Hola Familia!

Every two weeks, we connect you—alongside 4,000+ subscribers and 16,900+ social media followers—to the latest inside scoop on the Latine venture scene. We’re launching a newsletter referral program with rewards, so scroll all the way through to share. More soon!

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Major Updates

NDAs & Confidentiality — MoFo x LaFamilia Service Series E3

What’s the real deal with NDAs? When do you actually need one, and what should be in it? In this third episode of our legal series with Morrison Foerster, partner Jesse Nevarez breaks down what every founder should know about confidentiality agreements, especially during M&A conversations.

Whether you’re prepping for a potential acquisition or just want to protect your startup’s sensitive info, this session covers the key terms, common pitfalls, & when NDAs actually matter.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• When NDAs make sense and when they’re unnecessary

• How to clearly define confidential information

• What clauses to include so your NDA actually protects you

Bonus: Jesse also explains why VCs rarely sign NDAs, what exceptions to include, and how to tailor your agreement based on context. Don’t miss out! And join us if you’re free today at 11am PT for their Demystifying VC Term Sheets session here!

📩 Have questions? Drop them and we might answer them in a future episode!

Celebrating Familia Wins🎉

• We’re sending gratitude to the Inicio team as they reflect on a powerful chapter. Shoutout to Jorge, Monica, Jake, and Elvia for their leadership and the impact they’ve made in uplifting Latino startup ecosystems.

• Congrats to Daisy Garcia (VCFamilia) and the Prosperity7 team on leading Opsera’s Series B!

• Congrats to Herston Elton Powers (VCFamilia) and the 1982 Ventures team on Cinch’s $28.8M round to scale circular tech across Asia!

• Congrats to Mario Ruiz (VCFamilia) and the Infinity Ventures team on leading Deck’s Series A to power the future of permissioned data!

• Congrats to Ricardo Flores (FounderFamilia) and the MiChamba team on their new partnership with PEMEX 🇲🇽! .

• Congrats to Luis Jorge Sánchez (FounderFamilia) and the KredFeed team on their $1.5M pre-seed round!

• Congrats to Sandra Velasquez (FounderFamilia) and Nopalera for their recent collaboration with Disney+ on Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip.

• Congrats to all the new LBAN cohort members! Many are from FounderFamilia and we’re excited to see how you shine.

  _{If you want wins highlighted, please make sure to tag us in socials or post in the Slack/Whatsapp!}

Have you seen our city leads on socials? They’re getting so much love they deserve!

We are a grassroots organization focused on supporting those building the future. If you would like to get involved, please fill out this form to learn more about you and how to plug in. In the meantime, make sure to subscribe to LaFamilia Monthly Calendar to stay up to date with not just our latest events and programming, but also opportunities to engage with the broader comunidad!

Meet the Co-Founder - Juan Giraldo 🇪🇨

Like this Founder Friday on Linkedin!

Waku Tea – From the Andes to Aisles Across America

Juan Giraldo is a Quito-born entrepreneur on a mission to share Ecuador’s ancestral wellness with the world.

After moving to the U.S. with his childhood friend Nico Estrella in 2016, Juan set out to build a brand rooted in heritage, health, and social impact. Inspired by an herbal recipe called horchata lojana, a blend of 20 healing herbs passed down through generations, Waku sources its ingredients directly from smallholder farmers in the Andes Mountains, supporting rural livelihoods while bottling centuries of tradition.

About Waku Tea

• Waku brings a bold, refreshing flavor with gut-health benefits: 5g of prebiotic fiber, 0g added sugar, and just 25–30 calories per bottle.

• Waku expanded from 3 to 13 states and will launch in 160 Whole Foods stores across the East Coast this October.

• Achieved 100% year-over-year growth in Q1, becoming the top-selling tea in its initial 22-store Whole Foods region.

• Lesson learned: “We didn’t know what we didn’t know”—building Waku took grit, resilience, and the willingness to get back up after every setback.

Community Ask 

• Waku Tea is raising its current seed funding round and seeking aligned investors. (Reach out: [email protected]).

Meet the Founder - Gustavo Castillo 🇲🇽

(Sneak peek into our Founder Friday tomorrow!)

Stealth – The art of prep, powered by robotics

Gustavo Castillo is a Los Angeles-based engineer and entrepreneur on a mission to help small restaurants survive and thrive through automation.

Growing up in his family’s restaurant, Que Ricos Fresh Mexican Kitchen, Gustavo saw firsthand how rising labor and food costs, especially after COVID, put mom-and-pop kitchens at risk. After leading autonomous vehicle deployments at Motional and earning dual graduate degrees from MIT, he’s now building robotic kitchen tools to automate tasks like chopping, slicing, and mixing, starting with Mexican kitchens in LA.

About the Venture

• Builds robotic kitchen tools that automate food prep to help small restaurants cut labor costs, improve margins, and stay independent.

• Completed first working prototype and is piloting it at family-owned restaurants in Los Angeles.

• Targeting LA’s underserved $1B+ Mexican restaurant market, where automation solutions have largely ignored mom-and-pop shops.

• Currently refining for production and seeking partners to expand deployment.

• Lesson learned: You’re never going to feel fully ready. Taking the leap before everything’s perfect, that’s what made it possible to build.

Community Ask 

• Gustavo’s looking to connect with LA-based Mexican restaurants and food-loving technologists to test, learn, and build. (Reach out: [email protected])

Want to be featured in Meet the Founder? Schedule a 20-minute chat here.

Funding & Resources for Early-Stage Founders and VCs 🫰🏽

• LaFamilia Event Fund – Get up to $2K to bring your event to life! Planning a meetup, dinner, or workshop between May and August? We’re supporting community-led events across the U.S. that create space for connection and learning. Submit your idea at least 4 weeks in advance. Looking for events mid-May - August. Apply here

• Chime Community Changemakers is now open! Receive funding, executive mentorship, and join a national cohort of founders working on access to capital, credit equity, and financial education. Apply by April 30th.

• Velocity by Village Global is now open! Get up to $1M, join a remote founder cohort, and access $350K+ in perks + top-tier investors. Apply by May 16th.

• O’Shaughnessy Global Grant – $100K for Researchers, Builders & Creatives! Go from idea to reality and keep 100% ownership. Apply by April 30th.

• Perplexity for Startups – 6 months free + $5K in API credits. For startups <5 yrs old, <$20M raised, and part of a partner program. Apply here.

• We (LaFam’s Kim Hernandez) found a full list of funding opportunities here.

Open Positions in VC & Startups 💼

• M13 is hiring an investment analyst (NYC)

• Mercury is hiring a Community Manager (Flexible)

• A16z is hiring a Partner, Portfolio Finance – Early Stage Venture (SF)

• Construct Capital is hiring an Investor (D.C.)

• Female Founders Fund is hiring a Platform Manager (NYC)

• Adams Street Partners is hiring an Investment Professional (NYC; IL)

• Primary Venture Partners is hiring a Senior Associate, Fintech (NYC)

• Atlantic Group is hiring an Investor Relations Associate (NYC)

• Human Capital is hiring a Talent Operations Analyst (SF)

• Norwest is hiring an Associate – Growth Equity Consumer (Menlo Park)

• TCV is hiring a Growth Equity Associate (NYC; Bay Area)

• Metrea is hiring an Investment Analyst (D.C.)

• Maersk Growth is hiring a Senior Associate – Investments (Copenhagen)

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🔗 Useful Links

• VCFamilia Public Directory

• FounderFamilia Public Directory