Jan Heinvirta

Yo, you gotta hear about Jan Heinvirta. Dude’s the real deal in the startup scene, Swiss guy, but he’s been all over Latin America and beyond. He jumped into the game early, doing the whole grind of building stuff, leading teams, and really making shit happen.

So, here’s the scoop: Jan’s a YC S21 alum, that’s like the gold standard for startups. He co-founded Perfekto in Mexico City, a Y Combinator-backed company that crushed food waste by delivering boxes of imperfect produce. Basically, he saw a problem, turned it into a business, and made it work. That’s the kind of hustle that separates the amateurs from the pros.

Before that, he was the Country Manager for Mexico at Sonect, a fintech company. He led their expansion into Latin America, built their market strategy, and even got their FinTech license, no small feat. The guy’s got a knack for jumping into new markets and making things happen fast. Plus, he’s done online marketing and social media stuff for both Sonect and hauskrieg, so he knows how to get the word out and build hype.

And get this, he’s more than just a startup guy. He cut his teeth at American Express in a business travel consultancy gig, so he’s got that corporate hustle too. He holds a BSc in International Management from ZHAW and Universidad Iberoamericana, and he did entrepreneurship training with Y Combinator, basically the Harvard of startup accelerators.

Now, he’s a venture partner at Platanus and Lotux VC, mainly backing early-stage startups and technical founders in Latin America. Dude’s all about supporting the next wave of builders in that region, which is super exciting. It’s like he’s been there, done that, and now he’s giving back to help others crush it.

What’s crazy is, his whole process screams one thing: he’s super motivated to solve real problems, food waste, fintech, growing markets, and he’s not afraid to jump into the deep end. He’s all about creating impact, not just chasing the latest shiny thing. That’s what makes him stand out, he’s been through the trenches, built from scratch, scaled up, and now he’s helping others do the same.

Bottom line? Jan Heinvirta is that guy who’s been proving you gotta be hands-on, stay hungry, and never settle. He’s got the experience, the network, and the mindset to really shape the future of startups in Latin America and beyond. No cap, he’s someone you wanna watch.