Driven VC

Today we celebrate Jamie Riggs - our favourite Chilean gringo and an essential part of this journey. Over the past 7+ years, we've been through it all: endless founder calls, LP meetings, tough negotiations, epic roadshows, team offsites, asaditos, and countless brainstorming sessions that turned into long talks about life, goals, ions, and ambitions. Thank you for always raising the bar, challenging us to think bigger, and bringing that relentless #drive into everything we do. Happy b-day! Here's to many more adventures together. Maca

Last Thursday we had our portfolio companies (Driven VC) and some other special guests over to my house for a little asadito (BBQ). This was a holiday for most in Latam. My daughter asked me why I was doing a work event on a holiday. I told her that same thing my dad told me which is if you find something you love you will not have to work another day in your life. And if you want to build something awesome you can not be limited by schedules or holidays. Thanks to Wareclouds founders, Arturo Quiroz, Nicolás Aramayo Benvenutto, Creditop founder Daniel Garzón, Repartes founders Felipe De la Fuente Villablanca, Vicente Aguilera Yévenes, our venture parnter Manuel Rodríguez Marino, our general partner Macarena Liu Rivas and our special guest from Motai founders Mauricio Gil and Alex Burrowes. Next time, I will make sure to do the #RiggsRibs to add a little gringo flare. Cheers, Jamie Riggs

Michael Hennessey and I have shared a remarkable journey since 2011, united as two "gringos" in the Bay Area with a common mission: empowering Latino founders to access Silicon Valley. Our professional relationship deepened when Mike ed the board of the CLIN Fund during our time at Fundación Chile, demonstrating his commitment to Latin American entrepreneurship. Today, we're thrilled to welcome Mike as a venture partner and limited partner at Driven VC. His investment portfolio speaks volumes - backing transformative Latin American startups like Cornershop by Uber & frete.com while simultaneously investing in premier Silicon Valley funds such as DCM Ventures, Highland Capital Partners and Ten Eleven Ventures. Throughout his career, Mike has been an unwavering champion for Latino founders, particularly through his impactful work with Endeavor. Macarena Liu Rivas and I count ourselves fortunate to have Mike's participation on our investment committee. He brings not only an exceptional wealth of knowledge accumulated over decades in both ecosystems but also a refreshing candor in sharing his insights and perspectives that consistently elevates our decision-making process. Thanks Mike. Manuel Rodríguez Marino, Leonardo Lima, Julie Mherson, Pat Burtis, Hrach Simonian, Andres Medina, Felipe De la Fuente Villablanca, Vicente Aguilera Yévenes, Daniel Garzón, Arturo Quiroz, Nicolás Aramayo Benvenutto, Jamie Riggs,

Awesome to have Macarena Liu Rivas representing Driven VC in Spain. Startups have had a huge impact on the local and regional economies in Chile/Latam. A study by Endeavor Chile and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC) revealed that scale-ups, which represent only 1% of Chilean companies, created 40% of new jobs in three years, equivalent to nearly 700,000 new positions.  Driven VC partners with these founders to help these founders scale with in the region while creating meaniful impact through high level job creation. Latam needs more capital willing to finance these opportunities as there is a wealth of talent in region.

Muchísimas gracias a todas quienes nos acompañaron en nuestro primer #DrivenWomen brunch.   Macarena Liu Rivas, General Partner de #DRIVEN, fue la anfitriona perfecta para que las asistentes conocieran más de la propuesta de nuestro fondo y también para abrir los espacios de conversación sobre la participación de las mujeres en el mundo de la inversión y su rol como agentes de cambio.   Gracias a todas las asistentes por su energía y sus ideas. Para quienes no pudieron estar, ¡esto es solo el comienzo! Pronto vendrán más encuentros como este. 🚀

What a blitz week in the Bay Area, we were able to cover San Jose, Palo Alto, San Francisco and made it to the East Bay as well.  This included a number of firsts for me as well. We hosted Driven Drinks in SF with local Driven VC partners, Michael Hennessey (Venture Partner), Pat Burtis (Advisor) and Patricio Daher as well as some founders (Alvaro Silberstein, Camilo Navarro Bustos and Luis Vera) that we partnered with pre-Driven. Also, we had Marita Schmutzer & Fabrizio Pizzagalli us.  Its awesome to see how strong chilean community is in the Valley. Besides Driven Drinks, I got a chance to meet some of my former colleagues (Andy Tsao, Marshall Hawks, Albert Martinez, John D China, Barry O'Brien, Joe Werner) and met one of the founders (Ty Amell) that I was fortunate enough to work with back in the day as well as meet some other investors (Jason Best, Ivan Montoya, Drue Freeman) as well.  Additionally met up with old friends such as Daniel Green and Ken Edens and meet new ones such as Andrew Harper & Christian (Chris) Bach. Lastly, I got to meet Mike S. from Decile Partners. Here were my firsts. 1. Special thanks to my great friend, Koichi Arimitsu, who took me to my first game a Chase to see the Curry and Butler duo.  2. Camilo Navarro Bustos who invited us to the WAYMO experience . WOW.  That is the future.  Happy to see that the Bay Area (especially SF) is cleaning up its act and getting back to its way of being the prominent center for tech and innovation. Off to the East Coast (Raleigh and Miami). Macarena Liu Rivas, Hrach Simonian, Leonardo Lima

We are thrilled to announce that Leonardo Lima has ed Driven VC as our newest Venture Partner! Leo brings exceptional value to our mission of helping founders scale in the largest markets across the Americas. His expertise will be instrumental in bridging our portfolio companies to the Brazilian market - one of the region's most dynamic economies. With an impressive executive background at global leaders including Samsung Electronics America and Danone, Leo has recently focused on helping startups like Betterfly successfully expand into Brazil. His deep knowledge of the local market, combined with his extensive business and commercial relationships, perfectly positions him to provide strategic to our founders. This addition to our team reinforces our commitment to creating meaningful connections and opportunities for the companies in our portfolio as they navigate international expansion. Please us in welcoming Leo to Driven!!! Macarena Liu Rivas, Michael Hennessey, Manuel Rodríguez Marino, Julie Mherson, Hrach Simonian, Pat Burtis, Arturo Quiroz, Nicolás Aramayo Benvenutto, Andres Medina, Felipe De la Fuente Villablanca, Vicente Aguilera Yévenes, Daniel Garzón, Jamie Riggs

At Driven, Macarena Liu Rivas & I (Jamie Riggs) are just getting started. Our journey with Wareclouds began in 2020 when we first met Arturo Quiroz and Nicolás Aramayo Benvenutto. We were immediately struck by the team's ambition and vision. Their determination was evident from the start - I distinctly them cold calling Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and securing a meeting. At the time, many doubted the scalability of their model and raised concerns about theft. But these moments of widespread skepticism often signal the perfect investment opportunity. Five years later, Wareclouds has proven the skeptics wrong, serving over 230 clients across Chile and Brazil. They've become an integral part of the logistics infrastructure for major global corporations, including AB InBev and Coca-Cola Andina, while creating valuable income opportunities for families in Latin America. The founders continue to impress us with their vision, ion, and relentless drive for excellence. Their ability to attract world-class talent is exemplified by bringing in Fernando de Pablo from Rappi. Their recent selection as one of just eight startups invited to Davos, chosen from 4,500 scaleups across 150 countries, further validates their potential. This is why Driven VC is thrilled to be part of the Wareclouds story. With their combination of ambitious vision and proven grit, we're confident that you will hear lots more about them in the coming years. Michael Hennessey, Manuel Rodríguez Marino, Leonardo Lima, Julie Mherson, Pat Burtis, Hrach Simonian, ChileGlobal Ventures, Carlos Correa Smits, 2048 Ventures