Mercedes Bent

  • Founders are Made not Born: Crafting Advisors is a Skill

    This was first published in Business Insider — read it here. #FMB “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII. Extensions: Parts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Being a founder can be a lonely occupation. Every day you’re asked to make decisions that have enormous implications for the company you’re trying to…

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  • Meet Flink: México’s Leading Neobroker

    By Mercedes Bent and Will Kohler We’re thrilled to announce that Lightspeed is leading the $57M Series B of Flink, the leading neobroker in México. Flink surpassed 1M brokerage accounts earlier this year after launching their brokerage product in the summer of 2020. We first met the Flink team the day before Mercedes’ birthday. It was a Friday…

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  • Edtech, “Post” Pandemic: 3 Trends Here to Stay

    In May of 2021, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said he expected all schools to reopen their doors this fall. It seemed like our massive national experiment in home schooling was just about over. But there are many signs that changes in education driven by the lock down are likely to continue. Many school districts and states…

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  • Omnichannel Social: How the Pandemic Transformed Social Products

    Social startups understand that consumers desire products where the memory of an experience is the product itself. Companies like Soulcycle, The Nudge, Museum of Ice Cream, Rosé Mansion and Drybar focus on delivering not just a service, but a memory. 15 months ago, I outlined my focus on startups who had excelled at building physical-first…

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  • Creators was a great rebrand for many freelancers, and they’re building longevity

    Freelancers. Gig workers. Creators. Self-employed. The blossoming of overlapping terms to describe independent workers is yet another sign of a major shift happening in the global workforce: the shift toward a majority self-employed world. In a few years, if your sole form of income is from a traditional employer (i.e., you aren’t self-employed), you very…

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  • “Edtech” VCs

    I’m frequently asked by founders which VCs invest in companies focused on learning or career mobility. I say “edtech” VCs as many of these investors are investing preK to gray including consumer, corporate, etc. The “edtech” VCs listed here are either focused on this space full-time or have strong theses about the space / have…

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  • Meet Stori: Mexico’s Credit Card for the Masses

    Mexico is the fastest growing e-commerce market in the world. Mexico earned the #1 spot ahead of India, China, Philippines, and Malaysia. This increase in online purchases means that Mexicans are increasingly looking for more ways to digitally pay. In China, home grown digital payments companies like Alipay and WeChat Pay have the dominant share of e-commerce.…

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  • Lightspeed’s Edtech Portfolio

    Part II of my 2021 Edtech Outlook. Part I here In Part I, I wrote about where we’ve been and where we might be going in edtech. I thought I’d take a step back and share how we look at edtech at Lightspeed and how some of the trends we’re interested in have made it into…

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