Judy Shaw sits down with Bicycle Capital's Shu Nyatta
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00So we look for companies that have really clear momentum, that have really big markets they're
00:03addressing, that have a lot of resilience, and that have a lot of optionality.
00:13Shu, it is wonderful to have you on Floor Talk here during NYSE International Day.
00:17Thanks for having me, Judy.
00:18So Shu, I want to start off by talking about the company. Tell me,
00:20what motivated you to co-found Bicycle Capital and focus on Latin America?
00:25I've been lucky. I've invested almost everywhere in the world. There are a few
00:28pockets that I haven't, but most hot places for venture. And somehow Latin America was
00:33never on that list. In 2018, I got really curious about the region with my now partner,
00:38Marcelo Claudre. We traveled there. We met founders. They're as good as the founders in
00:42India and China and other very hyped up places, but there wasn't a lot of capital.
00:46So we started a fund within SoftBank focusing on Latin America,
00:50got even more excited about it, and decided to do it on our own. There are big problems to solve,
00:55incredible founders doing it, and not a lot of capital. So it's a very simple equation.
01:00Okay. And how would you say Bicycle Capital stands out from other funds that are in the region?
01:04There haven't been that many dedicated funds in the region at the growth stage.
01:08A lot of really, really good early stage funds that have been operating since 2005. I mean,
01:12they've been building this incredible foundation in the region. What's missing is someone to pass
01:17the baton to. There's global capital that comes in and out, but there's not a lot of dedicated
01:21growth capital for the region. I don't know if I could name two or three funds that have dedicated
01:26growth capital for the region. So there's just a gap in the market, and that's what we're filling.
01:30We're entrepreneurial fund managers, and so that's the gap in the market that we see.
01:34And Shu, how do you identify startups with a long-term potential in a challenging
01:39venture market? So it's important to note that we're not early stage investors. So the profile
01:44of risk of the companies we invest in is quite different from a seed fund or a series A fund.
01:49We're growth investors. What that means is we pick them up at series B and beyond. Sometimes
01:53we invest right before the IPO. It's a pretty different risk profile. And generally, there's
01:57a lot more data to look at. So we look for companies that have really clear momentum,
02:01that have really big markets they're addressing, that have a lot of resilience, and that have a
02:05lot of optionality. There are many ways they could build the big business. Those four components are
02:09really important to us, and they tend to appear. It's obvious when they're there, and it's obvious
02:12when they're not. And which sectors in Latin America are you most excited about for growth?
02:17We've already constrained our universe by saying Latin America. So we try not to
02:20over-constrain it by picking themes top down. Instead, we just look for really high-quality
02:25founders building really high-quality businesses. And they could come from anywhere. Our first
02:29investment was a surprise to me. It's a motorcycle fleet management company in Brazil. I would never
02:33have thought that that's something we would focus on. Our second company is an HR benefits platform.
02:39Our third company is a B2B marketplace. Very different business models, very different founder
02:43types, but all very high-quality companies. So quality really is the word that drives us,
02:48not sector. All right. Well, Xu, it's been wonderful to talk with you. Thanks for joining
02:52me on Floor Talk today. Thank you.