Outsider Inc.
Podcast Description
Outsider Inc. is dedicated to visionary leaders breaking the mold of tech entrepreneurship. Hosted by Ian Hathaway—co-author of The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and co-founder of seed-stage venture capital firm FOVC—each episode delivers exclusive interviews and insider insights from exceptional founders building generation-defining companies. Join us for an in-depth exploration into the real-life stories of entrepreneurs from unexpected places and backgrounds who overcame early setbacks, built resilient teams without following the traditional Silicon Valley playbook, and created thriving ecosystems in overlooked markets. Whether you’re a first-time founder, seasoned innovator, or investor, you’ll gain actionable strategies, unconventional wisdom, and practical takeaways to help you navigate your entrepreneurial journey—no matter where you come from. Join our community today by subscribing on your favorite podcast app and dive even deeper on our newsletter at outsiderinc.substack.com.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast centers around themes of entrepreneurship, resilience, and community impact, featuring guests from diverse backgrounds who have built successful companies outside traditional tech hubs. Episodes include discussions on building businesses amid economic challenges, fostering local talent, and creating supportive ecosystems, such as the inaugural episode with Scott Dorsey discussing the founding of ExactTarget and its implications for the Indianapolis tech landscape.
Outsider Inc. is dedicated to visionary leaders breaking the mold of tech entrepreneurship. Hosted by Ian Hathaway—co-author of The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and co-founder of seed-stage venture capital firm FOVC—each episode delivers exclusive interviews and insider insights from exceptional founders building generation-defining companies. Join us for an in-depth exploration into the real-life stories of entrepreneurs from unexpected places and backgrounds who overcame early setbacks, built resilient teams without following the traditional Silicon Valley playbook, and created thriving ecosystems in overlooked markets. Whether you’re a first-time founder, seasoned innovator, or investor, you’ll gain actionable strategies, unconventional wisdom, and practical takeaways to help you navigate your entrepreneurial journey—no matter where you come from. Join our community today by subscribing on your favorite podcast app and dive even deeper on our newsletter at outsiderinc.substack.com.
In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway sits down with Hernán Kazah, co-founder of Mercado Libre and Managing Partner at Kaszek, to trace the outsider journey that helped put Latin America on the global tech map. Hernan reflects on growing up in Buenos Aires, the early lessons that shaped his resilience, and how his time at Procter & Gamble sharpened his appreciation for process and execution. After arriving at Stanford as an English learner, he caught the wave of the internet boom, met Marcos Galperin, and helped launch Mercado Libre in 1999. A moment when internet adoption in the region was near zero, capital was scarce, and there was no startup ecosystem to lean on.
Hernan walks through raising money in the dot-com window, surviving the crash by cutting marketing, doubling down on product and organic growth, reaching profitability in 2006, and ultimately taking Mercado Libre public in 2007. He then shares why he stepped away in 2011 to co-found Kaszek with a clear mission: bring early, high-conviction capital and real operator support to the next generation of Latin American founders. Along the way, he breaks down what he looks for in entrepreneurs and why building in emerging ecosystems often requires solving more than one problem at a time. We also dig into Kaszek’s track record backing category-defining companies like Nubank, Creditas, QuintoAndar, and Kavak, and why Hernan remains bullish on the region’s potential. His guiding principle is simple: move with conviction … or don’t move at all.
Show Notes:
(06:55) P&G Lessons On Process
(11:10) Stanford Culture Shock
(16:34) Saying Yes To Mercado Libre
(20:08) Building In A No-Ecosystem Market
(23:55) Dotcom Crash And Capital Discipline
(29:05) IPO Validation And Profitability
(32:40) Leaving Mercado Libre
(33:47) Founding Kaszek
(42:07) What Kaszek Looks For
(46:18) Outsider Playbook in LatAm
(54:43) Legacy and Ecosystem Hopes
(57:21) Beyond the Bio with Hernan Kazah
✅ Host: Ian Hathway – Co-Founder & Managing Partner, FOVC
✅ Guest: Hernan Kazah, Co-Founder, Mercado Libre & Managing Partner, Kaszek
Produced by Spellbinder Media. Executive Produced by Bridge Five Ventures. Copyright ©️2025, Bridge Five Ventures, LLC, All rights reserved.
Listen & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or at outsiderinc.substack.com.
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