Walter Mata, Founder and CEO of WAS Co., a science-based ConTech startup based in Monterrey, Mexico, joins us again together with his co-founders, Sergio Posadas, Daniel Cano, and Ricardo Terrazas, to talk about their startup and team.
WAS Co. develops sustainable and advanced materials derived from the waste and by-products generated by the construction, mining, and plastic industries. They currently have two main products: a clinker substitute for cement and concrete production under the brand “Earth Tech Materials”, as well as auxiliary materials used in construction under the brand “Polycrete”. These products are environmental-friendly, have higher performance, and are more affordable than their conventional counterparts. WAS Co. established partnerships with leading cement and mining corporations across the Americas and Europe. This led them to establish a company in Canada to scale their technology and serve customers in North America. Similarly, they are about to open another legal entity in Peru to address the Latin American market.
Walter is CEO, Sergio is Chief Operating Officer, Daniel is Chief Technology Officer and Co-CEO of the business unit Earth Tech Materials, and Ricardo is Co-CEO of the business unit Polycrete. They are all originally from Mexico and are currently based across different locations between Mexico and the USA. While Walter originally founded WAS Co., Sergio, Daniel, and Ricardo joined later as co-founders, bringing new energy and critical expertise and connections to the company.
Walter is responsible for the overall company vision, leadership, strategy, go-to-market, and fundraising. You can learn more about Walter and his professional journey through the previous podcast episode.
Sergio is responsible for transforming the company vision and strategy into a reality, working across teams and functions to make things happen.
Daniel overlooks all product and technology development aspects in the company plus the end-to-end leadership of the Earth Tech Materials business unit.
Finally, Ricardo leads the Polycrete business unit. Similarly to Daniel, Ricardo leads the business unit end-to-end.
Content:
05:00 The global environmental challenges related to the construction industry that WAS Co. is tackling
08:30 Why WAS Co. collaborates with leading cement companies vs competing with them
10:15 How WAS Co. is transforming a problem of the plastic and mining industries into a solution for the construction industry
12:40 What is currently being done with the waste from plastic and mining industries and the impact in the environment
14:10 How the products from WAS Co. are used in cement and construction value chain in Mexico and abroad
18:40 The importance of being both “environmental-friendly” and “wallet-friendly”
22:15 The role and origin story behind each founder
28:50 Why WAS Co.’s team has the right mix to make this venture successful
32:30 Priorities from WAS Co. in the next months
35:00 The best advise from Walter, Sergio, Daniel, and Ricardo for aspiring founders
Learn more: Walter in LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waltermatamtz/
Sergio in LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sergio-posadas-105880163/
Daniel in LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-canoj/
Ricardo in LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardo-terrazas-135036235/
WAS Co. in LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wascomexico/
WAS Co. website: https://www.wascompany.com/
Episode page: https://www.mexpreneurs.com/podcast-wasco
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