Magma Partners: Closing the Geographical Gap with Google Workspace
About Magma Partners
Magma Partners is an investment fund for early-stage startups operating in Latin America or companies based in Latin America that aim at the US market. The fund was launched in 2014 and, to date, has invested in 51 businesses.
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Contact usMagma Partners implemented the use of Google tools, securing advantages such as the convenience of collaborative work between different teams spread across geographical areas, lower process times and centralization of information.
Google Cloud Results
- Magma Partners uses the entire Google Workspace as the basic infrastructure of its offices in Mexico, Colombia, Chile, the United States and China for its 9 direct employees and more than 500 partners.
- The company managed to scale down its administrative workload, yielding savings of more than 10% with a team of 9 people.
- They manage over 100 meetings a year with entrepreneurs from different countries seeking funding opportunities.
Magma Partners scaled down its administrative workload, yielding savings of more than 10%.
Magma Partners is an investment fund for early-stage startups operating in Latin America or companies based in Latin America that aim at the US market. The fund was launched in 2014 and, to date, has invested in 51 businesses, with an investment goal of 50 additional companies over the next three years.
Collaborative Accelerated Growth
Magma Partners' business vision required an accelerated growth driven by technology with wide geographical reach to allow startups from different Latin American countries targeting the US market to connect with one another.
Given the need to provide these various partner startups with greater benefits aimed at quickly and easily enhancing their launch and scalability, the reasonable option was working hand in hand with Google, whose Google Workspace tools, such as Gmail, Calendar, Documents, Google Meet, etc., would enable a remote yet collaborative environment to streamline processes and make work more efficient.
Counseling with International Reach
Since Magma Partners started working with Google tools, it perceived a wide range of advantages, such as the convenience of collaborative work between different teams spread across geographical areas on the same file, compared to working only through emails.
Likewise, the training of new employees through Drive, Google Meet and Slides made it possible to provide materials in a controlled and efficient manner. In addition, these tools have allowed for a link between Magma Partners and the different startups, with constant supervision and counseling.
"The vast majority of startups in Latam do not fail for lack of money but lack of contacts and experienced people who constantly provide feedback, which has been fostered by Google Workspace"
—Nathan Lustig, Managing Partner at Magma Partners.Moreover, Google Workspace allowed the company to centralize information in a single accessible spot for the entire team, where monthly-generated data is gathered. The lack of such resource would mean missing updates and opportunities to target actions. The use of collaborative documents enables the sharing of digital – not physical – copies of important files, thus reducing the risk of damage or loss.
Even some of its partner startups have already begun to use the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning tools offered by Google Cloud to enhance their customers' experience and identify potential markets, detect low-performing drivers and manage revenue.
Tangible Benefits
Magma Partners currently uses the entire Google Workspace as the basic infrastructure of its offices in Mexico, Colombia, Chile, the United States and China for its 9 direct employees and more than 500 partners.
Magma Partners believes Google Cloud platform provides startups with notable advantages, such as speed, accessibility, safety and scalability, at a very low cost. Likewise, using Google Workspace tools allows the company to build a reliable bridge between a small startup and a market that is just beginning to acknowledge it, through the solid foundation of a leading global technology brand.
"Startups in Latin America normally have low investment capital, so any money saving is of utmost importance. Using Google Meet, we've managed to substantially reduce meeting trips, increasing productivity and reducing geographical distances"
—Nathan Lustig, Managing Partner at Magma Partners.For Magma Partners, centralizing information on Drive has been a key element, becoming accessible for the whole team in an orderly fashion from the cloud, allowing the company to set aside other external platforms as well as paper. The company has also managed to reduce times by using Calendar to schedule remote meetings with participants from different time zones.
"Calendar streamlines meeting schedules, especially when someone is in Argentina, four hours ahead of us. It reduces process time and eliminates the need for email exchanges and for office hours to match"
—Nathan Lustig, Managing Partner at Magma Partners.Nathan Lustig highlights the usability of Google Meet, especially when it comes to going mobile since many times his team members or even entrepreneurs prefer to work from cafeterias: "It is a huge deal to know that it is possible for them to connect through Meet mobile even if they are not at the office." Magma Partners also emphasizes that the number of hours they have saved has translated into financial savings, explains Nathan Lustig, Managing Partner at Magma Partners.
"Scaling down our administrative workload resulted in savings of more than 10% with a team of 8 people"
—Nathan Lustig, Managing Partner at Magma Partners.They manage over 100 meetings a year with entrepreneurs from different countries seeking funding opportunities.
Moreover, without Google Cloud or Google Meet, they would not have been able to expand to so many countries that quickly.
"An investment fund like Magma is similar to a startup in that it didn't have much money to operate to begin with. Our growth would have been impossible without Google Cloud, without the possibility of holding remote meetings. Maybe we wouldn't have gone much farther than Chile and Colombia"
—Nathan Lustig, Managing Partner at Magma Partners.Going forward, Magma Partners plans to use data science to select the applications they have received, around 7,000 from Latam since 2014, as well as to look into the factors that affect the outcomes of startups.
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About Magma Partners
Magma Partners is an investment fund for early-stage startups operating in Latin America or companies based in Latin America that aim at the US market. The fund was launched in 2014 and, to date, has invested in 51 businesses.