One Pitch. A New Region: Gonzalo Waisman's Story 🌋

Three years ago, Gonzalo Waisman was a university student building an AI platform for corporate content. Today, at just 23, the Argentine founder leads a company operating across nine countries.

His expansion into Central America didn’t begin with a boardroom or a carefully mapped-out strategy. It started with a last-minute phone call.

Gonzalo had been looking for ways to connect with the Latin American ecosystem when he was introduced to Volcano. There were no spots left to pitch at the Summit, until, one month before the event, a startup dropped out.

Gonzalo got the call, boarded a plane, and arrived in Antigua.

What he found was more than a stage. After his pitch, he connected with local banking CEOs. Those conversations turned into meetings, and eventually into a $100,000 initial investment that helped him build a team in Guatemala. Soon after, he secured backing from the largest fund in Central America.

But for Gonzalo, the real value went beyond capital.

“One of the key elements of Volcano is not just who you connect with, but having access to a space filled with people you otherwise could never reach.”

In the same place, he could speak with marketing leaders about his solution while also meeting potential investors. For a young founder entering a new market, those genuine, human connections made all the difference.

And the story didn’t end when the Summit did.

Gonzalo stayed in Guatemala for three months, nurturing the relationships he had built in Antigua. Just seven months later, his platform had secured more than 40 corporate clients in the region and was projecting $3 million in annual recurring revenue.

“Volcano gave us agility and a more global mindset,” he shares. “Without Volcano, arriving in Central America as an Argentine without knowing anyone would have been very difficult.”

That’s the power of an ecosystem.

Stories like Gonzalo’s remind us why Volcano exists beyond the three days of the Summit.

We believe in the power of meaningful connections to move people, ideas, businesses, and ultimately, ecosystems forward. Our role is to create the spaces where those connections can happen intentionally, authentically, and across borders.

Sometimes, expansion starts with a pitch you almost didn’t make. Sometimes, it starts with one introduction, one conversation, or one person opening a door.

The Summit lasts three days. The connections can travel much further.

Thank you for sharing your light with us, Gonzalo.

-The Volcano Summit Team. 🌋