Venture is a job in self introspection. Capital is a commodity and Founders have many options. You need to know why you’re different and why a Founder should work with you.
Mercedes’ path to VC is a true convergence of her life experiences — a childhood surrounded by inventors, finance roles at the Federal Reserve and Goldman Sachs, managing P&Ls at two consumer startups (including growing one from $2 to $100M in revenue in 4 years), founding two startups of her own, and her long-term goal of empowering communities she cares about.
She joined Lightspeed in 2019 and has led a number of investments in the LATAM region and invests in early stage consumer fintech companies that are unlocking wealth creation for underserved individuals and regions.
During her startup career, she served in almost every functional role – she had roles spanning operations, product management, customer service, talent and recruiting, design, sales, marketing, strategy, and general management.
Her founders consistently reference how that experience enables her to advise them with patience, honesty, and empathy: “She challenged us to think bigger, stay focused, and never lose sight of our customer.”
Her founders reference her strong product intuition as a key benefit of partnering with her: “Her intuition around product is laser sharp – she always cuts through to exactly what matters.”
They also respect her ability to challenge while supporting: “Mercedes’ ability to challenge founders (and the business) yet be in their corner when it counted was unparalleled. I always walk away from our conversations with a new insight or perspective.”
She’s also passionate about blending consumer behavioral insights, always thinking about how consumer behavior, fintech products, and pop culture intersect.
Mercedes has a MBA and Masters in Education from Stanford University, and an AB from Harvard University in Behavioral Economics. Outside of work, she enjoys staying active – rock scrambling, hiking, skiing and off-roading in her Jeep – and staying true to her nerdy roots – reading scifi novels, playing Catan, and dealing playing cards very, very fast.
- Favorite Album The nostalgia of Facebook albums, Lemonade by Beyonce.
- Favorite Book Anne of Green Gables
- Favorite Hobby Dancing and singing my heart out, often to 90s and 00s R&B.
