Jason Kirby: Hey everyone, welcome back to today’s show. Today we have Edrizio De La Cruz with us—founder of Arcus, acquired by Mastercard, raised over $25 million—an amazing founder with an amazing story. Welcome to the show.
Edrizio: Hey Jason, excited to see you again.
Jason Kirby: Great to have another chat. Last we spoke, we were talking about venture studios and it looks like you’ve already made that happen with the Founder School, which we can talk about later. But before we get into specifics, I’d love for you to introduce yourself. What led you to launching your company? We’ll start there and then go into your journey.
Edrizio: Thanks, Jason. I’m Dominican—born and raised in the Dominican Republic, immigrated to Harlem when I was 12 years old, and ultimately went from the Air Force as an airplane mechanic, to Wall Street, to school, and then decided at business school I wanted to tackle a problem I’d seen firsthand: money transfers. The process of money transfer hadn’t really evolved from when I came to the U.S. to when I was graduating from business school at Wharton. Same exact process, while technology had evolved. So I thought, how do we make this dramatically faster, cheaper, better with technology? I called that company Regali.
Jason Kirby: That’s how things initially started, but I always bring up that you started your career in the military—the Air Force. How did that set you up for success and great opportunities? What was that experience like that ultimately led to this?
Edrizio: The Air Force was fundamental in my approach to everything. It provided rigor—discipline and precision. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a stickler for details, being on time, following processes—almost to a fault. It’s hard to get rid of that. But it’s an attribute I’m forever thankful for. It set me up for success in so many other aspects.
Jason Kirby: Let’s talk about the transition from business school to investment banker to launching Regali to what eventually became Arcus. Tell us how that journey worked out and when you realized you needed to raise money.
Edrizio: I came out of Wharton, decided to start the company. I had no clue what I was doing. Most of us think we do—especially coming out of business school—but you learn quickly you don’t. I applied to a bunch of accelerators—most said no—and one ultimately said yes: YC. It quickly transformed how I think about startups and myself as a leader. The quickest shift was access to the right room—being with people further along than me. I remember our first group office hours with companies ahead of us—seeing the bar in practice. It’s hard to be what you can’t see, but when you see it in the flesh, it’s easier to aspire to the top 1%.
Jason Kirby: 2013 was a solid year to be in YC. I’ve got to ask—is that sweater actually 11 years old and still running strong?
Edrizio: Yep, I’ve kept it. I don’t think they make those anymore—they just give you a random T‑shirt now. I definitely wear it with pride.
Jason Kirby: From what I found, you ultimately raised $25 million for Arcus, correct? Walk us through that journey. What was the product serving the LATAM market? When did you decide you needed to raise money, and what was that like coming out of YC?
Edrizio: Coming out of YC, the expectation to raise capital is standard. It’s a 12‑week program structured toward demo day—showing growth over that period. We didn’t raise much at demo day. After that, I changed my pitch and got a second chance to present at TechCrunch Disrupt in September 2013. Made it to the finals—live on CNBC—and about six months later raised a total of about $3 million seed, which was a lot back then. After that, we were off to the races—and quickly learned nobody wanted our first product. We killed that version, then raised small chunks—bridge rounds—until we got our Series A in 2017.
Jason Kirby: That’s the untold story of fundraising. Multiple pivots and iterations. How did you navigate missing PMF, having YC expectations, then subsequently say: we missed, but give us more money and we’ll try again?
Edrizio: Part of the great thing about YC—and many West Coast investors we had—is they expect this. Most companies don’t hit it out of the gate. At YC we’d show a slide: ~90% of companies fail; ~9.9% succeed over seven years; ~1% succeed overnight. If you haven’t succeeded yet, you’re on the right track. Each pivot—four or five—brought us closer. It was a grind: 2013–2017, a million here, a million there. In 2017 we finally got a $10M term sheet from a major bank—pulled three days before signing. I hopped on a plane to a conference in Phoenix, got told no a bunch, got one maybe—from a fund in Mexico. I flew there. That day, the biggest earthquake on record hit. Emergency landing. Meeting canceled. I wasn’t going home with three weeks of runway. A week later I met the partners; by the time I got to the airport they said they’d do it. We closed the Series A in November 2017.
Jason Kirby: Was that your first time talking to that firm?
Edrizio: No—they were already part of the round as the co‑lead with the U.S. bank. The bank pulled out with no real reason. I gave the fund context on why we were better off without it and why we were on an upward trajectory. They believed in the mission and came in.
Jason Kirby: I joke that founders fundraising are juggling a house of cards on fire while riding a unicycle. You had three weeks of runway and still projected strength. What was that stress like in the meeting?
Edrizio: I’ve never been more stressed. The day the term sheet was pulled, it felt like the rug was ripped out. Blue‑sky day in NYC—I felt in freefall. I went home, stared at the ceiling for hours; my wife asked what I was doing—I broke down and cried. Next morning I flew to Phoenix and talked to anyone who’d listen. Got a maybe—took a shot on myself and flew to Mexico. I wasn’t leaving without trying everything. You win, or you die trying. I was going to fight to the end.
Jason Kirby: Now I see why you wrote a book—you’re a great storyteller and you’ve got a great story. For those who haven’t heard, the book is called The Underdog Founder; get it on Amazon. Stepping back—those “keep‑alive” chunks you raised: were they insiders or new money?
Edrizio: A mix of existing and new. What people now call Seed+; back then “extensions” or “bridge” (with a negative connotation). Fundraising is storytelling under massive distress. You must come from leverage and strength. You’re not asking for money—you’re inviting people to join the journey; investing is the ticket. I believed we were on the right trajectory—the next feature, product, or market would unlock it. That conviction helped raise small rounds to keep going.
Jason Kirby: Founders are always fundraising. You get the Series A—money hits. How did the next year look?
Edrizio: Immediate honeymoon—figurative and literal. I signed paperwork during my honeymoon. 2018 was a good year: building the team, hitting the ground in Mexico, developing the product. We’d just pivoted into an API for bill payments in Mexico. It started to work—a calm before the next storm.
Jason Kirby: Add context to the product and the brand swap—what did the solution do?
Edrizio: With the Series A, we pivoted away from cross‑border remittances to bill payments via API. In Mexico, unlike the U.S., autopay and bill presentment weren’t as seamless—often you physically carried a bill to a location to pay. We built an abstraction layer on top of local billers and exposed it as an API consumed by neobanks or banks. Around the same time, a tidal wave of venture capital hit LATAM—everyone launched wallets, and one core feature was bill pay. We had the best API. That niche worked. We rebranded from Regali to Arcus in 2017.
Jason Kirby: Can you share the scale you reached as a company?
Edrizio: By 2020 we were growing: 200+ customers, 100+ employees. We had the metrics for a Series B (typical A is ~$10M; B is $25–35M; ~20% dilution each round). My wife and I moved to San Francisco to raise the B. Then the pandemic hit. We shifted to a rolling close—Citi, SoftBank, and others participated. We got a B offer from a major corporation (can’t name); then Mastercard offered M&A. We wanted to keep building, but after reviewing the structure, we approved the acquisition route internally.
Jason Kirby: In hindsight, knowing the market crash later—right call, or do you wish you were still growing Arcus?
Edrizio: In hindsight I look like a genius, but the real point is Arcus scaled inside Mastercard. They kept the brand (changed the logo, kept the name) and scaled it quickly. As a founder you miss operating—coaching the team—but I’m very happy with the outcome. It’s one of those rare cases where M&A was done correctly and everyone won.
Jason Kirby: You were running a Series B process—not an M&A process—then offers came to either fund or acquire. How did you manage the board, and what ultimately swayed you to M&A?
Edrizio: A lot was happening. Personally, my wife and I had a miscarriage; I got very sick with COVID; my grandmother passed from COVID. Internally, I parted ways with a co‑founder who was a best friend; with my remaining co‑founder, everything felt like a fight. I was even temporarily fired. I went back to the board: we need to raise capital, and I’m the one who knows how—let me stay and run it. We raised from SoftBank and Citi, then got a Series B offer from a corporation, then Mastercard’s M&A offer. I stayed to execute—leadership change would add friction. We chose and ran the process through.
Jason Kirby: This is why I ask these questions—the real behind‑the‑scenes chaos. You have to manage board, co‑founders, investors, employees, acquirer, prospective investors, and your loved ones. You can’t tell employees until it’s done; they’re confused about why they’re building certain things.
Edrizio: Exactly. We started in 2020 and, due to regulations and external approvals, it took until November 2021. We didn’t know if it would happen. Once approvals came, we finally announced internally—people asked when it happened. It had been in motion a year.
Jason Kirby: Switching to today: your book The Underdog Founder and your venture studio, Founder School. Why did you start it, and what’s the offer?
Edrizio: I sold to Mastercard, then returned to YC as a visiting partner for a year—learning how to run an accelerator end‑to‑end from the best. I learned how similar everything looks at the start, regardless of category, and how to coach early founders with standardized, bite‑sized advice. Founders feel compelled to reduce others’ pain after living it. After publishing the book, many asked for mentorship, which led to Founder School: a 12‑week program dedicated to helping diverse tech professionals launch startups in about 12 weeks. Mostly employed engineers and data scientists: how to generate ideas, talk to customers, launch no‑code MVPs, and get paid—ready to enter accelerators like Techstars or YC.
Jason Kirby: So it’s an incubator feeding into accelerators. Predominantly focused on diverse founders?
Edrizio: Yes—diverse technical founders: engineers, data scientists, managers at SaaS and big tech. It’s a safe space to ideate and experiment. In twelve weeks the goal is a real business generating real revenue with customers, ready for an accelerator. We graduated six companies last year; on average they raised a few hundred thousand each. Wins include Linker Financial ($3.7M from CommerzVentures) and Chatforce ($1M from Battery Capital). We’re spinning the flywheel.
Jason Kirby: What common early‑stage mistakes make you jump out of your seat to help?
Edrizio: Taking too long to launch. Founders chase perfection and treat v1 as a reflection of identity—that’s corporate conditioning. In startups, the first product is an experiment. Launch to learn. At Founder School we force a lightweight, no‑code MVP in the first couple of weeks—otherwise the whole batch gets spent debating ideas.
Jason Kirby: Pitch decks—anything particularly unique you did or are proud of?
Edrizio: Two things. First, the YC template: each slide has one main point; lead with your strongest point (traction or team); put it in the headline; the rest supports it. Second, I made it personal at Disrupt—photos of my ID and my grandmother—the why behind remittances and bill pay. That authenticity shifted us from raising almost nothing to raising about $3M in seed.
Jason Kirby: What’s the best way for founders to follow you and learn more—book, Founder School, etc.?
Edrizio: LinkedIn—search “Edrizio” (there aren’t many). My book The Underdog Founder is on Amazon. For Founder School, follow me on LinkedIn; we’re opening applications for a November batch. The website: phoenixfounders.com.
Jason Kirby: There you go. If you’re an aspiring founder who loved Edrizio’s story, reach out and apply when it opens. We’ll include links to the book, website, and where to apply. Appreciate you joining us—and thanks for sharing all the insights.
Edrizio: Thank you, Jason. Appreciate it. See you, brother.
Jason Kirby: Awesome.
