Entrepreneurship Journey with Edrizio De La Cruz.
Entrepreneurship Journey with Edrizio De La Cruz – from selling guavas in a barrio in Santo Domingo as a child, to selling his startup to Mastercard in Silicon Valley, Edrizio shares his inspirational entrepreneur journey.
Edrizio De La Cruz is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and the first Latino Y-Combinator Visiting Partner. He is most known for selling FinTech startup Arcus to MasterCard, in its first Latin America acquisition.
In 2013, Edrizio founded Arcus, a payments-as-a-service platform, secured $19M in funding from Y-Combinator, Ignia, SoftBank, and Citi Ventures, and grew the company to 100+ employees and 100+ clients, including Walmart, 7-Eleven, Santander, BBVA, and Rappi, before selling the business in 2021.
Edrizio is the author of the new book “The Underdog Founder – How to Go from Unseen to Unstoppable“.
Success in Silicon Valley has become the new American dream. However, for Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs without vital resources, turning this dream into reality is a long shot.
“Underdog Founder” shares Edrizio De La Cruz’s improbable odyssey from selling guavas in a Dominican barrio to co-founding his startup, Arcus, in Silicon Valley. Arcus was recognized by Forbes as one of the most successful startups of 2021 and was later sold to Mastercard. This no-nonsense playbook is for the entrepreneurial dark horse, a memoir and business narrative that presents seven key principles to rise above racism, poverty, imposter syndrome, and every imaginable and unimaginable startup obstacle.
This is a case study on how diversity programs (SEO, MLT, Toigo) and affirmative action, are vital in helping underrepresented professionals achieve the American dream – one that goes against all odds.
Edrizio lives in Miami, Florida.
Entrepreneurship Journey with Edrizio De La Cruz:
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- From Aircraft Technician to Investment Banking, then founding and selling Arcus, and now a Visiting Group Partner at Y Incubator – Please briefly share your amazing journey to entrepreneurship.
- Please introduce Y Incubator, and what you do in your role as Visiting Group Partner.
- “Edrizio is a Dominican immigrant who grew up in Harlem. To make ends meet, he dropped out of college to work as an aircraft technician, but he later returned to get his degree, worked on Wall Street, and earned an MBA from The Wharton School.”
- What led you to starting Arcus?
- Why did you sell Arcus?
- When did you know you wanted to be your own boss? Who were early entrepreneurial influences?
- What were some of your early obstacles to becoming a business owner?
- Why is it harder for African Americans and Hispanics to get venture funding (less than 2% of venture capital invested in Silicon Valley) for their tech start-up?
- Please give us a brief introduction of your new book “Underdog Founder”.
“It is a practical, no-nonsense playbook for entrepreneurs that lays out seven key principles for rising above racism, poverty, imposter syndrome, and every imaginable and unimaginable startup obstacle.”- Why did you write this book, and who is it for?
- Why are “underdog founders” the future of entrepreneurship?
- Please share a couple of these key principles.
- What are some of the common mistakes you are helping aspiring entrepreneurs avoid?
- In your experience what are the keys to successful fundraising? How do you prepare for pitches and what do investors look for?
- Why do most startups fail?
- What other key entrepreneurship lessons can you share with us?
- From Aircraft Technician to Investment Banking, then founding and selling Arcus, and now a Visiting Group Partner at Y Incubator – Please briefly share your amazing journey to entrepreneurship.
Episode Host: Henry Lopez is a serial entrepreneur, small business coach, and the host of this episode of The How of Business podcast show – dedicated to helping you start, run and grow your small business.
Resources:
Books mentioned in this episode:
[We receive commissions for purchases made through these links (more info)].
- The Underdog Founder – How to Go from Unseen to Unstoppable
- Marcus Aurelius – Meditations: Adapted for the Contemporary Reader by Marcus Aurelius
- The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday
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