Interview With Mat Gantar

Mat Gantar, founder of Lotux, prioritizes exceptional founding teams in FinTech, InsurTech, EdTech, and HealthTech at the pre-seed stage, aiming for positive societal impact and long-term improvement in Latin America.

What motivated you personally to get started in private investing?

I was already involved in the entrepreneurial ecosystem for many years before I started investing. What motivates me as an investor is seeing bright minds create innovative solutions with the aim of making the world a better place. Being on the “support” side for a while, I always felt that having more active involvement and “skin in the game” with founders would excite me more and also push me to strive to be better in the selection of the founders we partner with as well as in their support towards a common goal.

What is the single most important thing you value in an investment opportunity?

Since we partner with founders at the very early stages (pre-seed), we really focus on the founding team. Why are they pursuing this opportunity? How have they met, and how did they collaborate in the past? Do they complement each-other and are capable of developing extraordinary products and experiences? Do they have industry specific insights, connections and knowledge? These are some of the questions that helps us understand the team in the driving seat as well as their motivations for doing so.

What are the best innovation themes that you see in the market today? And how would this have an impact on Lotux long-term goals?

There are many exciting things happening in the world today. One thing that’s been exciting to me recently is the innovation and the digitalization of the healthcare sector in Latin America. COVID surely accelerated the digital health adoption, but many trends are here to stay. In addition, the AI models are becoming more accurate and this can bring very interesting opportunities in the intersection with healthcare and finance. Advances in automation and efficiency in the development of new products helps create scalable businesses, lowering costs and having them available to a broader audiences, aligning with our long-term vision of improving the quality of life for the 99%.

Beyond economic return, what kind of impact do you hope to make with your portfolio?

I believe that we as investors have the responsibility to invest in founders/companies that can have a positive effect on the world. Improve the quality of life for the majority, minimizing potential externalities. With our investments I’d like to contribute to that, aside from generating good employment options and economic growth in Latin America.

What’s the most pressing challenge or pain point in managing your day-to-day private investment activity?

I think it is juggling the different priorities between scouting for startups, processing investments, portfolio support, LP relations, staying on top of email and Whatsapp, just to name a few…

What is the hardest investment lesson you’ve learned and/or the biggest investment mistake you’ve made?

I believe that one of the hard lessons is keeping ourselves in check when it comes to being objective about a specific investment opportunity. To not assume things and ignore things just because we would like to see this product or team succeed. To try to use as much objective unbiased data as possible and make the right decision.

What are your favorite industry information sources and/or services?

I think podcasts are helpful because they give you more insights and personal impressions in addition to just “the numbers”. But when it comes to hard data, usually the reports of LAVCA, Pitchbook, or Crunchbase work great.

Please leave us a book recommendation.

Audiobooks changed my life! When it comes to business the one book I recommend over and over again is “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” by Ben Horowitz.
If I could mention a second, leisure book, it would have to be “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Also happy to share some additional investor resources that could help: https://lotux.vc/investor-resources/

What’s your favorite non-business interest or hobby?

I’m big on outdoor stuff, so mountaineering and climbing would be my favorites.

What’s your take on the private market overall?

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