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Aaron Fu (Catalyst Fund) - The Biggest Misconception When Investing In Emerging Markets, Difference Between Selling to SMBs and Consumers, and the Effects of Mobile First

Aaron Fu (Catalyst Fund) - The Biggest Misconception When Investing In Emerging Markets, Difference Between Selling to SMBs and Consumers, and the Eff…

FromThe Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands


Aaron Fu (Catalyst Fund) - The Biggest Misconception When Investing In Emerging Markets, Difference Between Selling to SMBs and Consumers, and the Eff…

FromThe Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands

ratings:
Length:
32 minutes
Released:
Dec 3, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

Our guest today is Aaron Fu, Head of Growth at Catalyst Fund. Catalyst Fund is an inclusive fintech accelerator that is focused on investing in companies located in different parts of Africa, India and Mexico. They support innovative startups building affordable, accessible and appropriate solutions to reach the world's 3 billion underserved, while accelerating innovation ecosystems across emerging markets. We focus on the difference between selling to a consumer, SMB and enterprise business, how he analyzes emerging markets and how some of these companies scale cross border.And there you have it. It was such a pleasure chatting with Aaron. I highly recommend following him on Twitter @aaronQfu.Some of the questions I ask Aaron:What are some of the differences in your due diligence approach then a company focusing on selling to enterprises?What are some of the differences in the business model that entrepreneurs need to account for when the customer is a small business vs. a consumer?Looking at your portfolio, it seems as though one of the themes is cross-border exchange. When we spoke with Maya from Ingressive, she spoke how when a company expands crossborders, it’s not as straightforward. When you are thinking about investing in these types of companies, what are some of the risks?When we spoke previously, you mentioned how some of the businesses started in Africa also have overlap and have done quite well outside of Africa (i.e. South American and Mexico). What are some of the reasons why these companies have been able to be successful overseas?What have been some of the challenges when investing in consumer facing businesses that are in emerging markets?We’ve discussed at length on this show how investors think about opportunities relating to the american market. When it comes to emerging markets, how do you think about opportunities?Can you walk me through your due diligence process?Has it been hard establishing conviction amongst founders remotely?What is one of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to investing in emerging markets?What’s one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital?What’s one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally?What’s one piece of advice that you have for founders, wanting to build a business?
Released:
Dec 3, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

The Consumer VC takes a look into early-stage consumer investing and venture capital. If you are interested in learning about consumer trends, have a b2c business and interested in learning about the fundraising process at the early stage, you have come to the right place.Mike interviews some of the top venture capitalists in the world that focus on B2C and consumer type companies or have a deep track record investing in these categories such as marketplaces, SaaS, social, CPG and non-tech subscription.Mike also interviews founders that are building some of the most disruptive consumer facing companies in the world. The conversation usually includes the insight the founder discovered, fundraising strategy, and the pitch.This podcast also includes bonus episodes. Each bonus episode dives into a particular subject that might not have to due with the fundraise or venture capital, but still would be helpful to founders. For example, a bonus episode on brand strategy or how to construct a board of directors. All bonus episodes will be clearly labeled.For all episodes, please visit www.theconsumervc.com. For updates, you can follow @mikegelb on Twitter.