Brian Requarth (Latitud + Viva Real) - Building an Online Real Estate Marketplace in Latin America, Raising Money Without a Network, and Solving Supply vs. Demand

Thank you Sasha Astafiva for the introduction to my guest today, Brian Requarth, co-founder and former CEO of Viva Real. Viva Real is the online real estate marketplace in Latin America. He is also the founder of Latitud, helping build the next generation of iconic tech startups in Latin America.You can follow Brian on Twitter @brianrequarth. You can also follow your host @mikegelb.A few books that inspired Brian:The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro KlshimiThe Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben HorowitzVenture Deals by Brad FeldSome of the questions I ask Brian -What was your initial attraction to South America?What led you to founding Viva Real?What steps did you take in order to validate your idea?On this show, we mostly focus on the U.S. landscape, what are some of the differences or things you have to take into account in Brazil that you normally wouldn't in the U.S. when thinking of starting a company?In the early days -How did you approach building your team?How did you approach growth?How did you think about international expansion into other markets?When you were thinking of raising money, did you first look for local partners or did you look towards the U.S. / outside of South America?Tell me a little bit about Latitud and how that came together?When investing, I know your focus is Latin America. What are some of the challenges when investing in companies that are focused on this geography?Has it been harder finding conviction in founders since you have to meet with them remote?What is one thing that you would change in the fundraising process?What's one piece of advice that you have for founders?