Diego Vetencourt is a political refugee from Venezuela turned entrepreneur through marketing. After being detained by the communist party in 2016, he was able to come to the States under refugee status where he started as an Uber driver.
By 28, he had failed multiple businesses such as an Ethereum mining facility, Airbnb rentals, flipping cars, and multiple YouTube channels that gained no traction. At 30, he was hired as an SDR at Uplyft Capital, a fintech company in Miami, where he eventually became the CMO.
He grew the company from $2 million to $10 million in monthly revenue, with a team of just two people in marketing. By 2022, through Google ads, Facebook ads, and business development strategies, he scaled the team from 20 to 70.
In 2022, through his own tenacity and hard work, he had the opportunity to work directly with Sam Parr. He helped him grow his Instagram and TikTok audience from 0 to 50,000 in a matter of three months. They launched Shortzy soon after.
Now, Diego runs two agencies—Shortzy and Artifacts Labs. He’s currently working with 38 clients in multiple verticals creating original content to help them grow and scale.
Listen in for some great takeaways about becoming an entrepreneur. What an inspirational journey that we can all learn from.
You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in…
- Compelling question or topic, written to elicit curiosity [3:23]
- Learn more about Diego’s marketing agency: Shortzy [5:23]
- Where Diego’s passion for entrepreneurship stems from [8:46]
- How listening to podcasts helped shape Diego’s path [13:10]
- What failure has taught Diego about success [14:30]
- Why Diego worked for Sam Parr for free [20:38]
- How Diego has partnered with iconic brands via Artifacts Labs [25:41]
- How Diego thinks AI will change digital marketing [28:40]
- Diego’s advice for those starting their entrepreneurial journey [32:47]
- What Diego did today that put him in the mindset for success [34:21]
Why Diego worked for Sam Parr for free
Diego used to repurpose content at scale for theme pages on Instagram. One of those pages was called “Top Business Podcasts.” He was getting millions of views repurposing content. Because of this, Diego knew he could get Sam results and provide value.
Sam wasn’t the only person he reached out to but Sam was the one that replied. Diego was able to convince Sam to let him work, for free, for five months. When Diego proved that he could deliver results, they decided to launch a short-form content business: Shortzy.
Shortzy consists of a team of editors, copywriters, and distributors that handle short-form content at scale. They work with podcasters, long-form content creators, event speakers, lawyers, and realtors. They curate, edit, and distribute content.
Sam tweeted about Diego on December 31st and soon after Diego’s calendar was full for the next year. Diego’s life changed dramatically because of one tweet. It was unexpected—but he wasn’t about to complain.
Where Diego’s passion for entrepreneurship stems from
Venezuela was a wealthy country in the 80s and 90s. But in 2000, the communist party took over. Diego grew up in a wealthy family. His uncle was an entrepreneur who dropped out of college and forged his own path. Diego wanted to be just like him.
But as the communist party gained power, the government appropriated all of their businesses, and they lost everything.
Diego saw entrepreneurship as a way to become free of his geopolitical situation. Consuming business content and learning from other entrepreneurs allowed him to see what was possible and be inspired by it.
So when Diego was able to move to America, he dove into entrepreneurship with his uncle.
What failure has taught Diego about success
In 2017, Diego and his uncle launched a business selling Ethereum rigs. When the business failed, he looked at the decisions he’d made he believed led to the failure. Then he learned from them, which impacted every future decision. Failure gives you a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t.
In Venezuela, failure was frowned upon. People only shared their success. If they were failing, they kept it well hidden. But in America, people are open and vulnerable about their failures. Some of the greatest successes were riddled with failures.
It was hard for Diego to unlearn that mentality but when he did, he was able to embrace his failures for what they were: A step in the right direction.
Diego shares some sage advice for those just starting their entrepreneurial journey. Listen to the episode to learn more about how to fail forward.
Resources & People Mentioned
- Artifacts Labs
- De Cero a 100 podcast
Connect with Diego Vetencourt
Bio
Diego is a political refugee from venezuela turned entrepreneur through marketing. After being detained by the communist party at 26 he was able to come to the States under refugee status where he started as an Uber driver. By 28, he failed multiple businesses such as: Ethereum mining facility, Airbnb rentals, flipping cars, and multiple youtube channels that gained no traction.
Finally when he was 30 he was hired as an SDR at Uplyft Capital, a fintech company in Miami, where he grew to be the CMO. He grew the company from 2m a month in revenue to 10m a in revenue, with a team of 2 people in marketing. Google ads, Facebook ads, and business development strategies with the lending tree, funders and business loans, allowed them to scale the team from 20 to 70 by 2022.
In 2022 he had the opportunity to work directly with Sam Parr, and helped him grow his instagram and tiktok audience from 0 to 50k in a matter of 3 months. Afterwards, Sam helped him build shortzy by referring clients.
Now Diego runs 2 agencies working 38 clients where he works with podcasters, founders, and entrepreneurs from multiple verticals creating original content for growth and sales.
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