When three young entrepreneurs decided to start an online marketplace in Argentina in 1999, their chances seemed slim. Only a select few had access to the internet and money was scarce. During the pandemic two decades later their online shop, MercadoLibre, became the highest-valued company in Latin America.
Likewise, Colombian food delivery unicorn Rappi birthed a wave of innovation, both in the form of complementary services and its founders supporting other ventures with investment capital, unlocked thanks to the success of their original idea.
Both examples highlight the impact that just one strong company can have and the network effect that comes alongside innovation.
However, while these standout success stories help to raise the profile of local tech markets and highlight the potential for innovation with both other entrepreneurs and investors, the power of smaller entities shouldn’t be underestimated. Further, relying on the success or personality of just a handful of the most popular founders can stop other ideas from rising to the surface.
In fact, this was the specific sentiment that came out of the Innovate Entrepreneurship Summit in Guatemala. Here, the speakers note that unicorn startups usually garner the most attention and eye-catching headlines. However, they also noted that “fostering smaller startups allows for greater business variety across different sectors, creating a resilient business ecosystem that fosters competition and continuous innovation.”
While the majority of VC funds dream of finding the next unicorn, one emerging venture studio is taking a different approach. Nobody Studios is a high-velocity studio that focuses on early-stage ventures that are also impact-driven, in the belief that seeding the right ideas in the right markets will drive meaningful change, building resilient networks worldwide.
An international venture studio
In order to be the change they want to see, the team at Nobody Studio champions a ‘people first’ paradigm within their core values. By placing value on cultural diversity and inclusion, not just profits, the leadership team aims to ensure the best ideas rise to the top, regardless of background or location.
This vision for Nobody Studios was brought to life by founder and CEO Mark McNally, who is a serial entrepreneur himself. McNally has run the gauntlet with 14 companies, giving him extensive experience with the highs and lows of venture-building. Yet despite holding his leadership position, McNally hopes that Nobody Studios isn’t defined by any one investor or founder, hence the name.
While McNally hails from the US, the wider executive team also has in part an international presence. For instance, Chief Technology Officer Eyal Shavit is based in Israel and has 20 years of experience building AI products and growing distributed international teams.
Yet it’s not just the executive team with international representation. For instance, one of the Studio’s portfolio companies, Evalify, was founded by William Carbone. Although Carbone went to undergraduate in Italy, he is now based in Lisbon, Portugal. His personal experience as an entrepreneur spans close to a decade 7 years, shaping innovation ecosystems and championing talent from Latin America to the Middle East.
Evalify is one of Nobody Studio’s flagship ventures, transforming the venture capital (VC) landscape by pioneering smart patent risk assessment. It also highlights how great ideas can be launched and managed across borders, without the geographic restrictions that often limited innovation in years prior.
Chief Financial Officer Greg Lovett has extensive experience in this regard, helping ventures like Evalify get off the ground. In addition, companies built in collaboration with Nobody Studios are able to tap into knowledge on everything from building products to running professional marketing campaigns thanks to the executive team and a collaborative community of its professionals.
Driving cultural and social impact internationally
Nobody Studios uses a crowd-infused incubation model to build companies that promise to deliver massive cultural and social impact at a 40% faster rate than usual, with a mission to build 100 ventures in just 5 years.
The inclusive company culture has been purpose-built for speed, profitability, and impact with a goal to open the world of entrepreneurism and venture investing to everyone.
Further, Nobody Studios has extensive experience building teams and offices in countries around the world. The team aims to take companies global early in their development, support underserved markets and build a presence on every continent.
Said its CEO McNally in an earlier interview, “We specialize in de-risking seed-stage companies and identifying repeatable, scalable business models. We bring together investors, founders, and creatives to forge companies with real-world value and purpose.”
“The economics of business creation are in desperate need of an overhaul. No longer will it be only a very tiny privileged minority that is invited to this table. Our stakeholders will share the founders’ journey. Anyone can bring their talent, influence, or capital to help us create world-changing companies,” added the executive.
Disclosure: This article mentions a client of an Espacio portfolio company.
