Julio Vasconcellos is the Managing Partner at Atlantico, one of Latin America’s leading venture firms, and the driving force behind the Latin America Digital Transformation Report. Now in its 6th edition, the report has become the definitive data backbone for investors and founders seeking to understand the region’s tech landscape.

Previously, Julio was Facebook’s first country lead in Brazil and co-founder of Peixe Urbano, giving him a rare operator-to-investor perspective on LatAm’s digital transformation.

In this episode, Julio unpacks the 2025 report’s biggest findings—from venture returns to geopolitics, Pix’s disruption, AI adoption, and Mexico’s rise—and what they mean for global LPs, founders, and corporates betting on the region.

Here’s what we cover:

• • LatAm Venture Outperformance: Why local VC funds have quietly outperformed global peers, and what it will take to attract more LP capital.

  • Brazil vs. Mexico: Why Mexico features so prominently this year, how it compares to Brazil, and what it means for investors placing their first bets.

  • The Geopolitics of Tech: 39% of Brazilians say they’d align with China over the U.S.—what’s driving that sentiment?

  • Pix’s Relentless Rise: With 87% corporate penetration and $15B in fee savings, Pix is reshaping payments. What does this mean for Visa, Mastercard, and fintechs?

  • Brazil’s AI Moment: Over 60% of Brazilians have tried ChatGPT, and Microsoft just invested $2.7B in AI/cloud. What role will Brazil play in the global AI race?

  • Founder Archetypes: Atlantico’s research into the traits of successful Latin American founders—and how they compare to Silicon Valley counterparts.

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Tiago Dalvi is the solo founder and CEO of Olist, Brazil's leading e-commerce operating system serving 45,000+ merchants and processing 60 billion reais annually. Olist has raised $314M from investors including SoftBank, Wellington Management, Goldman Sachs, Valor Capital Group, and Accel partner Kevin Efrusy, and operates in Brazil's $60B+ e-commerce market.

The Brazilian unicorn founder discusses marketplace strategy, venture capital, M&A integration, and building Latin America's leading SMB commerce platform.

Here's what we cover:

From Marketplace to Ecosystem: Olist began as a single storefront. Today it's an operating system for 45,000+ merchants. What does it really take to expand from one product to a multi-product platform?

The Three Pillars of a High-Performing Board: Behind every enduring company is a board built on the right foundation. What makes boards truly high-performing—and why do the best ones keep evolving?

The M&A Integration Playbook: Acquisitions can accelerate growth—or sink the ship. Tiago shares the hardest lessons from integration, why protecting new acquisitions from the gravitational pull of core operations is critical for innovation, and why earnouts are so tricky to get right.

Olist's Vision of Intelligent Commerce: What if your business could think for itself? Tiago explains how AI-powered decision-making could reshape SMB operations across Latin America's fragmented ecosystem.

The Investor Breakup Playbook: Not every relationship lasts forever—including with investors. Why does Tiago part ways with board members he "really likes," what tough conversations are required when someone who got you to $10M isn't right for $100M, and how secondaries help recycle the cap table without burning bridges?

Join The J Curve Community:

⁠Newsletter⁠: Weekly deep dives into LATAM's hottest deals, emerging trends, and market intelligence

⁠LinkedIn⁠: Daily market insights and exclusive founder updates

⁠Instagram⁠: Behind-the-scenes podcast moments and quick industry takes

⁠Hit subscribe⁠ and share this episode with fellow entrepreneurs and investors

Why do 90% of LATAM founders struggle to raise venture capital funding? It's not their product or market - it's because they don't understand the game they're playing. This episode reveals the patterns behind every major VC success story from Nubank to QuintoAndar. I cover the fund economics that drive every investment decision, the founder profiles that get fast-tracked, the three business models that dominate portfolios, and the four-element framework for stacking odds in your favor.

Plus: why fundraising is actually sales, how to evaluate VCs before they evaluate you, and the exit math that determines premium outcomes.

Key Insights & Takeaways:

• The Goldman/McKinsey pattern: Why majority of funded LATAM founders share investment banking or top consulting backgrounds—and how to borrow credibility if you don't have it
• Fund math reality check: How a $300M fund needs $6B+ outcomes from single deals, and why this changes everything about what VCs actually fund
• The Stanford platform mindset: How to shift from "solving problems" to "designing market architecture" and why this mindset separates venture capital winners from the rest
• Market timing: How 2012's 3G+smartphones created unicorns, and why 2025's Pix+AI+Open Finance could be bigger
• The 4-element fundable startup framework: Backable founder profile + compounding business model + broken market + perfect timing = venture capital magnet

• Fundraising as B2B sales: Why treating VCs as prospects with systematic qualification, relationship-building, and follow-up changes outcomes
• Venture capital fund cycle: How a $100M fund in year 2 beats a $500M fund in year 8, and how to research this before pitching
• The multi-country premium: Why regional businesses price higher than local ones, and how to build global buyer optionality from day one

Join The J Curve Community:

⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠: Weekly deep dives into LATAM's hottest deals, emerging trends, and market intelligence

⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠: Daily market insights and exclusive founder updates

⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠: Behind-the-scenes podcast moments and quick industry takes

Share this with one founder who needs to hear this playbook: ⁠Hit subscribe⁠⁠ and help us reach more Latin American entrepreneurs and investors