About us

Where we came from, where we're going, and what we believe in

WHY POLYMATH?

Polymath exists to build scalable companies that transform industries and societies, and become the backbone of the middle class of emerging economies. We believe that this is the best way for sustainable economic development — and the most meaningful way to spend our talent and energy.

We believe in diversity of thinking and experience, both in the individual and in teams that collaborate. We have seen with our own eyes the true innovation that can happen when people with distinct minds work side-by-side.

POLYMATH, DEFINED

pol·y·math \ˈpä-li-ˌmaTH\ [noun]

— a person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning;

— a ‘Renaissance man’

Why Latin America?

Latin America’s (and the world’s) emerging middle class is growing at a tremendous rate (about 2.5 times the developed world), with newfound prosperity. There are many salient, unmet needs but not the contemporary, complex companies to serve them. Polymath aims to lead this economic awakening. Polymath is based in Bogotá, Colombia. We chose Colombia as a launching point for Latin America because of its macroeconomic stability, geographic centrality, growth trends, access to amazing talent, and increasingly supportive business culture.

OUR HISTORY

From a small, donated office in a university to a multi-country portfolio of companies

In the beginning

In June of 2012, we recruited ten talented (and a little crazy) people for the first Seed project in Medellín. We all lived together in one apartment, and EAFIT University was kind enough to lend us some meeting rooms. In 3 months we designed the two venture concepts Táximo and Aflore. Success! We thought that after finding founding teams for these businesses, our job would be complete. That turned out to be different…

Growing, growing

In 2013 Polymath moved to Bogotá, and has since built multiple growing ventures. Our team has grown as we have developed methodologies and infrastructure for supporting our ventures long term. We’ve built a network of local and international investors who believe in our mission, and have contributed millions of dollars.

Where we are today

Polymath has become not only a successful company builder, but a place where the best local and global talent come to learn and build. We have proven that by systematically combining talent, capital and know-how (which rarely comes together organically in these markets) we can consistently build towards scalable businesses.

What the future holds

We believe that — just like our companies — our mission, methodology and talent approach are scalable. Large businesses can be built with more science and less waste. In a steady and thoughtful way, we will expand regionally, and grow Polymath to a global phenomenon.

What culture means to us

We believe in the power of the collective; team is paramount

We build for our users so that we can have real impact

We pursue excellence and truth

We operate with speed and always follow-through

We see opportunities in failure and never stop learning

We solve problems through empathy, creativity, and humility

We relentlessly find, develop, and keep the best talent

We are a community that balances professional intensity with personal support

We laugh hard and we laugh often

What makes us different from incubators
and venture capital firms?

Polymath Ventures is a company builder. Unlike incubators that help entrepreneurs develop their ideas, we create and launch our own businesses 100% in-house, from pre-concept to full-scale operations. We see great value in vertically integrating quality design, team and implementation.

Unlike VC firms who invest institutional capital into hi-potential businesses, Polymath assembles capital from outside investors with shared vision and values. We see great advantages in partnering with investors who provide valuable insight and advice.

Team
Nicolás Azcuenaga returned to Colombia after fourteen years working around the globe to lead Autolab as Founder & CEO

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