Carlos Gotlib: companies, investments, and what I'm working on now

I'm Carlos Gotlib, a founder and startup investor. I founded three tech companies in Mexico: SpeakOn, WeHelp (which later became Donna), and Kimik. I bought a business in Miami, TurboCar. Since 2016 I've invested in 32 startups, 27 of them from Y Combinator.

Today I'm building two companies from scratch, in public: Braid & Berry and Remi.

This page puts the facts in one place. The full stories, including what went wrong in each, are in the links. The version told as decisions is in Who I am and why I'm building in public now.

The companies I founded

SpeakOn (2015)

A messaging app that translated in real time across more than 60 languages. In June 2015 it hit #1 among free apps on the App Store in Mexico, above WhatsApp and Facebook. It got 200,000 users in 48 hours and 350,000 sign-ups in total.

The app couldn't handle the load. Fixing it meant rebuilding it from scratch, because development was outsourced and no one on my side understood how it was built.

The story: SpeakOn: the app that hit #1 on the App Store in Mexico and why it died.

WeHelp, later Donna (2019)

A personal safety app: an SOS button that alerted your contacts and, later, a call center and monitored trips. In January 2019 it hit #1 among free apps on the App Store and grew to 700,000 registered users. Most were women, so in 2023 we focused only on them and renamed it Donna.

It was never profitable. Lots of people used it, and almost no one paid what it cost to run.

The story: Donna: 700,000 users and it never made money.

Kimik (2019-2021)

Buying ads on 2,500 outdoor screens in minutes, the way you buy an ad on Facebook, with geolocation measurement of who walked past the screen and whether they later visited the store.

We sold one million dollars in the first six months and shut down in 2021. Only a few companies control the screens in Mexico, and they make more selling by the month than through programmatic.

The story: Kimik: one million dollars in 6 months and we still shut down.

The company I bought: TurboCar (2024-2026)

In July 2024 I paid 160 thousand dollars for a shop in Miami that bought wrecked cars at auction, repaired them, and sold them. I switched it to luxury cars, and profit per car went from about a thousand dollars to about 15 thousand. We sold 2.5 million dollars and I still lost money. I shut it down in March 2026.

That gave me a rule: I don't buy a business in the US with less than a million dollars a year in EBITDA.

The story: TurboCar: my first acquisition and why I shut it down.

My investments

I started investing in 2016. I'd applied to Y Combinator with SpeakOn and got rejected after the first interview; from there I connected with the YC community and started investing in its companies.

• 32 startups, 27 from Y Combinator, with checks of around 25 thousand dollars.
• 17 active. The ones doing best: Tovala, Writesonic, Filadd, Fitia, Cero, and Nectome.
• 14 shut down.
• 1 exit: Plerk, acquired by minu. It was paid in minu stock, not cash.

I'm not looking for new investments right now. I'd only get into something truly incredible.

What I learned from the ones that shut down: 32 startup investments: what the 14 that shut down taught me. On Plerk: Plerk and minu: why I invested in Plerk and what happened with the merger. The full portfolio is in Investments.

What I'm building now

Braid & Berry. A fast-casual spot for challah bread sandwiches and smoothies in San Diego. It starts with events and small parties, then a cart, and then a storefront. It's on pause until I hire someone to bake the challah. See the process.

Remi. A monthly membership in Mexico for people with diabetes, high blood pressure, or weight issues. I picked it out of 112 ideas. The architecture's foundation is done; the memberships and pricing are still missing. See the process.

Where I share it

Every decision, number, and failed test goes in the log and on the blog. The newsletter comes out Tuesdays at 8:00, and the week's episode, Sundays at 10:00 on YouTube.

FAQ

Who is Carlos Gotlib? A founder and startup investor. He founded SpeakOn, WeHelp/Donna, and Kimik, bought TurboCar, and has invested in 32 startups since 2016. Today he's building Braid & Berry and Remi.

What companies did Carlos Gotlib found? SpeakOn (2015), WeHelp, later renamed Donna (2019), and Kimik (2019). He also bought TurboCar in 2024.

Was Carlos Gotlib in Y Combinator? Not as a founder. He applied with SpeakOn and didn't make it past the first interview. Since 2016 he's invested in YC companies.

What startups has he invested in? 32, 27 from Y Combinator. The ones doing best are Tovala, Writesonic, Filadd, Fitia, Cero, and Nectome. His only exit is Plerk, acquired by minu.

Is Carlos Gotlib investing now? Not actively. He's not looking for new investments; he'd only get into something exceptional.

What is he building now? Braid & Berry, challah bread sandwiches and smoothies in San Diego, and Remi, a health membership for diabetes, high blood pressure, and weight in Mexico.