I met Beatriz Zanatelli during a transitional year for Global Startups.

We were growing, navigating the inevitable bumps that come with growth, and on the verge of something significant. After two years of working with international startups, we had just received acceptance into the Startup Visa program. We were the first, and to this day the only, Latin American based community accepted into the program. That milestone carried weight. It meant we could finally offer international founders a real pathway to work permits and permanent residence in Canada.

I made a personal commitment from the start: to run that program at the highest possible standards. Reputation in this space is everything, and I worked hard to make sure the ecosystem understood that the companies and founders coming through us deserved serious attention.

Bea’s company was one of the first to benefit from that program. And we were proud. Not just because it was a quality company, but because it represented quality human talent. Bea and her sister were deeply committed to what they were building. They were among the few female founder teams I have worked with. Per cohort, which typically runs eight to ten companies, I usually receive one company led by female founders. I do not tend to make much of that distinction in my day to day work, but there is something quietly meaningful about building alongside other women in this environment.