Sep 30 · Empresa 2 · Second company: down to 4 candidates. I'm modeling projections for each one to see which I can actually pull off. ›

CARLOS GOTLIB

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If you just got here

I'm building two companies from scratch, in public.

I'm Carlos Gotlib. I founded SpeakOn, Donna and Kimik, and invested in 32 startups. Today I'm building Braid & Berry and choosing my second company, and I share every decision, number and mistake as it happens. Here's what you need to follow the story from here.

About me

Full name
Carlos Gotlib Micha
Age
35
Born in
Mexico City
School
The American School Foundation (ASF)
Studied
Law
First business
At 18

I've loved selling since I was 6: I made paper clip bracelets and origami cameras with personalized "photos" (little squares of paper I drew by hand) and sold them at my parents' workplace. I started my first business at 18 and haven't stopped building since.

How I got here

  1. 2015
    SpeakOn ›

    A messaging app with real-time translation. It hit #1 among free apps in Mexico with 200,000 users in 48 hours. Then it died: the full story is here.

  2. 2016
    I start investing ›

    Since then I have invested in 32 startups, 27 of them from Y Combinator. Watching founders win and lose from the outside is half of my judgment.

  3. 2019
    Donna (formerly WeHelp) ›

    A personal safety app for women: 700,000 registered users and #1 on the App Store again.

  4. 2019
    Kimik ›

    One of the first programmatic digital out-of-home ad platforms in Mexico. It sold a million dollars in its first six months.

  5. 2024
    TurboCar ›

    My first acquisition: a luxury car shop in Miami that reached $2.5 million in sales.

  6. 2026
    Two companies from scratch, in public

    Braid & Berry and a second company I am choosing. This time I share every decision, number and mistake as it happens.

What I'm building now

Braid & Berry: sandwiches on challah bread. It starts with events and a cart, not a store. And a second company I am choosing in public: 7 left out of 112 ideas.

4 recipes tested at home, 2 passed.Braid & BerryFast-casual challah sandwiches and smoothies. San Diego.Next: fix the 2 that failed and test them again.4 candidates out of 112. Modeling the numbers on each.Empresa 2It doesn’t exist yet. I’m deciding what it is.Next: choose and announce.

What you'll see

  • A new episode every SundayOn YouTube: what happened that week at both companies, with real numbers, and the lesson.
  • The numbers, unfilteredSales, costs, tests that failed. What worked and what did not.
  • Decisions, liveHow I choose the second company: the filters, the finalists and the deadline, in the open.
  • One email every TuesdayThe week's decision, number, mistake and win, in 5 minutes.

Start with these

Carlos Gotlib standing in a dark gray sweater and navy pants against a cream background01Who I am and why I'm building in public nowI founded three companies, bought one, and have been investing in startups since 2016. Almost everything I know I learned from what went wrong. This is the story in order, told as decisions, and why this time I'm telling it as it happens.Carlos Gotlib with a beard, dark gray overshirt, and white T-shirt, on a light background02What you'll find here: how building in public worksBuilding in public isn't posting pretty photos of the process. It's sharing the decision before I know how it turns out, with the real number. This is what I publish, how often, what I won't publish, and where to follow along.

Follow the story

Every Tuesday, what happened that week in one short email. No spam.