Sebastian Kreis, Co-Founder of Xepelin – Blitzcaling your Startup & Empowering LatAm’s SMBs

Miguel Armaza sits down with the amazing Sebastian Kreis, Co-Founder/Co-CEO of Xepelin, a Latin American fintech company that aims to be the leading SME digital bank in the region. Founded in 2019 by Sebastian and Nicolas de Camino, they are one of the fastest growing fintechs in the history of Latam, having loaned more than $400 million in the last couple of years, onboarded over 4,000 clients, and have been doubling in size every three months throughout the last year. They are also backed by some of the best fintech investors, including Kaszek, DST Global, Picus Capital, FJ Labs, Gilgamesh Ventures, Jackie Reses, and many more. In this episode, we discuss - Sebastian’s journey and what inspired him to pursue an entrepreneurial career in fintech - The importance of a strong co-founder relationship and how Sebastian and Nico work together - Company culture and why honesty and transparency are at the very center of Xepelin - The dramatic reality that almost 95% of Latin American companies are unbanked or underbanked and how Xepelin is fixing this - Lessons for entrepreneurs, fundraising reflections… And just a lot more! Sebastian Kreis Sebastian is Co-Founder & Co-CEO at Xepelin, a Latin American fintech company that aims to be the leading SME digital bank in Latam. Prior to Xepelin, he was a Consultant at BCG where he led a multidisciplinary team to develop and execute several successful fintech products serving Fintech and Financial Services firms with a focus on digitization and technology. He has dedicated his efforts in leading teams and helping organizations to bring new digital experiences. Sebastian's experience goes across digital functions: digital strategy, at scale digital transformations, product development, omnichannel user experience strategy and advanced analytics. Prior to BCG, Sebastian co-founded and scaled Safecard from an idea to $2.0M in recurring revenue. Before Safecard, he was an Investment Banking VP at IM Trust (acquired by Credicorp) where he led over 30 M&A, capital market and private transactions totaling +$10Bn and the company’s international expansion into Peru. Sebastian holds a Master in Business Administration from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business where he was co-president of the Latin American and Hispanic Business Association and co-founded the Haas Fintech Club. He is an Industrial Civil Engineer from Catholic University. He is certified Scrum Master for software development. Sebastian has also been involved in academia, serving in 2010-2013 as part time professor of Managerial Accounting & Corporate Finance in the school of engineering in Catholic University. About Xepelin “We’re reimagining financial services in Latam so every company can focus on operating their business and realize their potential.” Xepelin is a Latin American fintech company that aims to be the leading SME digital bank in Latam. The company was founded in 2019 by Nicolas de Camino and Sebastian Kreis. Thousands of businesses use Xepelin to manage their finances. We’re proud to serve SMBs from all regions and industries in Mexico and Chile, helping founders, managers and their teams stay focused on what they care about most: operating their business. Xepelin is backed by Kaszek, DST Global, Picus Capital, Kayyak Ventures, FJ Labs, Kavak founder Carlos Garcia and ex-head of Square Capital Jackie Reses. Xepelin has raised over $36 million in equity and $250 million in asset-backed facilities to date. For more information, visit https://www.xepelin.com For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Miguel's Twitter: twitter.com/MiguelArmaza Miguel's Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3jWIpqp