Alejandro Freund: The path to shutting down a Latin American Startup, Ep 132

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-size: 24pt;">Alejandro Freund: The path to shutting down a Latin American Startup, Ep 132</span><br /> <br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It's not easy to shut down a start up anywhere in the world. But in Latin America, founders feel even more pressure to not lose investor money or admit that their company isn't turning out how they wanted it to.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alejandro Freund was the co-founder and CEO of YaEsta,</span> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">at the time, a leading ecommerce company in Ecuador. Since winding down YaEsta, he’s landed on his feet and is now the Country Manager for Rappi in Ecuador.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I want to thank Alejandro for this moment of vulnerability and leadership where he shares with me and the rest of the world the painful process of shutting down a company. In this episode, he talks about the hardships and sacrifices that come with the job, such as managing personal relationships and knowing when to let go of a startup.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">YaEsta in hindsight</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When Alejandro launched YaEsta, he believed that all the conditions were in his favor for them to succeed: the idea, the team, the funding. Ecuador was shaping up to be a hotspot for digital businesses and there were few things he would have done differently. However, if there is one factor that is truly out of anyone’s control is the timing. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Listen to this episode of</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Crossing Borders</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">to learn more about why Alejandro and his partners decided to shut down YaEsta.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">A commitment for the whole family</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alejandro explains that when managing personal relationships in parallel