Gus Trigos

Yo, you gotta hear about Gus Trigos. This guy’s the real deal in the startup game. So, he’s a Colombian-turned-Mexican-turned-American, born in Barranquilla but grew up bouncing between Lima and Mexico City. Dude’s totally self-taught in coding, started with C++ back in high school ’cause he was just curious. No fancy CS degree, just grind and learn on his own.

Fast forward, he hits college and gets a legit finance degree and a Master’s in Applied Stats from Hult. That combo? Perfect for someone who wants to make serious waves in tech and finance. Before launching his own thing, Gus was deep in the trenches, worked as a quant analyst at BlackRock, one of the biggest names in investing, plus stints as a data scientist at an AI startup and a fintech. Clearly, dude knew his way around data, finance, and tech.

Then, in 2021, he drops Mentum. The vision? Using AI to fix supply chain chaos. No more bullshit waiting times, just smart automation for procurement and sourcing. Backed by Y Combinator’s S21 batch, which is basically the startup holy grail, and $4.2M from Silicon Valley’s best investors like Gradient Ventures. Mentum’s based in SF but serves industries like CPG, energy, autos, aerospace, big leagues. They’re already supporting over 15 wealth managers and 100 financial institutions, managing a sick 16,000+ portfolios. That’s no joke.

What’s crazy is Gus’s process shows he’s all about solving real problems with tech. His background in finance and data, plus his self-taught coding hustle, gave him the skills to build something that’s not just original but actually needed. He’s deeply motivated by pushing stuff forward, making supply chains smarter, faster, more fast. And he’s not just talking; he’s leading a team of 11 right now, with plans to grow big time.

Off the clock, he’s a reader, cinephile, cook, and loves the outdoors. But make no mistake, his energy is all about building stuff that matters. He’s the guy who took his crazy mix of skills, saw a gap, and jumped into it with both feet. That’s why Gus is kinda the embodiment of what’s exciting about startups today, raw, relentless, original, and not afraid to shake shit up.