Celebrating QED's first Fontes Summit

In May, we hosted our first Fontes Summit in Miami -- a one-day event for founders to connect, learn and take a step back from their day-to-day.

With 18 founders in attendance, in addition to guest speakers and QED team members, we shared an intimate environment with open conversations and meaningful connections.

Fontes, our seed-stage fund for Latin America, is unique in that we invest purely in early stage companies, from idea phase to finding product-market fit. More often than not, companies in this stage have shared challenges and grapple with similar questions, which is why we tailored the content of the Summit into practical sessions with tangible takeaways.

With experts across fields, we covered topics ranging from B2B sales and fundraising to product strategy. Invited speakers included Shu Nyatta (Bicycle, ex-Softbank), Hugh Strange (ex-product at Nubank), Jimmy Stephens (B2B sales at Brex), and Jen Terrell (B2B sales at Rain), among others. We also heard QED Managing Partner from Nigel Morris, and Betterfly CEO Eduardo Della Maggiora, who spoke about building an intentional culture and the challenges of leadership in a fireside chat.

A few takeaways from the day:

On fundraising — founders often make the mistake of identifying themselves with their valuation. Remember that you are building a company, that valuation is largely outside of your control and that it does not define you or your team.

On B2B sales — Recognize you will need different profiles of sales leaders as your company grows. The first person you hire will unlikely be the one that scales the business. B2B sales is a science, not an art (although in Mexico, it may very well be an art!)

On product — When building in fintech, remember that “fin” and “tech” have different profiles - getting them to work together well is hard but it is where the magic happens.

On culture — Strive for “perfect effort.” You can’t control the outcome but you can control your effort. Be grateful and stay humble.
Overall, we left the Summit feeling inspired by the quality, energy and commitment of the founders in the room — a good reminder of the reason we launched Fontes to begin with.

We truly believe that the future of LatAm lies in the hands of great entrepreneurs, and we are determined to do what we can to help them succeed. Since launching in 2021, Fontes has now invested in 18 companies. Fontes was created to invest in founders from the earliest part of their journeys, focused on fintech and “fintech+” (companies whose core business may not be fintech now, but can be at some point in the future.)

Current portfolio companies are based in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, although we can invest region-wide. We tend to participate rather than lead rounds, and offer platform-based support that leverages our network to provide founders with the right resources. 

Fontes LPs are operators — experienced founders and executives from successful companies in Latin America that also serve as a resource for the next generation. This strategy has allowed us to actively collaborate with other seed funds in the region, create a community of fintech entrepreneurs and set each company up for success in future rounds.

We are extremely excited about the potential of the region, and look forward to continuing to invest through Fontes in the  coming years.

Learn more about Fontes here, and check out our portfolio companies here.