They decided to transform into a venture capital in 2013, after going from technology developers to a venture capital fund. Before, they had to recognize that as technology developers they could not bring about the changes they wanted.
Rubén Hernández and José López, co-founders of Devlabs, grew up in the world of business and technology in Silicon Valley. They developed an education startup, which grew exponentially, and then they sold. With the income they began to make angel investments and decided to transform into a capital venture in 2013. Later, in 2015, Morelis Machado joined the team, who manages the financial operating sector from California.
The great change in its business model, from technology developers to a venture capital fund, was based on the fact that they knew that as technology developers they would not be able to bring about the changes they wanted. But investing in entrepreneurs who want to make an impact and carry out profound transformations in the health, education, financial and tourism sectors.
They knew the Silicon Valley venture capital industry well, but decided to take a different path and be the ones to go looking for entrepreneurs in less mature ecosystems. At first it was Fresno, Arizona, Texas; and later, Chile, which for Rubén was a familiar reality, with which he had to become familiar as part of the trade missions that came from California.
Year 2016, they carried out a fundraiser, which would become the first Devlabs unicorn: Kushki Payments, an Ecuadorian fintech that provides digital solutions to reduce the cost and complexity of online payments. From that moment, this team began to compete cooperatively with other private investment funds, which was not the norm in those years.
Devlabs continued making investments in Latin America, focusing especially on Chile, which led them to request a line of credit from CORFO to invest in local startups. All this work led them to Temuco where they created workspaces. “It is a consistent, university and innovative ecosystem. There, we met several entrepreneurs that we took to Silicon Valley,” says Rubén Hernández, co-founder of the investment fund.
In the ecosystem they are known for being agile: from the moment they meet with the founder, until the support is finalized, it can take less than two months. Devlabs’ investment focus is startups dedicated to the agribusiness, education, healthcare, tourism and fintech industries. For them, the team is the determining factor: people with knowledge and a relationship with the industry in which they will work, but also complemented by erudite people in software development.
We are about to celebrate four years in Chile, They have 18 startups and plan to close the year with 20, to which, in addition to contributing financially, they provide support at a very early stage, allowing them access to the market, talent and capital, which for Devlabs is the key to success.
The impact of Devlabs in Chile has been very great. As Rubén Hernández explains, “more than increasing the size of the fund, we have had a social and economic impact, not only on startups, but on the lives of millions of Chileans throughout the country.”
In this line, the executive also indicates during this time they have sought to export the mentality and knowledge of Silicon Valley to Chile, with a focus based on delivering the best financial terms for the founders, in order for them to maintain control of their companies; lead and invest cooperatively with other FIPs and guide them in their growth so that they develop and sell their solutions from Chile to the world with the direct support of Silicon Valley (California).
Some of the startups that the investment fund currently has in its portfolio include: QVO, a startup that was later acquired by the now-unicorn Kushki Payments; Erpyme, which was acquired by Maxxa and has a high chance of becoming a unicorn; Altum Lab, Videsk, ComeS, Colektia, among others.
