From Underdog to Undefeated: The Edrizio De La Cruz founder story | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Adrio DEA Cruz shares his immigrant success story, from selling guavas to founding a fintech payments company, Arcus, which was later acquired by MasterCard.

Key Insights

• 🚀 Adrio Cruz's immigrant startup journey is a roller coaster, from selling guavas on the streets of Santo Domingo to selling his fintech payments company Arcus to MasterCard in 2021.
• 🙌 The power of perseverance is evident in Adrio's story - despite facing challenges like police brutality, gang violence, and failed fundraising attempts, he kept moving forward and eventually found success.
• 💡 Adrio's experience at JP Morgan as an investment banker opened his eyes to what an environment of success looks like, empowering him to swim with the best and become the best.
• 🌍 The idea for Regali (later Arcus) came from Adrio's personal experience with remittances, a market that was off the beaten path but presented a huge opportunity.
• 💪 Being part of Y Combinator helped Adrio and his team learn how to move fast and stick, ultimately leading to their growth and success.
• 💰 Raising funds for his startup was a challenging journey for Adrio, with many setbacks and rejections, but he never gave up and managed to secure an $8 million Series A investment.
• 😔 Adrio faced personal and professional setbacks, including a miscarriage and being temporarily voted out of the company, but he found strength in adversity and used it to push through.
• 🌟 Adrio's hard work and resilience paid off when Arcus was acquired by MasterCard, proving that what makes you different can be the reason for your success.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: What were some of the challenges Adrio faced during his entrepreneurial journey?

Adrio faced numerous challenges, including growing up in challenging environments, witnessing violence, dropping out of college, facing rejection in fundraising, and even being temporarily voted out of his own company.

Q: How did Adrio overcome the rejection in raising funds for his startup?

Despite facing numerous unsuccessful meetings and rejections, Adrio did not give up. He utilized every opportunity to network, pitch, and showcase his product, even flying to Mexico after his initial meeting got canceled due to an emergency landing. Eventually, he was able to raise an $8 million series A round.

Q: How did adversity impact Adrio's startup journey?

Adrio faced personal adversity, including the loss of a child and internal conflicts within his company. However, he used these experiences as fuel to push through and succeed, believing in the importance of representing his community and becoming an agent of change.

Q: How did Adrio ultimately achieve the acquisition of his company by MasterCard?

Adrio went through an arduous 18-month process of negotiating with MasterCard, all while dealing with personal and financial challenges. However, one week before Thanksgiving, he received the final approvals and successfully closed the acquisition, leading to a significant positive impact on his life and a sense of gratitude.

Q: What lessons can be learned from Adrio's story?

Adrio's story teaches us the importance of perseverance, resilience, and utilizing every opportunity that comes our way. It emphasizes the transformative power of hard work, determination, and representing something bigger than oneself.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Adrio DEA Cruz's journey from selling guavas on the streets of Santo Domingo to becoming a successful startup founder is a true roller coaster ride.

• He faced various challenges and setbacks, including dropping out of college, working as an aircraft mechanic, and experiencing rejection in raising funds for his startup.

• Through perseverance, resilience, and utilizing every opportunity, Adrio ultimately succeeded in raising funding, rebranding his company to Arcus, and achieving acquisition by MasterCard.