High-Impact Entrepreneurship

By Sam Weyrauch, Endeavor summer intern

According to a report in the New York Times, Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital is now joining other U.S. corporations by extending its influence into South America. Led by partner David Velez, who will start up a regional office in Brazil this July, Sequoia Capital has been planning to create a South American presence for over a year, and started with a $10 million offering to Scanntech, co-founded by Endeavor Entrepreneur Raúl Polakof. Scanntech ”makes technology to connect independent grocers and retailers with supplies.”

After Sequoia partner Doug Leone traveled to Brazil in late 2010 to scout out new entrepreneurial investment opportunities, the firm brought aboard Mr. Velez, who previously worked in the financial sponsors group of Morgan Stanley doing investment banking, last year. And though Sequoia has yet to invest in technology entrepreneurs in Brazil, the firm made two investments last year: Scanntech and Despegar, ”an online travel company for the region.”

According to the piece, Scanntech has worked with Kraft, Coca-Cola, Scotiabank, and Visa in the past, and is projected to double last year’s $18 million revenue total in 2012. Although the company is based in Uruguay, it plans to expand into both Brazil and Asia in the upcoming years; Raúl Polakof said he wants “Scanntech to become a global company.”