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Arturo Galván
Digital Entrepreneur | Founder | CEO | Investor | Board Member | Advisor
Professional Background
Arturo Galván is a highly respected technology entrepreneur with an impressive career spanning over three decades in the digital industry, particularly in Latin America. His journey began in the late 1980s, where he co-founded the first online service in the Spanish-speaking world in 1988, a groundbreaking move that laid the foundation for the digital economy in the region. Featuring prominently in the Prehistoric Digital Economy, Arturo showcased his forward-thinking mindset by launching the first real-time financial information service and a data wireless network in Latin America by 1990.
In 1994, he made history as a co-founder of the first internet company in Latin America, effectively pioneering the Digital Economy in the region. This pivotal venture set the stage for many subsequent innovations. By 1999, he co-founded Terra, which became the first Latin American digital company to be publicly listed on NASDAQ. This milestone not only highlighted his entrepreneurial spirit but also cemented his position as a leader in digital transformation.
Continuing his legacy of innovation, Arturo co-founded Naranya, a Digital Omnichannel company focused on building effective digital channels for media outlets, brands, and telecommunications companies. His entrepreneurial efforts did not stop there; in 2013, he launched Mexico's first Corporate Venture Fund and Startup Accelerator, marking a significant step forward for tech startups in the region. He followed this in 2016 by introducing the first Carrier Billing Mobile Wallet in Mexico, further establishing his commitment to enhancing digital infrastructure.
More recently, in 2023, Arturo launched LIBRE, a pioneering initiative that provides free WiFi targeted at mobile users with constrained access to the internet due to expensive prepaid 3G plans. This innovative service also offers brands and companies fresh avenues for engaging with these users. In 2024, he took on another ambitious project by launching ARPA Venture Studio, focusing on opportunities in sectors poised for technological transformation, including MarTech, HealthTech, SportsTech, Retail Media, Digital Goods Economy, and FinTech. His efforts in these initiatives demonstrate not just his entrepreneurial spirit, but his dedication to leveraging technology for social good.
In recognition of his numerous contributions to the digital landscape, Arturo was honored by the Wall Street Journal as the "Apostle of the Internet" in Latin America, underscoring his influence and commitment to connecting people through technology. He has also been recognized as an "Endeavor Entrepreneur" and received nominations for prestigious accolades, including the "E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year" and "Endeavor Entrepreneur of the Year" awards.
Education and Achievements
Arturo's academic journey reflects his dedication to continuous growth and leadership. He studied at the Stanford Endeavor Leadership Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he honed his skills in entrepreneurship and leadership. He holds a degree in Business Administration and Computer Sciences from Tecnológico de Monterrey and completed his Bachiller at CUM. His educational background provided him with the necessary insights to navigate the complexities of the digital landscape and contribute meaningfully to its evolution.
Arturo's extensive experience also extends to serving on the boards of various organizations, including the Movimiento STEM and Irrazonable, where he is passionate about fostering young talent and entrepreneurship in Mexico and Latin America. Additionally, he is an active member of investment committees for venture capital funds and angel networks, further solidifying his role as a mentor and supporter of burgeoning startups.
Notable Contributions
Apart from his entrepreneurial ventures, Arturo has taken on numerous significant roles in different organizations. He has served as an independent member of the investment committee at FEMSA Ventures and held various board positions, including with the Unreasonable Institute, where he helped drive initiatives aimed at nurturing entrepreneurship in Mexico. His influence has also extended to the educational sector as he has contributed to EGADE Business School at Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Throughout his career, Arturo has been instrumental in building networks to support young innovators, making him an active agent for change in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Latin America. He has played critical roles in several organizations aimed at enhancing growth opportunities and providing guidance to upcoming entrepreneurs.
As an Angel Investor, Arturo is not just a mentor but also actively invests in tech startups and VC funds, demonstrating his faith in the next generation of innovations and entrepreneurs. Furthermore, he has taken up advisory roles for both corporations and governments, leveraging his expertise to address various social and economic challenges in developing markets through digital-based solutions.
Arturo Galván is much more than just a seasoned entrepreneur; he embodies a unique blend of expertise, passion, and vision. His relentless pursuit of innovation in the digital realm has substantially transformed the landscape of technology and entrepreneurship throughout Latin America. Whether through launching ground-breaking digital platforms or investing in new startup ideas, his commitment to fostering a thriving digital economy remains unparalleled.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Arturo enjoys fine gastronomy, wines, and traveling, with a special affinity for exploring the diverse landscapes of Spain. His love for the outdoors complements his dynamic lifestyle as a successful entrepreneur, making him a well-rounded individual who revels in life's pleasures while contributing significantly to the digital economy.
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Clay is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Clay centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Clay's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Clay isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.