Four VCs on why illiquidity is a feature, not a bug… and more

This conversation took place during Endeavor Week, five days of events and gatherings in New York City where members of our community from over 45 countries explored innovations and trends shaping global venture capital ahead of our Annual Gala. Discussing global unicorn trends, Dilek Dayinlarli, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at ScaleX Ventures, Rafa de Haro Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Cometa, and Allen Taylor, Managing Partner at Endeavor Catalyst came together on a panel, moderated by Fernando Fabre, CEO at Kauffman Fellows.

If being contrarian is a prized quality in venture capital, what could these four investors possibly agree on? Luckily, on this panel discussing patterns and trends in venture capital, there was significant alignment. Dilek, Rafa, Allen, and Fernando’s unique approaches to investing and shared knowledge of emerging markets led to a dynamic conversation. From Rafa de Haro’s focus on Spanish-speaking markets across Latin America, Spain, and Hispanic communities in the US, to Dilek Dayinlarli’s Turkish-based early stage founder-support model, to Allen Taylor’s experience with Endeavor Catalyst, our rules-based co-investment fund, the speakers illuminated the breadth of opportunities for success in venture capital outside of global entrepreneurial hubs.

Key Takeaways

• CONTRARIAN IS KING: Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder and renowned Silicon Valley investor, says that a successful venture capitalist needs to do only two things: be contrarian, and be right. Investing in underserved or emerging markets has long been regarded as a contrarian view, and now we’re increasingly seeing that view producing meaningful results.

• EMERGING MARKETS CONTINUE TO GROW: The World Bank reports that a quarter of companies are coming out of emerging markets, with India and Latin America in the lead. Growth is also happening rapidly in the Middle East, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the investment opportunities abound.

• UNDERDOG RESILIENCE PAYS OFF: Latin America is dramatically underfunded compared to other global regions, which leads to entrepreneurs building companies with very little capital…and lots of resilience. Global investors are repeatedly surprised by how capital-efficient entrepreneurs from Latin America and other underserved regions like Turkey are.

• ILLIQUIDITY AS A FEATURE, NOT A BUG: One of the great risks in venture capital is selling too soon: a moment that each of these panelists has a story about. If we can embrace illiquidity as an interesting feature of venture capital, rather than a limitation, we can appreciate how it enables compounding and forces a long-term view.

• GET IN BEFORE THEY GO PUBLIC: There are now several meaningful Latin American tech businesses listed in the US, including Mercado Libre, Nubank, Globant, and VTEX, and we believe the best global companies will continue to go public in the US. Once we hit fifteen publicly listed Latin American tech companies, we expect the venture capital world at large to start paying more attention to the region.

Watch the video for the panelists’ full conversation, including highlights (and disappointments) from their own venture capital careers, insight into the theses they’re pursuing, the importance of a process framework, the role of luck in venture capital, and more.

EXPLORE MORE

The Endeavor Catalyst Investor Meeting was more than just a gathering—it brought together investors and founders to shape the future of global venture capital. Through engaging panels, our partners and Endeavor Entrepreneurs shared insights, explored emerging trends, and debated innovations set to redefine venture capital beyond Silicon Valley.

Here’s a look back at the conversations reshaping the global landscape.