Start-Up Generation ~ Brazil's Breakout Ventures!

Thanks to MIT Media Lab alumna Ana Luisa Santos for spotting this TIME piece by Lori Ioannou on Brazil's Start-Up Generation about the blossoming of Walter Silva, Marcelo Marzola and Phillip Klein of Predicta.net (seen above in Victor Affaro's photo) and other newcos!

"Ten years ago, when I launched my business, getting start-up capital was impossible," [Marzola] says. "At the time, I called on 20 banks, venture-capital and private-equity firms, and everyone turned me down. No one wanted the risk of investing in a fledgling. Finally, there are signs that the equity-capital market for entrepreneurs is igniting." This is a breakout that thousands of Brazil's newbies have been waiting for. Today there are only about nine players -- including Antera, Confrapar, DFJ FIR Capital, Monashees Capital and Status Capital -- with an estimated $1.9 billion in assets under management, according to the Latin American Venture Capital Association (LAVCA). These firms are run by trailblazers who have been promoting the merits of entrepreneurship to a Brazilian business community..."

Excellent to witness this new ventures transformation!