October ‘23 recap
Articles:
We published 3 articles on SaaS in Latam at Magma. I’m biased, but think they are really good and a must read for anyone who wants to invest, or just better understand SaaS in Latin America:
The Opportunities and Headwinds for Latin American SaaS Companies
Most Latin American SaaS startups are not built to generate venture capital returns
Other articles:
Three Magic Numbers | Brad Feld
I came across this blog post from Brad Feld, originally written in 2012, and think it still rings true. Most startups overcomplicate the amount of numbers they track, and because of it, lose track of what is really important.
Feld argues that you should have 3 key metrics that are the important metrics you track. Sure, some companies might have 2, some might have 4. But if you have 8, you aren’t focused enough.
18 months ago, Convoy raised $260M at a 3.8B valuation. This month, they shut down. Convoy is a freight brokerage startup.
The entire memo written by the founder, Dan Lewis, is included in the article.
Podcasts:
Minutes 40:30-1:24 are really good conversations about markets, the outlook for startups, what climate change means for reinsurance, and more
Why is adult friendship so hard? | Mel Robbins podcast
I really liked this podcast because it has a lot of practical tools. Mel says that we tell ourselves these 5 lies:
Everyone else’s life is a party
People don’t like me
BFF: not forever, that’s too much pressure: it’s really Best Friends are flexible
I need to be everyone’s friend
I’m too busy
And, that there are 3 types of friends:
Friends for a reason: these can be work friends, neighbors, people on your sport team
Friends for a season: a chapter of your life, like college. Usually people in the same stage of life as you. When the season changes, be flexible, thats ok
Friends for a lifetime: the people you can call at 4am
Other
This is water | David Foster Wallace
This commencement speech from the mid 2000’s is a great listen to reframe how you view the world around you
Early in the speech, Foster Wallace says “learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think.” He dives into this quote during the 20 minute speech.
