As the co-founder and CEO of Beek Technologies, one of the most downloaded book apps in Latin America, Pamela Valdés Esteva believes everyone is born with the potential to be a superhero and that the best way to realise your strengths is through stories.
Pamela's mission through Beek is to help creators tell their personal stories in a way that empowers others in the Latin communities. For instance, an entrepreneur who found success after quitting a 9-to-5 job shares her story on Beek to inspire others to follow suit.
“We don’t have the equivalent of the American dream in Latin America. Very few people have the opportunity to go to Harvard, become an astronaut, or win the Olympics - and the best stories from Hispanics who actually have these superpowers are untold. With Beek, we can tell all these stories to inspire and motivate the Hispanic and Latin communities to become the heroes of their own stories.” – Pamela Valdés Esteva, Beek.io, co-founder and CEO
Valdés had an opportunity to grow Beek through the acquisition of US-based AI company, Tamber. However, she didn’t have the liquidity to close the deal – that’s when she discovered that financing a startup in LatAm would be challenging.
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Valdés and her co-founder were looking for various funding options to help scale Beek. They considered both venture funding and revenue-based financing, which are funding options that aren’t easy to obtain in Latin America – even though Beek already had recurring revenue.
They just started the venture capital fundraising process when they had an opportunity to acquire the artificial intelligence (AI) company, Tamber.
At the time, the U.S.-based Tamber already helped improve Beek’s user experience through their custom technology. As Tamber’s biggest client, Beek knew they were in pole position to acquire the proprietary technology that was essential to their business.
However, Beek’s financial positioning wasn’t ideal. Acquiring Tamber could mean jeopardising their runway, while not acquiring Tamber could mean losing out on an opportunity to instantly improve their product offering.
Valdés says the venture capital world is broken because it doesn’t provide the right incentives for founders to focus on their mission. Companies are constantly chasing the dream of being venture-backed businesses instead of focusing on building their businesses.
Founders also don’t understand that, often, the investors' vision and your mission won’t align.
Though Valdés has had great advisors like Y Combinator in her startup journey, she says it’s also not unusual to find many VC advisors who want to help you grow without actually investing. They’ll ask for exchanges, like free stock options.
Then there are the problems that come with getting the funds in the right currency. For example, Valdés found a digital debt provider that would give her the capital she needed, but they couldn’t wire her the funds in Mexican Pesos.
“I remember thinking, someone should provide revenue-based financing in Latin America and then I just happened to stumble across Jeeves. We got to meet Jeeves CEO Dileep Thazhmon at an event and were inspired by the mission.”
Valdés discovered Jeeves through a fellow Y Combinator group member. After meeting with Dileep and applying to Jeeves, she received approval and the funds she needed in just a few days.
“I really believed in Jeeves product strategy and product vision more than all the other solutions out there. Unlike other companies that are offering corporate credit cards, Jeeves is actually building financial solutions that are more relevant for founders.
So when I heard that Jeeves is a global reality and I could receive and spend money in USD or in Brazil Real or Mexican Pesos, I knew Jeeves could solve a lot of problems for our accounting team.”
Beek chose to move forward with Jeeves Growth Capital because it was non-dilutive and gave them 12-month terms.
Best of all, Jeeves could disburse the funds as Mexican Pesos directly in Beek’s bank account, which allowed them to make purchases freely without restrictions. With Jeeves, Beek also didn’t have to worry about hidden fees, personal guarantees or covenants.
Beek was able to acquire Tamber and even use the leftover funds to increase their marketing efforts after they closed the acquisition. They are now one of the most downloaded book apps in LatAm.
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Thanks to Beek’s acquisition of Tamber and its proprietary technology, they had leverage to negotiate a better deal for their fundraising round.
Tamber’s recommendation system (think Netflix-style recommendations but with audiobooks, podcasts, and content) has also improved Beek’s client retention rates.
“We were able to use Jeeves Growth to acquire a business which in turn helped us acquire more customers and let us negotiate better VC terms”
Beek’s announcement of the Tamber acquisition also brought in new content creators, multiplying Beek’s content offerings.
Over the next 6 months, Beek plans to concentrate more on the creative side of its business. They want to have the best creators telling the best stories on Beek to help everyone reach and release their superpowers.
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