Two days ago, a massive scandal shook the Argentine crypto scene. A group of individuals close to President Javier Milei launched a new cryptotoken named “LIBRA,” capitalizing on the President’s signature slogan: “Viva la Libertad” (“Long live freedom” in English). Barely three minutes after its creation, Milei himself promoted LIBRA on his social media accounts, accompanied by a vague message that the token would help finance small businesses and ventures in Argentina.
In his first weeks in office, President Trump announced new tariffs of 25% on all Mexican imports—along with similar measures for Canadian goods. This threat was quickly put on hold for 30 days, contingent on Mexico’s implementation of specific programs aimed at reducing illegal immigration and drug trafficking across the Mexico–U.S. border. If these tariffs are ultimately imposed, there’s a strong possibility that Mexico will respond with its own duties on U.S. imports. This back-and-forth has created significant uncertainty for businesses on both sides of the border, potentially affecting the rest of 2025. While the impact on traditional import/export operations is evident, it may seem less pressing for tech startups.
However, tariffs don’t just affect direct trade—they can also trigger significant currency fluctuations. For instance, new tariffs could drive a depreciation of the Mexican peso, which would raise costs for any startup importing materials or services priced in dollars—even if those imports aren’t coming directly from the United States. Startup founders should begin taking defensive measures now to avoid unexpected fallout.
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Let’s pause the venture capital talk and dive into something completely different—but just as exciting! The Great Backyard Bird Count is a fun, family-friendly way to help scientists monitor bird populations around the globe. It’s also an amazing example of using crowdsourcing and technology to advance science in an era of climate change.
Mark Your Calendar: The next Great Backyard Bird Count runs from February 14-17, 2025.
Why It’s Cool
How to Participate
So if you’re looking for a quick break from work, join the Great Backyard Bird Count. You’ll enjoy the outdoors, discover new wildlife neighbors, and contribute crucial data to help tackle climate change! 🌎✨
This post deviates from my usual topics, but as an avid hiker, I’ve been using an incredible mobile app called iNaturalist for a while. It’s a crowd-sourcing platform where people worldwide upload nature sightings—animals, birds, insects, plants, and fungi—and other users validate the species identification. Once a sighting is confirmed by at least two users, it becomes available to the scientific community for research. It’s a fantastic way to learn about species in nature while contributing to scientific research.
Recently, iNaturalist reached a milestone of 500,000 species—or more accurately, taxa—identified through the app, accounting for 23% of all known species on Earth—all thanks to nature-loving volunteers. You can read more about this achievement here: 500,000 Taxa on iNaturalist!.
If you’re into birding, I also recommend the Merlin Bird ID app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Not only does it help identify birds by sight, but it also allows bird recognition by sound. This feature is truly amazing, especially when you’re in a forest filled with birdsong—it’s like uncovering a hidden world.
These tools make exploring nature even more rewarding—give them a try!
Only 50% of startups make it from Seed to Series A, based on Carta’s data from 12,388 startups (2018–2023). The numbers show a clear trend: most startups that succeed in raising a Series A do so within 4 years. After that, graduation rates plateau.
The data also reveals a notable market shift: success rates declined following the market adjustment in Q3 2021, and it’s still uncertain when—or if—those earlier figures will return.
I often find it challenging to effectively convey the urgency of climate change and the need to phase out fossil fuels. This lecture by Prof. Bill McGuire, delivered in June 2024, does an excellent job of communicating these critical points. Prof. McGuire is a volcanologist and Emeritus Professor of Geophysical & Climate Hazards at University College London. He is also the author of Hothouse Earth: An Inhabitant’s Guide, a book I strongly recommend.
Once again, we have a list of market outlook reports for 2025 from top investment banks.
Continue readingWe are excited to announce the release of the latest Latam Climate Startup Radar, a comprehensive mapping of over 400 startups across Latin America. This edition, unveiled at the recent second edition of the Latam Climate Innovation Summit organized by my fund Dalus Capital, reflects a 55% increase in startup representation, underscoring the region’s rapid growth in climate-focused innovation.
Continue readingFollowing the tremendous success of our inaugural summit two years ago, we’re excited to bring you the Second Edition of the Latam Climate Innovation Summit! 🌍
I’ve been immersed in non-fiction lately, exploring books that spark curiosity and teach me new things. Here are a few titles that I recommend:
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