Twice ✌️: He co-founded Keldoc, then Kolet, and invested in over 150 startups - Eduardo Ronzano (EP1)

Listen to the episode here.

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What we talked about:

• His initial entrepreneurial journey: Eduardo's first venture with KelDoc, the initial idea, challenges faced, the pivot towards hospitals, and its eventual sale to the Mutuelle Nationale Hospitalière.
• His childhood: The influence of his grandfather and father in sparking his passion for technology and entrepreneurship.
• Lessons learned from KelDoc: Mistakes made and the importance of personal alignment with the project.
• The transition to investor role: Eduardo shares how, after KelDoc, he became a business angel, investing in 150 startups, including successes like Spendesk, Yubo, and Lifen.
• The launch and operations of Secret Fund: The creation of a fund by entrepreneurs to support early-stage startups, including thoughts on its structure, administrative challenges, and the human experience behind it.
• The idea and vision behind Kolet: Eduardo reflects on how the idea emerged in Spain while discovering eSIM technology, coupled with the ambition to transform the telecom sector into a digital, global, and automated industry.
• Kolet's distribution model: The partnership strategy with travel agencies and airlines to offer eSIM packages.
• Differences between his first and second company: Eduardo explains how experience and a talented team have changed his approach and improved his odds of success.
• Kolet's mission and ambition: Democratizing internet access, offering a responsible, accessible, and transparent alternative to traditional telecom operators, and driving a fundamental change in the telecom sector.

Timestamps

1. [00:00:30]  Intro
2. [00:03:30] Family influence: Eduardo recounts his upbringing in a family of entrepreneurs and how it shaped his career aspirations.
3. [00:21:30] The Captain Train moment: An encounter with Jean-Daniel Guyot that inspired Eduardo to explore entrepreneurship.
4. [00:23:45] Launching KelDoc: How Eduardo transitioned from finance to founding a healthcare startup, including the initial idea and fundraising process.
5. [00:31:00] Market realities: Insights into KelDoc’s pivot to working with hospitals.
6. [00:36:00] Exiting KelDoc: The emotional and practical reasons behind selling KelDoc to the Mutuelle Nationale Hospitalière in 2015.
7. [00:40:00] Investing phase: Eduardo’s move into angel investing, evaluating over 150 startups and backing companies like Spendesk, Yubo, and Memo Bank.
8. [00:57:20] Discovery of eSIM Technology: Eduardo explains the market and potential of eSIMs, leading to the idea for Kolet.
9. [01:13:00] Building differently the second time: How Eduardo’s approach to Kolet differs from his experience with KelDoc
10. [01:21:00] Long-term vision: Eduardo outlines Kolet’s goal to improve global connectivity and challenge the traditional telecom model.

Key products & people mentioned

• Jean-Daniel Guyot : Founder of Captain Train (now Trainline), whose entrepreneurial approach inspired Eduardo.
• Spendesk, Yubo, Memo Bank : Early-stage startups Eduardo supported during his investment phase.
• Secret Fund: the fund he launched along with Thibaud Elziere which invested in early-stage startups
• Revolut: Referenced as an analogy for Kolet’s ambition to disrupt telecom, similar to how Revolut reshaped banking.
• Anne-Carole Coen:  Kolet co-founder and ex CMO of Swile
• Jérémy Gotteland: Kolet co-founder and ex CTO of Cajoo
• Mehdi Chraibi: Kolet co-founder with ex cofounder of Spades

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