The Third Layer

All right. Well, welcome to the latest episode of the Meaning of Money, a live show for founders, investors, and families who have already made money and are now focused on what wealth should actually make possible. I'm the host, Stefan Whitwell, the founder and CEO of Whitwell and Company. Each episode explores what comes after financial success: freedom, family, health, wealth, purpose, investing, and legacy. And I'm excited to have today a special guest all the way from Lima, Peru: Diego. Welcome to the show. Hello, Stefan. Thanks for the invitation. I'm happy to be here. So Diego, tell us a little bit about what you're building in Lima, Peru.

Three hats: venture capital, social housing, and teaching

Amazing. I have like three hats, but my main work is being managing partner of ADN BC, which is a venture capital fund that focuses specifically in fintech and real estate tech, which are the topics that we know, pre-seed and seed, all around Latin America. We're investing so far in 12 startups, and we're looking to make a 25-startup portfolio. That's my main role. But I'm also a consultant at Habitat for Humanity, where I promote social housing through entrepreneurship and technology. Plus I am a professor at my university, teaching venture capital. Very much a Renaissance man, wearing multiple hats, as so many of us do today. And you're a dad, right? Yes. My kid is running around, my wife... I would argue that's probably your most important hat. True, true. Like 50, 60 percent, and then you have the remaining for everything else. That's right.

When money stops being about security: the third layer

So I'm really excited about our conversation today, because I think a lot of the issues that humanity faces — whether it's dads or entrepreneurs — are the same regardless of whether we're in Austin, Texas, which is where I sit, or Lima, Peru, which is where you are, or other parts of the world. So I appreciate you making time today to jump on the show. Tell me a little bit about — for you, when did money stop being about security and start being about meaning? Well, first there's the first layer, which is basic needs: drinking, eating, having a good house to live in. After that you have what you want to leave to your children — wealth, net worth, a house, which is a trust for them. But then there's a lot of people that start to get more and more and more, and the meaning — the third layer — is the hardest one, because now you need to do something not for your family, or for you to get a meal; now you need to do it for your inner me. And it's tough to know what you really like. But I think the goal is to work on something that you like, that you would be happy to do without even a payment.

Loving the work: Keith Richards and the joy before the money

I love that. When I think about it, the first guy that jumps to my mind is Elon Musk. In interviews he said, “Look, I'm not doing this because I want the money. I'm doing this because I really love the problem, I love trying to figure it out.” And interestingly enough, I read a book by Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones — the old... I mean, he looks like he's 200 years old. Very interesting guy, and it's not the kind of book I would normally read, but I somehow was gifted this book and started reading it, and it was an amazing book. One of the most touching parts of the book for me was, early on, when he and the others in the band were starting out, they didn't have any money. They were living on couches. They didn't have life insurance, they didn't have health insurance, they didn't know where their next meal was going to come from. But he describes a joy and a happiness that they had, because they would spend eight hours trying to find that perfect sound on the guitar, or that perfect rhythm, or something they were playing with musically that day. And that joy of loving what they're doing really comes through. So I think what you're saying, Diego, rings really true for me, resonates for me, because when you are doing something that you love doing, there's just a deeper satisfaction and value that comes to you from that, that money can't buy. Yes. And actually, now that I rephrase the question — for the past 10 years I have been working to raise enough capital to sustain my family. Now that I have raised the fund and I have the money in the bank, the purpose comes, because now I need to find those 25 startups that really amaze me and that I'm really passionate about. And that's the hardest part. Now that I have the money, everybody would say that's the tough part — no, no, the tough part is to invest it correctly and get a return for my colleagues and fellow workers.

How many founders build for love versus money

Let me ask you about that. How many of the founders you evaluate — I'm sure you look at a lot of different founders before making an investment in your venture — percentage-wise, how many of them are doing it because they love what they're doing, versus doing it to try to get rich? I think that's 60-40, at least — more people are doing it for money than for purpose. But it's true that just the upper 20 percent, 10 percent, has the ability to seek purpose, because the other 80 percent are paying their debts and taxes and stuff. But that's the 1 percent that we need to capture. So far we have seen 1,700 startups, and we have invested in 11. So it's less than 1 percent. We need to find that team — the team that is passionate about the purpose. And maybe the CEO is thinking about purpose, but the CTO and the CSO are thinking about money. It's the same, right?

What money can outsource — and what he never will

Tell me a little bit about — one of the great things about money is that money can solve certain things. Sometimes one of the joys of money is being able to use it to outsource certain tasks and things that need to get done, so you can reclaim some of your time and make life a little bit easier. Tell me: no matter how much money you have, what are you never going to outsource? What do you want to continue to be responsible for doing in your life? Kids and family time, for sure, on the personal side. And in ADN, the investing part — because at the beginning we were the analysts, the customer success, the investment committee. Now we are outsourcing the sourcing, like how the base of the startups comes in. But at some point, when we need to assess a one-pager or a memo, we won't outsource that, because that's the 15 years of experience we have in venture capital, and not even AI can understand it. And in the family, things like picking your son up from school — you could pay somebody to do it, but it's amazing to have time even with your kids' friends and get to know them. Those two things. I love that, and I don't think that can be outsourced. I'm a big fan of AI, and there are some things it does wonderfully, just like money. But there are some things that, thankfully, still need that human connection, that human touch.

Your calendar, not your balance sheet

What about — obviously the most scarce resource of all is time, right? You can't buy it back no matter how much money you have. You can't turn back the clock. I'm guessing part of your answer is going to be “dad,” but within the home or within your company, what gives you the highest return on your attention — not your capital, but your attention? Said differently: if I looked at your calendar, Diego, instead of your balance sheet, what would it tell me money means to you? That's a good question. Two or three takeaways. First of all, you would see a lot of conversations — with other funds, with our GPs, with our investment analysts. Maybe five meetings in a week, 30 minutes each. So you would say you're talking with a lot of entrepreneurs. Yes, but previously I talked with a lot of VCs that told me, “Hey, this is a good one, I like this one” — so it's a referral. Business is a trust business, and the best referrals usually come from a previous VC or investor that puts the conviction in. Then another big block of time in my agenda is the deep work. Sometimes when you have your calendar link open, you get a lot of meetings and you don't get a block of time to do what you need to do — a financial model, a presentation, send emails, respond. You need to block those in your calendar and be responsible with them. Not because it's your personal time you can do whatever you want — no, use the deep work block to work. And also, you would see one third, one fourth of my week is dedicated to the ecosystem — not exactly ADN. I'm president of PEDUTEC Week 2026, which is going to be October 12th here in Lima. So I would like to invite people to come. That's like an add-on. It takes me like five to ten hours weekly, but because I'm really passionate about it — I'm bringing people from the outside during one week where all the top-performing entrepreneurs are going to be here. So it's a good week to come.

What's happening in Lima and Peru

Well, tell me about that. Give me something special or interesting about the community there in Lima, or in Peru, that many of the people watching the show may not be aware of. What's something cool that's going on that should make Peru and Lima be on people's radar, if it's not already? Great. First, the food — the food is amazing. We have like five of the top hundred restaurants in the world here. Really good ones, like Maido and Central. Then the amount of entrepreneurs. Our economy is a little bit informal — like 60, 70 percent informal — a lot of independent people working for themselves. And we are really entrepreneurs; your first job usually is to do a stand or sell something on your block. Now, on the opportunity side, we need to shuffle those entrepreneurs toward venture capital, the next level up — because there's a lot of traditionalism.

Green flags: the character traits he looks for in founders

I love that, and I can see it as you describe that entrepreneurial culture. Time is running short, so I'm going to ask you one last question before we wrap for today. You meet a lot of people before you pick that 1 percent. What are one or two inner character traits of the people that make a big difference for you when you're ultimately deciding? You mean like green flags? When you see teams — not the business plan, not the economics; of course you analyze all that — but if you look at the character of the founder, their inside, what, if anything, are you looking for? What makes a big difference? Well, it's a combination. First, thrive — you can see a willingness to succeed. Then balance it with humbleness, to be humble enough. We are busy, we're criticizing a lot, we're asking, “I don't know why this and why that, and how are you going to...” So when people get defensive with us — okay, sorry to attack you, but open up so we can discuss. And most of them share, they even show us their numbers, they open it up. But some 20, 30 percent get a little bit closed off, and usually they're hiding something. Because if you are happy with what you are building, you would say everything. And another thing: the team. Again, the team. We are investing in pre-seed, so the solution is not that important, because it's going to move and change. The problem is important, but you're going to converge to a different market. But the team is the pillar. And a team is more than one, for me. For ADN, we have just made one solo-founder investment, because it's a hard thing to be an entrepreneur and to do it by yourself. Very, very well. What a great... I have five minutes more if you want, Stefan.

Why it takes a team — and why the company can't stop when the CEO does

Well, I love the team comment that you made there, Diego, because no matter what you do in life, it takes a team. Building a business is hard. When industries change and you have to adapt, that's hard. If you can get people focused on the mission... And one more thing that tends to happen a lot: you have one commander in chief, right? You have the CEO — even if you have a COO, CTO, CPO, the CEO is key. And when he is injured, with a broken leg or whatever, the company stops. That's not a team. A team is the one that can sustain a startup even when you are sick or traveling. I love that, because there are a lot of companies where if the CEO goes down, things just stop. And what I discover is that that often has to do with a lack of process, a lack of trust in their team, a lack of decentralized decision-making authority. I get that it can be scary for some people to let go, but you have to empower your team. You have to let people make decisions. I tell my team, “I'd rather you get it wrong, or do something differently than the way that I would prefer, than everything be held up waiting on me.” And it's a lot more fun, because people think differently than you, so they're going to come up with cool ideas that are better than ideas you would have. The beauty of a team. So that's exciting.

Fintech: SME lending and the markets they're chasing

You do a lot in fintech. What are some areas within fintech that are particularly interesting, just at a high level? And are the companies you're investing in primarily focused on serving Lima, or do they have an eye on regional or even global markets? Give us a little color on what you're doing there. Thank you for the question. Most of them are regional; a couple of them are just working in one country, but usually the big one — Mexico, for example. So far we don't have a Peruvian investment. We are looking for them, we are coaching a couple of founders. Within fintech, we are really interested in lending — SME lending. We think there's a big opportunity: 50, 60 percent of the market is not being well served by banks, and they are making a lot of money and giving jobs. So if we could support them with capital — which is not venture capital; it's capital to grow, usually with a margin on it. So we're looking a lot at lending, but through infrastructure — infrastructure for lending, for underwriting, risk monitoring, KYC, KYB — those services that you can sell to financial institutions for them to improve their operations.

Wrapping up: a global fintech panel, and staying connected

Well, I think there's room to improve all around the world, and we should probably organize a fund — get together at some point, convene a panel, a global panel on fintech issues, because it's quite dynamic. A lot of cool things are changing, and I'd value your perspective there. So Diego, thank you so much for joining today. I appreciate you opening up and sharing your perspective on the values that matter and how you're navigating wealth and values in your life, both at home and at work. So thank you again for joining. I hope you continue to see the success in your venture capital business, and also in your various community-building leadership roles. Amazing. Thanks again for the time, Stefan. Happy to be here. We are just investing our fund one. In one year we will end, and we will start raising our fund two. So hopefully we will stay connected, and I'm happy to do that fintech panel globally. I put my favorite Peruvian fintechs in the chat, and my LinkedIn and our website. That sounds great. I'll make sure to add the link so people can learn more about you. Thank you, Diego. Amazing. Take care. Take care. Bye-bye.