The most important characteristics for classifying a venture capital manager as the most respected, according to entrepreneurs, are the team quality of the management firm, followed by being entrepreneur-friendly, networking, track record of the VC firm, strategic vision, and the entrepreneurial experience of the managers. Surprisingly, day-to-day support from the management firm is the last attribute, and Reputation/Brand appears only in seventh place.
First-time founders have slightly different preferences compared to experienced entrepreneurs and founders with experience in another startup (Tech Mafia). All groups rank team quality, networking, and entrepreneur-friendly as the three most important attributes. In the other two positions, first-time founders choose investment agility and strategic vision, experienced entrepreneurs value the entrepreneurial experience of the VC manager, and Tech Mafia founders appreciate Reputation/Brand and Track Record.
Entrepreneurs invested by venture capital funds from Mexico or other Spanish-speaking Latin American countries prioritize attributes such as being entrepreneur-friendly, team quality, the entrepreneurial experience of the managers, and networking as the top four characteristics for a respected VC. Track record and strategic vision are ranked fifth by Mexican VCs and other Spanish-speaking VCs, respectively.
On the other hand, founders backed by Brazilian funds value Reputation/Brand and Track Record, ranking them second and third. Meanwhile, founders backed by European and U.S. funds emphasize industry expertise and strategic vision as top priorities, indicating that different profiles of entrepreneurs prioritize different qualities.
When entrepreneurs are seeking an investor, they value several key attributes. The most important factor is being entrepreneur-friendly, followed by team quality. Investment agility ranks third, with networking coming in fourth.
Interestingly, strategic vision and deep pockets ranked relatively lower, suggesting that entrepreneurs may prioritize more immediate and tangible support from their VC partners over long-term strategic alignment or the availability of substantial capital.
Another surprising result is that Track Record and Reputation were ranked 6th and 7th, even though VC firms often serve as certification agents, potentially signaling the startup’s quality to the market.
The top three VC firms are Kaszek, Monashees and Valor. They are distinguished by their unique set of attributes, highlighting that leading firms differentiate themselves through specialized capabilities. The most cited attributes include being entrepreneur-friendly, founding experience, and team quality. This diversity in strengths allows entrepreneurs to find a VC partner that aligns with their specific needs and business goals.
Entrepreneurs evaluated the VCs based on portfolio quality, due diligence, constructive feedback, and team quality. Kaszek emerged as the top-performing manager in all four areas, with Monashees consistently ranking second. Valor, Cometa Dila, Wollef, and Atlantico were also highly ranked for their support in three areas.
Figure 1 presents the distribution of the 76 respondents by the year the startup was founded. The respondents were divided into:
1)entrepreneurs in their first startup (1st time founder);
2)experienced entrepreneurs who are on at least their second entrepreneurial journey;
3)entrepreneurs who have worked in other well-known startups (Tech Mafia).
1st time founders represent 38% of the sample, experienced entrepreneurs account for 43%, and Tech Mafia, 18%.
Figure 1: Startup vintage and entrepreneurial experience of respondents
Table 1: The most important attributes to be the most respected VC
The entrepreneurs selected what are the three most important characteristics to be the most respected venture capital manager (Table 1). The most cited characteristic was the team quality of the management firm, followed by entrepreneur friendly, networking, track record of the VC firm, strategic vision, and entrepreneurial experience of the managers.
Surprisingly, hands-on/day-to-day support ranks last, even though most VCs praise it as a fundamental quality. Also, Reputation/ Brand of the VC firm came only in 7th place, while in our Brazilian report it was most import characteristic.
Table 2: The most important attributes to be the most respected by VC origin
Entrepreneurs who have venture capital funds from Mexico or other funds from Spanish-speaking Latin American countries in their cap table ranked the most important attributes of a VC to be respected in a similar order: entrepreneur-friendly, team quality, entrepreneurial experience of the managers, and network are in the top four positions. Track record and strategic vision are in fifth place for Mexican VCs and other Spanish-speaking VCs, respectively.
Founders who received investment from Brazilian funds ranked Reputation/Brand (second position) and Track Record (third position) as important factors. Meanwhile, founders who secured funding from European and U.S. funds ranked industry expertise and strategic vision among the top three positions, which may indicate that a different profile of entrepreneurs is seeking these VCs.
Table 3: Most important attributes according to the year of company’s vintage
The founders’ preference marginally depends on the company’s founding moment (Table 3). Team quality and an entrepreneur-friendly approach consistently rank among the top three attributes for all groups of founders. The latest generation of entrepreneurs (startups founded between 2022-2023) prefer the quality of the VC firm’s team, managers capable of networking, more attractive contractual term, and industry expertise.
Table 4 presents the preferences of the three types of entrepreneurs (1st time founder, experienced entrepreneur, and Tech Mafia). For all of them, Team quality and entrepreneur friendly are ranked in the top three. For first-time founders, the top priorities are team quality, network, and being entrepreneur friendly. This suggests that they place a high emphasis on the VC firm’s ability to support their venture and provide valuable connections.
Experienced entrepreneurs prioritize team quality, being entrepreneur-friendly, and the VC firm’s track record. This indicates that seasoned founders value a VC’s ability to understand their needs, as well as the firm’s proven success in supporting previous ventures. The entrepreneurial experience of the VC managers also ranks highly for this group.
Mafia Tech entrepreneurs prioritize being entrepreneur-friendly, team quality, and network. This suggests that they value a VC firm’s ability to foster a collaborative and supportive environment, as well as its connections and resources that can benefit their ventures. Reputation and track record also rank highly for this group, reflecting the importance of working with well-established VC firms.
Table 4: Most important attributes by the type of entrepreneur
Table 5 presents the relevance of each of the characteristics in the process of choosing a venture capital manager as an investor, where the founders gave a score of 5 for a very relevant factor and 1 for a less relevant factor.
The most important factor for entrepreneurs is being entrepreneur friendly, team quality is the second most important attribute, investment agility and networking ranked third and fourth.
Table 5: Ranking of attributes for choosing a VC as an investor[1]
Interestingly, strategic vision and deep pockets ranked relatively lower, suggesting that entrepreneurs may prioritize more immediate and tangible support from their VC partners over long-term strategic alignment or the availability of substantial capital.
Another surprising result is that Track Record and Reputation were ranked 6th and 7th, even though VC firms often serve as certification agents, potentially signaling the startup’s quality to the market.
Table 6: VCs that received the most votes as the most respected and their main attributes
Entrepreneurs selected the three most respected local venture capital managers, excluding the votes of founders in the managers who invested in their startups to remove a possible selection bias (Table 6). Kaszek, Monashees, and Valor are the top three choices for entrepreneurs. Interestingly, none of them are native Mexican VCs. Cometa, Dila, and Wollef are the leading Mexican VCs in our survey.
The top three firms have a completely different set of attributes. This suggests that leading VC firms differentiate themselves through a range of specialized capabilities. Entrepreneur friendly, founding experience and team quality are the most cited attributes. This diversity in strengths allows entrepreneurs to find a VC partner that best aligns with their specific needs and business goals.
Table 7: Entrepreneurs’ qualitative view on attributes of VC management firms
Table 7 presents the evaluation of invested companies according to the support provided in four different areas: portfolio quality, due diligence, constructive feedback, and team quality. Founders rated the venture capital firms with a score between 1 (low quality) and 5 (high quality) for each of the four areas, and we evaluated the managers with at least five invested companies responding.
Kaszek stood out as the manager with the highest score in all four areas, while Monashees is consistently ranked as second. Valor, Cometa, Dila, Wollef and Atlantico were highly ranked in support for three areas.
Table 8: Evaluation of support provided to backed companies
Table 8 presents the evaluation of invested companies based on the support they receive from their respective venture capital (VC) firms. Founders rated the VC managers on a scale from 1 (manager offers little support) to 5 (manager offers a lot of support), highlighting the perceived value-added contributions from these firms. Hi Ventures ranked as the top-performing firm, recognized for providing the most significant support to its backed companies. Following closely are Kayyak in second place and Nazca in third, both of which are also highly regarded for their proactive involvement and support. This ranking underscores the importance of active engagement by VC firms in fostering the growth and success of their portfolio companies.
The venture capital market in Mexico has experienced significant growth in recent years, attracting USD 1.1 billion and accounting for 28% of the capital invested in Latin America over the past year. Mexico offers a unique combination of a robust domestic market and proximity to the United States, which draws capital interested in promising startups. This favorable environment has led to an increase in the number of local venture capital funds and has attracted other Latin American and global funds.
The survey included the voluntary participation of 76 entrepreneurs who illustrated their perceptions regarding the characteristics that make a manager respected within the ecosystem, the traits of management companies that founders consider most important, and which firms are the most respected.
Entrepreneurs selected entrepreneur-friendly approach, team quality, and investment agility as the three most important characteristics for a highly respected manager. However, the evaluation of these characteristics depends on the type of entrepreneur, year or market conditions in which the company was founded, and the country of the VC firm.
