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Ansh Kadam
Founder & CEO at Bui... â˘Â 19d
This Argentinian guy missed the chance to pitch to Warren Buffett. But today, he built Latin Americaâs eBay worth over $95 Billion. Meet Marcos Galperin, the founder of Mercado Libre. Marcos was born in 1971, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Coming from a family that owned Sedesa, a well-known leather company, he was exposed to business from an early age. While attending Stanford in the late 1990s, Marcos became fascinated with e-commerce, particularly eBayâs success. Through his professorâs network, he found himself sitting next to Warren Buffett for a few minutes, but missed the chance to pitch his idea. Determined not to miss another opportunity, Marcos convinced his professor to let him drive investor John Muse to the airport. During the ride, Marcos pitched his idea of an eBay-like platform for Latin America. He even took a wrong turn to extend the conversation. This bold move secured him his first funding. In 1999, Marcos launched Mercado Libre from Buenos Aires. Despite facing challenges like limited internet access and a nonexistent online shopping culture, the platform gained 1,500 users and recorded $2 million in transactions within just three months. By the end of the first year, they had expanded into Brazil, Mexico, and Uruguay. In 2001, eBay acquired a 20% stake in Mercado Libre, which they sold in 2016 for over $1 billion. A pivotal moment came in 2003 when Marcos launched Mercado Pago, a payment system for people without bank accounts. This innovation became a crucial part of the companyâs success. By 2007, Mercado Libre became the first Latin American tech company to list on NASDAQ. Today, itâs valued at more than $95 billion. Hereâs what you can learn from Marcosâ journey: âŞď¸ Be bold and seize every opportunity: Marcos turned a simple car ride into a million-dollar pitch. Always be ready to pitch your idea, even in unconventional settings. âŞď¸ Solve real problems for your market: Launching Mercado Pago addressed a critical issue in Latin America, the lack of banking access. âŞď¸ Adapt and expand strategically: Despite the dot-com crash, Marcos expanded to multiple countries early on, building a resilient business. If you want to learn more stories like this and actionable strategies to grow your startup, subscribe to our newsletter through the link in the comment.
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