Welcome to this special solo episode of Season 4 of The J Curve with me, Olga Maslikhova.

Every few months, I zoom out to reflect on the lessons that stuck with me from the show. Think of this as your quarterly operator’s memo—especially if you’re building, raising, or investing in Latin America.

Q2 was full of sharp insights and real operator depth. But in this edition of The J Curve Insider, I won’t recap every episode.

I’ll go deep into three. 

João Del Valle (EBANX), Mike Packer (QED), and Gustavo Mapeli (Kanastra).

We’ll unpack EBANX’s global growth playbook, explore how QED built conviction around LATAM as an outsider VC—and what they’re betting on next—and break down how Kanastra scaled by defying startup orthodoxy.

Here’s what I’ll get into:

→ In LATAM, complexity isn’t a bug—it’s the moat.

→ Revenue is the best anti-dilution strategy.

→ In frontier markets, global expansion is a risk management.

→ Outsiders win in LATAM when they think like founders: test, learn, commit.

→ Multi-product vs. single-product: what founders need to ask before picking a lane.

If you enjoy today’s episode, please rate us on Spotify, subscribe to our newsletter at ⁠blog.thejcurve.com⁠, and follow us on YouTube (@thejcurvepodcast) and Instagram (@olgamaslikhova).

Let’s get into it.