Manuel Silva. He’s a partner at Santander InnoVenture. Prior to that, he was the founding member of BBVA Ventures which focused on lending, new platforms, financial inclusion, and private banking. He’s worked across Latin America and Europe and holds a BA in Business Administration from CUNEF, a MSc in Political Science, and a MPhil in Development Economics.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – N/A
What CEO do you follow? – Rob Frohwein
Favorite online tool? — Crunchbase
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “There’s so much to do in this world”

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:40 – Nathan introduces Manuel to the show
02:25 – Manuel is involved in all investments at Santander
03:10 – Manuel is separate from the Santander group
- 03:31 – Manuel facilitates the relationship across the banks
- - 03:48 – The banks refer to the Santander’s franchises all over the world
04:24 – Manuel shares how they worked with Kabbage
- 05:01 – “It’s a successful investment, it’s a successful partnership”
- 05:20 – Kabbage is the perfect example of how Santander wants to work
05:30 – The fund size for innoventure at Santander
06:45 – Manuel shares how Santander plays in the venture capital world
- 06:48 – Santander does equity investment only
08:05 – Santander works out the opportunities for the CEO and the company
08:55 – The companies in Santander’s portfolio is not complete because there are still companies unannounced
10:00 – Manuel shares how they work in the round and in the FinTech space
- 10:03 – FinTech space has a level of maturity and density in entrepreneurship
11:00 – Companies that Santander have invested in are data driven
12:13 – Santander wants banks to partner with startups so that these companies can access the reach these banks have
14:30 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

FinTech has the maturity to deal with the problems that come up in the industry—this sets them apart.
Santander exists to bring together a partnership between banks and startups.
Be focused in your task and goals as there’s so much to do.

Resources Mentioned:

Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
Drip – Nathan uses Drip’s email automation platform and visual campaign builder to build his sales funnel
Toptal – Nathan found his development team using Toptal for his new business Send Later. He was able to keep 100% equity and didn’t have to hire a co-founder due to the quality of Toptal
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible and giving FREE money now from Nathan.
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books.
The Top Inbox – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
Jamf – Jamf helped Nathan keep his Macbook Air 11” secure even when he left it in the airplane’s back seat pocket
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 548: $200M FinTech Fund Bullish on Kabbage with Santander Innoventures Partner Manuel Silva

SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders