Recently, we welcomed Cristóbal Muñoz to the team here at Vesta as a Senior M&A Analyst. He is a pivotal addition to our LATAM team, supporting our continued growth in the region.
To find out a bit more about Cristóbal and his background, we sat down together for a Q&A.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background
I studied economics for my major, but I was always certain that the conventional academic route wasn’t my cup of tea—it felt too slow, and I thrive in more dynamic settings. While studying, I explored various roles in the gastronomy sector, from being a sushi chef and a bartender to delivering food on a motorcycle. These experiences shaped my preference for a fast-paced environment.
My interest in investing has always been strong, possibly because it allows me to look beyond a single company and continuously learn about new businesses and trends.
I began my professional journey in the field of Alternative Assets Investing with a large insurance company, collaborating with prominent global managers like Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle, EQT, and others. It was here that I realized my interest lay in direct private investing. I wanted to be on the other side of the table, making decisions. However, I noted that the Private Equity space in Latin America was quite limited, prompting me to seek global and top-tier experience. This led me to join McKinsey as a generalist consultant, focusing on Latin America. My work spanned various industries across Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean, enriching my understanding of business strategies, operations, and importantly, technology.
After accumulating substantial experience, I decided to return to the investing field, this time as a Venture Capitalist. I joined Amador, a vibrant Venture Capital firm based in Panama, focusing on early-stage and growth-stage technology companies across diverse sectors like Fintech, Consumer, Logistics, Proptech, and Software. My role allowed me to lead investments, primarily in Software and Consumer spaces. During this period, I developed a keen interest in Software, particularly Vertical SaaS, recognizing its unique business model.
What made you choose Vesta as the next step in your career?
In my previous role, I had reservations regarding the VC model in Latin America, as VC requires the company to reach a vast market, and Vertical SaaS operates in a niche segment. In Latin America, niche markets struggle to reach a volume relevant enough to be appealing from a VC perspective. Because of this reason, there were many high quality companies I met with, with good product market fit and profitable businesses that I couldn’t invest in, because the market they operated in was too small for a Venture Capital investment.
I was approached by a headhunter for an opportunity with a company named Vesta, part of Constellation Software Group, a name I was familiar with. The recruitment process and discussions with the Latin American team at Vesta revealed a shared vision and investment philosophy that closely aligned with my own. This, coupled with the recent slowdown in VC fundraising, convinced me to pivot my career and join Vesta’s team, eager to explore new opportunities in software investing.
What have you enjoyed the most since joining the team?
Firstly, the team culture is really good. I clicked right away with my leadership on the interview process and I was warmly welcomed by the rest of the team when I started.
Secondly, the analytical intensity of the work I do here as a Senior M&A analyst. I consider myself to have an insatiable intellectual curiosity that makes my day-to-day very enjoyable, looking deep into companies and analyzing both their quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate the business.
And thirdly, I’m learning about new industries and business models each week. One week I can be analyzing an ERP company for financial institutions in Romania and the next a CRM company for Medical Centers in Central America.
What are your top three books / podcasts?
I’m not so much of a books or podcasts guy, but I love movies! My top 3 are:
- Interstellar
- El Dorado (yes, the animated film)
- About Time
I’m a big Sci-Fi fan.
Who inspires you?
My little 3-year-old, León inspires me every day with his smile. He helps me to see life through the eyes of a kid, which are full of amusement and wonder, finding joy in everything around him.
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
I love this question because I always ask myself the same! If I could acquire one talent with the click of my fingers it would probably be singing.
What is your favourite quote?
“Be humble for you are made of dust; be noble for you are made of stars.”
