Podcast Summary: The Investor with Joel Palathinkal —

Anna Raptis: Amplifica Capital
Date: August 22, 2025
Host: Dr. Joel Palathinkal
Guest: Anna Raptis, Founder & Managing Partner, Amplifica Capital

Overview

In this episode, Dr. Joel Palathinkal sits down with Anna Raptis, founder of Amplifica Capital, an early-stage venture fund focusing on increasing economic participation and opportunity for women in Latin America. Anna shares her personal and professional journey—from her formative years in a family business, through international economic development, to launching one of Mexico’s few women-led VC funds. The conversation centers on motivating new fund managers, the challenges of building a gender-lens fund in emerging markets, practical steps for launching a fund, portfolio construction wisdom, and the power of community and authenticity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Anna’s Background and Path to Venture

• Family Roots & Early Lessons:

  • Anna grew up immersed in her family’s business, learning hard lessons about work and financial discipline from a young age.
  • Noted the “traumatic experience” of seeing her father work endlessly and the hands-on education in a fish processing factory as formative (04:00–06:00).

• Passion for Economic Development:

  • Studied economics in Australia and pursued international development work, including internships at the UN (Bangkok) and work at the World Bank.
  • Discovered disillusionment with bureaucratic inefficiency at the UN:

    “It wasn’t the best experience working at the UN… I wasn’t actually solving the problems of the world I thought I could.” – Anna (06:40)

• Transition to Mexico & Private Sector:

  • Entered the energy sector at the World Bank’s suggestion, developing large-scale infrastructure projects in Mexico—eventually fueling her understanding of capital-intensive projects and project finance.

• Early Investment Experience:

  • Started personal investing during her master’s degree in the U.S., learning from mistakes through economic cycles.

Founding Amplifica Capital: Purpose, Process, and Positioning

• Motivation for Impact & Representation:

  • On returning to Mexico, Anna sought to counter negative narratives and promote positive change via impact investment.
  • Attending the Angel Capital Association Conference in Boston (2018) was pivotal:

    “All these people doing stuff in Mexico aren’t like me, because they’re all men. I did not see at the time in Mexico any female fund managers starting their own funds.” (10:30–12:00)

• Building the Fund: Structure & Challenges:

  • Chose a fund (rather than angel group/syndicate) model to offer diversification, recognizing most Mexican investors’ limited VC experience.
  • Faced prolonged fund setup due to her sole GP status and the inherent risk, commitment, and complex fund structuring decisions (jurisdictions, admins, legal fees).
  • Emphasized the need for patience and meticulousness in fund setup.

• Community and Support:

  • Found strength and practical guidance by connecting with other diverse and underrepresented fund managers, notably Mac Conwell.

    “Having other people who are a little bit out there and a little bit different to follow has been a real source of inspiration for me.” (15:13)

Mission & Gender Lens Investing

• Amplifica’s Mission:

  • Addressing Mexico’s poor global ranking in women’s economic participation (ranked 124/156).
  • Amplifica’s portfolio: ~80% female investors—a rarity in the region.
  • Six-pronged gender lens integrates women as investors, founders, in supply chains, among suppliers, target users of products, team diversity, and labor policy.

    “We purposely gone after women, even though I have been told by several people… that women don’t have money, women don’t care about investing.” (16:56)

• On Definition of Success:

  “As a fund manager…think about what success means to you.”
  Emphasized authenticity—mission-driven funds are not purely about return, but about ecosystem impact.

Advice and Frameworks for Emerging Fund Managers

• Clarity of Mission:

  • Urges prospective fund managers to deeply consider their “why,” long-term vision, and mission statement.
  • The importance of being authentic with LPs; investors can spot inauthenticity.

• Tools & Tactical Advice:

  • Start with a one-pager to control your narrative; don’t blast out decks indiscriminately (26:13).
  • Use a CRM (HubSpot) to track LP outreach and conversations—“I’m terrible with emails…With HubSpot, I can go in there and say, okay, this person, when did we last talk? What’s going on?” (27:13)
  • Use DocSend to monitor pitch deck engagement, but be flexible, as some institutions dislike it.
  • Personalize pitch decks for each prospective LP to reduce indiscriminate sharing (30:27):

    “If you personalize the deck to the LP…they may be more reluctant to share it around.”

• Education as Differentiator:

  • Amplifica provides educational content/monthly webinars in Spanish, appealing to inexperienced investors and fostering community (31:20–32:24).

Portfolio Construction & Relationship-Building

• Diversification & Support:

  • Advocates for a portfolio of 20–25 companies, adjusting check sizes to match fund size.
  • Stresses that value-add isn’t one-size-fits-all; some founders need more support than others.
  • Both LPs and founders are “clients”—it’s critical to balance attention to both (44:41).

• Building a Team:

  • The challenge of hiring before significant capital is raised; uses a mix of volunteers and is cautious about titles and roles (46:16).

The Latin American VC Landscape

• Sector & Geographic Focus:

  • Prioritizes companies that improve lives in Latin America, agnostic to HQ location (as long as their markets are in LatAm).
  • Sectors of personal excitement: Fintech, Education, Health, AgTech, Mobility, Insurance.

• Return Expectations:

  • Clear with LPs: no hurdle rate; “Our objective is to generate a minimum 3x return with an IRR…of around 15%…in US Dollars.” (54:16)

• Fund Jurisdiction Decisions:

  • Chose US domicile over Mexico or Canada to appeal to international capital and fund admin support—notes compliance, fiscal, and perception considerations (57:34–59:54).

Community, Growth, and Inspiration

• Ecosystem Change:

  • Progress is slow for female VCs in Mexico, but communities like Transact and Women in VC are fostering growth.
  • Anna underscores the value of paying it forward, supporting more women to launch funds and step into the ecosystem.

• Openness and Networking:

  • Encourages reaching out and meeting new people regularly, using Twitter and personal connections to build deal flow and camaraderie.

    “Don’t be afraid to reach out to people…you can share and learn from each other.” (60:42)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Building Community & Learning:

  “Having other people who are a little bit out there and a little bit different to follow has been a real source of inspiration for me.” — Anna (15:13)

• On Women as Investors:

  “80% of our investors are women. That’s unheard of in a fund in Mexico or Latin America. Normally, if people try hard, they get 5 to 10% women.” — Anna (16:56)

• On Why She Launched a Fund:

  “I wanted to have a structured, disciplined approach where we have a well-structured portfolio…That’s why I set it up as a fund and not as a club, not as a platform, not something else.” — Anna (12:25)

• On Supporting Founders:

  “It's about developing a relationship of confidence, so you can help them where they need help…” — Anna (43:32)

• On Learning and Openness:

  “Don’t be afraid to reach out to people…you can share and learn from each other.” — Anna (60:42)

Key Timestamps

• [02:41–15:00] Anna’s career journey, foundation of Amplifica, early investing experiences
• [15:00–20:00] Building a fund, community, and support; gender lens; unique structure of Amplifica
• [21:53–32:00] Advice for emerging fund managers: mission, frameworks, tools, storytelling, deck personalization
• [32:37–44:00] LP engagement, educational approach, sector trends, portfolio support
• [44:41–50:00] Portfolio construction, team building, venture partners, managing volunteers/interns
• [51:21–56:00] Realities of the Mexican female investor ecosystem, international community
• [53:48–59:54] Return expectations for LPs, fund domiciling decisions, compliance and regulatory considerations
• [60:19–62:13] Closing: encouragement to network, inspiration for next-gen allocators

Takeaways

• Anna’s journey illustrates the perseverance, community, and mission-focus needed to build impact-driven VC in emerging markets—especially as a woman.
• A clear mission, authentic engagement, and a disciplined, relationship-driven approach to fundraising and investing are critical.
• Portfolio construction and fund structure require not just financial acumen but a nuanced understanding of the local context and the needs of both LPs and founders.
• The future of venture in Latin America—and globally—depends on more diverse allocators and support for next-generation fund managers.

For more insights, connect with Anna on Twitter or follow Amplifica Capital’s ongoing work building a more inclusive investment landscape.