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VC Uncovered's View

Meet Elias

Key Quotes

Original Responses (Lightly Edited for Clarity and Flow)

Background and Personal Journey

Experiences Shaping My Investment Approach

Spending a decade operating alongside founders taught me what it truly takes to build a business. I wasn’t the one starting companies, but I had a front-row seat to the wins, setbacks, pivots, and long nights. I saw firsthand the emotional and operational intensity behind early-stage building—how many things need to go right for a product to find traction, for a team to scale, and for a vision to materialize into a business. This experience fundamentally shaped my empathy toward founders and gave me a grounded understanding of what “progress” looks like, especially when it’s messy or nonlinear. I approach investing with a builder’s lens: I care deeply about how things get made, by whom, and under what constraints.

Moment Inspiring Venture Capital Career

Joining Endeavor was the catalyst. I witnessed the multiplier effect when a single founder is empowered with the right capital, mentorship, and network. It clicked for me that supporting builders wasn’t just about returns—it was about compounding impact in an industry or economy. I saw companies go from local solutions to regional powerhouses. I realized that if I could be part of the early chapters of those stories, I could help shape the trajectory in meaningful ways. That insight changed my trajectory from operator to investor.

Influences on Worldview

Optimism is my default. I grew up with people around me who believed in hard work and had an unshakable belief that tomorrow could be better. That shaped my lens: I tend to see what could be, not just what is. As an investor, this means I often lean into founders who see possibility where others see barriers. It doesn’t mean ignoring risk—it means believing that with the right team and timing, you can build something transformative.

Balancing Intuition with Data

For me, intuition lives in the future or insight you carry; it’s about sensing where the world is going and whether this team sees it clearly. Data grounds us in the present; it tells us what’s working and what’s not. And then there’s taste, which sits somewhere in the middle. Taste is how I assess the product - does it feel intentional, well-made, and distinct? My best decisions come when all three —intuition, data, and taste —are in conversation, not contradiction.

Best Advice Received

A mentor once told me, “We’re in the business of finding exceptions”. That simple line reframed everything for me. It’s easy to get caught up in patterns or checklists: pedigree, traction, TAM… but the real breakthroughs come from the outliers. The advice pushed me to look beyond the obvious and spend time in places and communities others overlook. It taught me to ask not just, “does this check the boxes?” but “what if this is the one that rewrites the rules?”

Unconventional Belief

I believe you can be kind and build something legendary. There’s a myth that you need to be ruthless to succeed in business. I’ve found the opposite: the most durable companies are built by people who lead with integrity and inspire loyalty. When evaluating teams, I look for kindness, empathy, and self-awareness—not just ambition or technical horsepower.

Philosophy and Insights

Investment Philosophy

I invest in founders who are obsessed with building something real and meaningful for the long run, and who enjoy the process. I learned this from my dad, who started a small bakery 40 years ago in Lima, Peru. He cared deeply about his craft: how the bread tasted, how it was packaged, and how it made people feel. He didn’t chase trends or optimize for margins; he focused on making something good every single day. That spirit stuck with me. Great businesses start with people who care about the details and take pride in their work. That’s who I want to back.

Values When Working with Founders

Transparency and hard work. I want founders to feel they can be honest with me, especially when things aren’t going well. That trust is foundational. On the other side, I hold myself to the same standards I expect of them. I work hard, follow up, and bring value beyond capital. I see myself as a thought partner who’s in it for the long haul, not just a box-checker on the cap table.

Approach to Risk

Risk is our raw material. It’s baked into every decision we make. But I’ve come to see that not all risk is created equal. Some risks are technical, others are timing-based, and some are about team dynamics… others beyond your control. The key is knowing which risk you’re underwriting. I’ve also learned that to be great at this job, you have to get comfortable putting your reputation, and maybe even your career, behind a conviction.

Measuring Success Beyond Returns

To me, success is about enterprise value—not just in terms of numbers, but in how deeply a product embeds itself into people’s lives or workflows. Did we help create something that matters? Something that’s used and loved and needed? That’s the kind of value that is more important than valuations.

Trends and Future Vision

Misconceptions about VC

There’s a misconception that VCs create innovation. We don’t. Founders do. Our role is to believe early, to amplify, and sometimes to get out of the way. At best, we’re force multipliers. At worst, we’re distractions. I also think many VCs underestimate the responsibility of capital allocation. Putting a dollar into a bold, risky idea isn’t just about return, it’s a belief that this future is worth betting on, especially compared to safer, more predictable alternatives.

Improving the VC ecosystem

Empathy.

I think we need more investors who’ve actually built something, people who know what it’s like to run payroll with zero in the bank, or pitch when you’re running on fumes. It’s easy to critique from a boardroom. Much harder to build from zero. If we had more builders on the investing side, we’d have more thoughtful, human conversations with founders, and better outcomes as a result.

Challenges for Early-Stage Founders

Focus.

In cities like San Francisco, the noise can be deafening, every day brings a new trend, a new opportunity, a new comparison point. It’s easy to get distracted, especially in the early days when things are fragile. As VCs, we can help by reinforcing the signal, reminding founders what matters most, creating space for deep work, and holding the line when shiny objects start to pull them off course. This is something I struggle with personally too, so I try to be mindful of it in the support I offer.

Exciting Trends and Technologies

The rise of natural language as an interface is the most exciting development I’ve seen in my lifetime. For the first time, anyone, regardless of technical ability, can give instructions to a computer and get useful output. That’s a foundational shift. It changes who gets to build, who gets to participate, and how fast ideas become products. I think it’s as transformative as the invention of electricity. The frontier is now wide open.