energizes me.

Gaurav Biswas (Trukker) building the uber of trucks in MENA, scaling in a fragmented industry and growing on century old logistic routes from Turkey to Kaszakstan

Q: What does the long-term horizon look like for Trukker?

I see us continuing to dominate in the GCC region and expanding our services while strengthening foundational operations.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About This Podcast

What is This Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The focus is on global entrepreneurial talent, featuring conversations with founders, operators, and investors outside of Silicon Valley. Each episode provides insights into the unique challenges these leaders face in scaling their businesses, navigating fundraising, and managing corporate governance, while emphasizing regional adaptations and the quest for equitable growth in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Listeners can expect deep dives into topics like venture capital, company leadership, and the evolving landscape of business across diverse geographies. The emphasis on diversity and equity in business, alongside the rich experiences shared by the guests, offers a unique perspective that sets this podcast apart from others in the entrepr... more

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These podcasts share a similar audience with this podcast:

1. Talking Billions with Bogumil Baranowski

How many episodes of this podcast are there?

this podcast launched 5 years ago and published 99 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on this podcast?

Recent guests on this podcast include:

1. Gaurav Biswas
2. Camila Vieira
3. Milena Oliveira
4. Alexis Pantazis
5. Pavel Fedorov
6. Alex Lazarow
7. Hamdi Tabbaa
8. Ramiro Lauzan

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