Who’s Building LatAm’s Unicorns?

Image from The San Diego Union-Tribune

*Some of the “unicorns” are public, so they’re not actual unicorns. List used was taken from Contxto’s article here.

TLDR: Most co-founders met in college. Universidade de São Paulo seems to be a breeding ground for unicorn entrepreneurs in LatAm, with a few furthering their education at U.S. business schools.

99 (Brazil)

• Paulo Veras: Escola Politecnica da Universidade de Sao Paulo, INSEAD
• Renato Freitas: Universidade de São Paulo
• Ariel Lambrecht: Universidade de São Paulo, Technische Universität Darmstadt

Pagseguro (Brazil)

• Ricardo Dortas Schönhofen: Universidade Salvador, COPPEAD/UFRJ

Nubank (Brazil)

• David Velez: Stanford, Stanford Graduate School of Business
• Edward Wible: Princeton, INSEAD
• Cristina Junqueira: Universidade de São Paulo, Northwestern — Kellogg School of Management

Ascenty (Brazil)

• Chris Torto: University of Maine, Harvard Business School

Stone (Brazil)

• Andre Street
• Eduardo Pontes: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Fundação Getulio Vargas

Arco Educacao (Brazil)

• Ari de Sa Neto: MIT Sloan School of Management

iFood (Brazil)

• Guilherme Pinho Bonifacio: Universidade de São Paulo
• Patrick Sigrist: Universidade de São Paulo, Purdue University, Fundação Instituto de Administração
• Felipe Ramos Fioravante: Universidade de São Paulo
• Simone Alves de Carvalho

Gympass (Brazil)

• Cesar Carvalho: Universidade de São Paulo, Harvard Business School
• Joao Barbosa: Universidade de São Paulo

Prisma Medios de Pago (Argentina)

• Visa Argentina X Banelco

Despegar (Argentina)

• Roberto Souviron: Universidad de San Andres, Duke University — Fuqua
• Martin Rastellino: University of Buenos Aires, Duke University — Fuqua
• Alejandro Tamer: Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina ‘Santa María de los Buenos Aires’
• Cristian Vilate: Universidad de San Andres, London School of Economics,
• Mariano Fiori: University of Buenos Aires, Duke University — Fuqua

MercadoLibre (Argentina)

• Marcos Galperin: Stanford, University of Pennsylvania — Wharton
• Hernan J. Kazah: University of Buenos Aires, Stanford Graduate School of Business

Globant (Argentina):

• Martin Migoya: Universidad Nacional de la Plata, Universidad del Cema
• Nestor Nocetti: Universidad Nacional de la Plata
• Guibert Andres Englebienne: Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires
• Martin Gonzalo Umaran: Universidad Nacional de La Plata

Softtek (Mexico):

• Gerardo Lopez
• {non-Founder} Blanca Trevino: Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey

KIO Networks (Mexico)

• Sergio Rosengaus: Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico City), Universidad de la Americas (Cholula

OLX (Argentina)

• Alejandro Carlos Oxenford: Universidad Católica Argentina, Harvard Business School
• Fabrice Grinda: Princeton

TOTVS (Brazil)

• Laércio Cosentino: Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo
• Ernesto Haberkorn

Auth0 (Argentina)

• Eugenio Pace: Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires — Undergrad and Master’s
• Matias Woloski: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Universidad de ‘San Andres’

Loggi (Brazil):

• Fabien Mendez: Sciences Po Paris
• Arthur Debert: Universidade de São Paulo, Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado
• Eduardo Wexler: Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado

QuintoAndar (Brazil):

• Andre Penha: Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Stanford Graduate School of Business
• Gabriel Braga: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Stanford Graduate School of Business

EBANX (Brazil)

• Alphonse Voigt: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Parana
• Wagner Ruiz: Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie
• Joao Del Valle: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Parana, Ecole des Mines de Nantes, Fundação Getulio Vargas