VC Mx: HTwenty

HTwenty, founded in 2018, is a venture capital firm committed to empowering Latino and U.S. Hispanic founders to create transformative cross-border businesses.

HTwenty’s value proposition…

HTwenty bridges Latin America and the U.S. to empower disruptive entrepreneurs with capital, expertise, and networks.

We have an unfair advantage in Latin America, I'm Colombian, and my partner Mauricio is Mexican, which allows us to leverage our strengths and build a robust network across the region. Our cross-border thesis bridges the US and LATAM, creating diversification for LPs while enabling us to support entrepreneurs in meaningful ways. We've helped founders move operations from Colombia to the US and leverage technical talent in LATAM while establishing a US sales team. - Daniel Lloreda, General Partner at HTwenty

HTwenty Inception

HTwenty was co-founded by Daniel Lloreda and Mauricio Porras.

Daniel, originally from Colombia, immigrated to the US and has over 10 years of experience in venture capital investments. He initially developed his expertise as part of the founding team at a Fortune 500-affiliated company builder/VC firm. Mauricio immigrated from the Northern of Mexico into the US, and has over 13 years of experience in private equity and venture capital investments. He founded PGC investments, a single-family office focused on private equity, venture capital and real estate, and has served on the Investment Committee Advisory Council for a Fortune 500 private equity fund.

In 2018, I jumped ship at the age of 25 to co-found HTwenty with my partner Mauricio, whom I met during my undergrad and his MBA in Boston. Sharing similar values and a common vision, we started with a $7M friends-and-family fund and, by 2022, raised a $62M second fund with headquarters in Miami and offices in Mexico City and Bogotá. - Daniel Lloreda

Recognizing the lack of representation and support for cross-border entrepreneurs in traditional VC models, HTwenty is dedicated to empowering startups to navigate and succeed in the complexities of these markets with a hands-on, founder-first approach.

HTwenty Network Effect

One of HTwenty’s defining strengths is its ability to foster a sense of community among the founders it supports. By creating a network where entrepreneurs can share experiences, insights, and challenges, the firm strengthens its portfolio and accelerates the growth of cross-border businesses. This is evident with the location of HTwenty’s team across Colombia, Mexico, and the US.

"In Latin America, you need to be in Mexico and/or Brazil. We focus on Mexico and Colombia, and in the U.S., we’re centered in Miami, aiming to be the go-to fund there. Although our team is lean it allows us to stay agile—we’re 15 minutes from meeting a founder in Miami, or a short flight from Bogotá, Mexico City, or even New York when needed. This proximity helps us stay deeply connected to the ecosystems we support." - Daniel Lloreda

Additionally, HTwenty hosts workshops, networking events, and mentorship sessions, enabling founders to learn from peers, experienced operators, and those who have successfully expanded into new markets, fostering valuable cross-market insights.

We often work with founders who have already started expanding into Mexico and are looking to scale further—we’ve invested in companies with that use case. Many companies in Mexico aim to leapfrog into the U.S., where we can perform commercial intros. An example of this would be OnTop. - Montserrat Calderón (Investor at HTwenty)

General Partners

Daniel Lloreda & Mauricio Porras

Fund History & Investment Stage

Fund(s): 2018, $7M (Fund I), 2022, $62M (Fund II)
Portfolio: OnTop, Felix, Tapi, Fudo, Justo.
Stage: Pre Seed & Seed
Initial Check Size: USD$700k - $1.5M

HTwenty’s Investment Thesis

HTwenty invests in early-stage startups solving high-impact problems in Latin America and U.S. Hispanic markets. The fund prioritizes founders with deep market knowledge, scalable solutions, and a commitment to creating lasting impact.

“We invest in founders who see what others don’t—entrepreneurs transforming industries with insights rooted in lived experience. We look for founder-market fit by understanding their personality traits—how they interact with team members, perceive feedback, and the references we receive from those who’ve worked with them. Ultimately, we seek founders where we can truly add value.” - Daniel Lloreda

The Value of Founder Market Fit

Further, Daniel emphasizes the importance of domain expertise within a specific vertical, highlighting the firm's belief—especially in Latin America—that it’s more effective to be an insider with deep industry knowledge.

Some argue that it’s better to have an outsider building in a new vertical, but we believe it’s more effective to be an insider. With years of industry knowledge, insiders have a clear advantage—they can go to market faster and already know the key vendors, suppliers, and decision-makers. This is especially crucial in Latin America, where having that unfair advantage can make all the difference. That’s why we focus on founder-market fit.

HTwenty’s: Focused Sectors and Key Learnings

HTwenty focuses in the fintech, SaaS, and e-commerce sectors, focusing on the unique needs of founders operating across the U.S. and Latin American ecosystems. The firm’s investment thesis highlights adaptability, recognizing the dynamic nature of markets like Latin America. HTwenty seeks founders who can navigate these shifts while staying true to their mission, providing a combination of financial investment and operational guidance to help startups succeed in competitive and rapidly evolving environments.

Reflecting on the evolution of HTwenty’s investment thesis, Daniel shared key insights gained between Fund 1 and Fund 2, underscoring the firm’s continuous refinement of its approach.

One of the key learnings between fund one and fund two was investing in higher margin businesses. In fund one, we invested in several B2B marketplaces and ultimately, many asset-heavy marketplaces are really hard. As we progressed into fund 2, we're looking to invest in higher margin businesses, software, fintech infrastructure, Gen AI and in marketplaces, more service-based marketplaces, or three PL (3rd party logistics) marketplaces.

The Nuances of Investing in Latam

Investing in Latin America comes with challenges, particularly around liquidity. However, Daniel sees significant opportunities, especially when comparing LATAM to other emerging markets like Southeast Asia.

"Both regions have similar population sizes (600 million) and GDP levels (LATAM: $5B, Southeast Asia: $4.5B). Yet, Southeast Asia receives 11 times more capital per GDP per capita than LATAM. Interestingly, the cumulative market cap of LATAM startups—like Mercado Libre, Nubank, Globant, and Despegar—is twice that of Southeast Asian startups, such as Sea Limited, GoTo, and Gojek.

This funding imbalance leaves LATAM undercapitalized at a time when it needs investment the most. Hopefully, as U.S. public markets reopen and IPOs resume next year, I expect LATAM companies to seize the opportunity to go public. This could provide much-needed liquidity to later-stage investors, boosting DPI and recycling capital into new funds and startups."

Given these liquidity constraints, Daniel is very clear about how HTwenty evaluates investment opportunities and portfolio construction when investing in the US vs. Latam.

"In LATAM, we focus on creating $300 to $500 million outcomes, reflecting the region's liquidity and upside constraints. Our pre-seed investments target companies with strong fundamentals that can scale to this range, though billion-dollar outcomes are not our assumption.

In the U.S., we aim for multi-billion-dollar outcomes, leveraging higher valuations and greater potential for outsized returns. This approach sets us apart from many local funds that are primarily focused on LATAM."

Identifying Emerging Opportunities

In the United States, the Latino population is the fastest-growing population and is undergoing rapid growth and diversification. Census projections show that it is one of the fastest-growing demographics, expected to increase from 19% percent to around 26 % by 2060 (newamerica).

As for Latin America, with over 650 million people, about 8% of the world's population, and an increasingly digital-first population, the region has become a fertile ground for innovation in sectors like fintech, e-commerce, and logistics.