First Tuesday UFM | Más que un pitch: construyendo negocios que convencen a los tiburones

Business overview (Polybit / “Shopify” for real estate tokenization)

• Polybit positions itself as “the Shopify of real estate tokenization”—a platform that helps tokenization projects launch and operate like a streamlined, repeatable product, emphasizing a low-friction customer journey.
• The speaker contrasts an earlier plan to build a marketplace (B2C/B2B) with a pivot to an infrastructure / “infrastructure as a service” (IaaS) approach.
  • The emphasis is on jurisdiction-agnostic tooling, rather than being tied to a single country.

Strategy & business model choices (why the “Shopify route”)

• Initial idea: marketplace for tokenized real estate.
• Why Polybit pivoted away from the marketplace model:
  • Marketplaces required choosing a jurisdiction and creating supply/demand alignment, which became restrictive.
  • High capital needs to attract both developers and investors.
  • CAC (“customer acquisition cost”) skyrocketed, and conversion issues emerged (many leads, not enough customers).
  • Legal/regulatory complexity made execution harder and riskier.
• Final direction (“Shopify route”):
  • A jurisdiction-agnostic platform enabling project operators to transact globally.
  • Product focus on reducing friction—e.g., “open cell phone → log in → make transfer.”

Frameworks / playbooks referenced or implied

• Acton MBA entrepreneurship approach: build strategies through testing, define conditions, and select execution paths based on validated hypotheses.
• Customer/market hypothesis validation framed as an entrepreneurial process of “hypotheses to test.”
• Due diligence + preparation system for fundraising (e.g., data room, investor readiness).
• Unit economics / early metrics thinking (break-even logic, variable vs. fixed costs).
• Legal investigation as a gating process for compliance in tokenization.

Key metrics & targets mentioned

Fundraising / capital

• Shark Tank outcome:
  • $10,000 grant (from placing 3rd in a Madrid pitch competition) plus savings.
  • Became the first company in the entire program to receive funding.
  • “Highest evaluation” among winners (exact score not provided).
• Capital needs (marketplace pivot costs):
  • In the marketplace phase, CAC ~ $300 was targeted against a desired benchmark (the transcript suggests “around $___” but the exact target value is garbled).
• Fundraising pipeline at the time of raising:
  • 100+ companies / 100+ venture firms / 100+ angels said “no.”
  • “To have 10 today, more than 100 told me no.”

Product / tokenization progress

• MVP tokenization volume (marketplace model):
  • $200,000 tokenized under the marketplace model in Mexico.
• After pivot (IaaS infrastructure model):
  • Tokenization activity in 3 countries
  • 5 million+ across real estate projects (units not explicitly clarified; presented as “more than 5 million”).
• Pre-funding stage:
  • Closed a pre-funding round with a first BC (meaning unclear due to subtitle errors).
  • Part of an RE / PropTech accelerator, described as the largest in the world for real estate/proptech.
• Grant / token ecosystem:
  • Won a grant for token issuance using Polygon.
• 2026 growth target:
  • By end of 2026: tokenize $100 million
  • Achieve recurring revenue (ARR):
    • Target: $1 million in recurring ARR (“Recurring ARR… one million dollars”)

KPIs implied (what she monitors / highlights)

• CAC (explicitly discussed; became unsustainably high in the marketplace approach)
• Conversion rate (leads vs. customers)
• Legal risk gating / compliance validation
• Unit economics / break-even logic
• Fundraising rejection rate (100+ “no” before eventual success)

Concrete examples & “what worked” recommendations

1) Capital structure problem → blockchain as an enabler

• Real estate projects may have market fit but still fail to secure capital due to fragmented markets and investor leverage (banks/private capital impose strict terms).
• Blockchain value proposition (execution-oriented framing):
  • Replace intermediaries in transactions → automated, traceable settlement
  • Reduce single-point vulnerability via distributed records (nodes holding copies)

2) Test-and-pivot process (marketplace failure signals)

• Marketplace phase produced:
  • Developers—both “good and bad”—asking for “millions” without a real basis
  • Inability to acquire the right customer base → CAC ~ $300
• Result: switch from marketplace to IaaS.

3) First customer / pilot approach

• Mexico partner onboarding via networking led to a small pilot.
• Tokenized $200,000 in a real estate project to validate market response.
• Embedded recommendation: start with small, real pilots to learn quickly and de-risk learning.

4) Fundraising preparation system

• Emphasized thousands of pitch iterations:
  • Pitch 200 times (with extensive rewriting)
  • Presented to ~1,000 people
• Data room readiness:
  • Repeated preparation of documents to answer investor diligence questions quickly.
• Due diligence experience:
  • Mentions tough diligence including:
    • A New York family office
    • A large Guatemalan VC arm

Leadership & organizational tactics

Co-founder selection as a structured decision

• Framed co-founder selection as “the closest thing to being married.”
• Criteria:
  • Affinity
  • Shared values
  • Complementary skills (business/industry depth vs. Web3/tech execution)
• Uses a formal complement/suitability process (referencing a Bensinger-style study).
• Establishes an exit clause and early operating conditions (“what happens if it doesn’t work”).

Decision-making rules in co-founder partnership

• Seek consensus where appropriate, but avoid paralysis:
  • “Some decisions don’t need consensus” (tech domain handled by the tech partner).
• Claim: most business/client decisions handled by the speaker, while leveraging partner expertise.

Marketing / GTM (go-to-market) themes

• Adoption friction reduction as core product marketing:
  • “Friction makes or breaks adoption”—mobile-first design and simplified transfer flows.
• Cross-border ability as a value narrative:
  • Not only local Guatemala/Mexico—explicit focus on reaching Latin America / abroad.
• Networking as distribution:
  • “Power of network”: warm intros and showing up at ecosystems/events (e.g., First Tuesday).

Q&A highlights (execution insights)

Biggest challenge entering tokenization markets without a framework

• Legal aspect: lack of an established legal framework forced deep legal validation.
• She described having to educate lawyers and navigate contradictory guidance.
• The ambiguity in the marketplace model contributed to the pivot.

How to pitch early numbers while validating hypotheses

• Begin with assumptions grounded in research.
• Use unit economics basics:
  • selling price
  • variable costs
  • margin to cover fixed costs
  • break-even unit/call volume logic
• Use market-size/opportunity-size signals without pretending to have full historical data.

Pitch evaluation criteria (red/green flags)

• Green flags
  • Can explain viability with numbers
  • Strong grasp of customer need (not “nice to have”)
  • Demonstrated industry understanding (cites 12 years of industry knowledge)
  • Commitment to entrepreneurship (not just a side project if raising capital)
• Red flags
  • Doesn’t know numbers
  • Vague customer understanding
  • Low commitment (wants to keep their job)

Presenters / sources (mentioned)

• Gabriela (Gabi) — founder/presenter (Polybit; Acton MBA alumnus; speaker on Polybit strategy and Shark Tank preparation)
• Hugo — commentator/investor (referenced as an investor; influence via Acton context)
• Monica — referenced alongside Franklin/VC ecosystem; panel participant
• Matías de Tesano — Acton-related entrepreneur anecdote about early internet (“digitizing websites” example)
• Marta (co-founder) — tech/business partner (Mexican; Web3 experience)
• Matías / other Acton figures — referenced generally as Acton ecosystem trainers/teachers
• Polygon — token issuance ecosystem used by Polybit (grant mentioned)
• RE / PropTech accelerator — described as the largest in the world for real estate/proptech
• Y Combinator (YC) — referenced for co-founder selection guidance