GUSTAVO A. DARQUEA
Guayaquil, Ecuador
GUSTAVO A. DARQUEA
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Guayaquil, Ecuador
I am the proud father of three men. Entrepreneur & Venture Capitalist.
Dream Chaser, Team Builder & Value Innovator. 9x IRONMAN Triathlete & 4x Boston Marathon Runner.
In 2001, I co-founded the best contract catering company in the Coast and South of Ecuador. The company became the largest foodservice provider, with sales in excess of $22M in 2019, more than 40,000 meals served every day, and 800 employees, under my responsibility. After 19 years of operation, the shareholder I represent sold its stake in the company to a large Ecuadorian corporation.
Since late 2019, I am the Latin American Partner of RIFF Ventures, a San Francisco Bay Area based, Venture Capital Fund focused in Food Technology and Ag Technology. Through RIFF Studios we provide founders, start-ups, and new ventures, a toolbox of business solutions to strengthen their position with the ultimate goal of bringing their standards to investor level.
In January 2020, I founded Ritmocorp S.A., a company that functions as rep office for RIFF Ventures in Guayaquil, Ecuador, serving as a hub for Latin America. Ritmocorp provides specialized corporate services to Ecuadorian companies, with a strong focus on Sales and Negotiation. During the Q1 2020, I became the licensee for Ecuador of the Grant Cardone sales and negotiation technological platform and system. Additionally, Ritmocorp also provides M&A Advisory through my international and Ecuadorian corporate and investors network.
I graduated from North Carolina State University, with a double-major in Agricultural Economics and Business Management in 1993, and as the highest ranking senior in my department. I won a merit based scholarship for my graduate studies, and in 1995, I graduated from Georgetown University with an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship.