Startup Acquisitions & Exits W/ Zwede Hewitt

Zwede Hewitt is the Co-Founder & CEO of LUHU App (acquired). He is a Strategic Advisor to several companies, and the Strategic Partner Advisor to Kanoo Pays. He is also on the Caribbean Advisory Board for Voltari Electric.

In 2018 he founded the first Caribbean based Fintech to raise Silicon Valley (VC) Venture Capitalist funding, with a successful exit in 2024.

In this intriguing conversation, I chat with the dynamic and forward thinking Zwede, a former Trinidad & Tobago, National 400m champion, 2014 Commonwealth Games medalist and Olympic athlete for Trinidad and Tobago.

He talks about his transition from sports to the world of entrepreneurship, a journey which he has navigated well. Some of which he attributes to the training he received as a high performance athlete, which prepared him physically and mentally to thrive in his current pursuits. 

Zwede, talks about dealing with setbacks and disappointments along the journey, which Entrepreneurs and Founders of Startup will eventually face as they build their businesses, it is par for the course.

He shares the story of his first company LUHU App; how he had to learn about the business and sector and build from the ground up. He had to  understand the technology, the operations, raise capital, form a team and understand everything, to build his Mobile App and Fintech service. Plus the intense work involved in trying to attract investors.

We discuss the world of Acquisitions; selling your company, understanding the investor mentality, choosing the right partners, why "sell" and how this can work in your favor. He discusses how evaluations are sometimes done and what investors look for at various stages of the business, plus much more.

Zwede talks about building a business with an Exit Strategy in mind and what this can look like. How this can be managed and the mindset one must have in this business. 

We discuss Kanoo Pays, the exceptional company and brand. He talks about how they are changing the game of Fintech in the islands, and evolving as a company operating in many sectors. 

He talks about, the future of EV Electronic Vehicles (EV), we discuss his involvement in Voltari Electronic and what the future of EV may look like and the impact on people's lifestyle and the environment. 

In this intriguing conversation, you will hear how this former Olympic athlete made a transition from the world of sports, to entrepreneurship. How with perseverance, passion and preparation he was able to achieve a level of success, and today he continues to build and flip businesses with the heart of a champion.



The Future

Zwede Hewitt, he is currently focused on advancing entrepreneurship development in the Caribbean towards building a sustainable economy. His entrepreneurship superpower is having a keen eye for trends and opportunities and rallying a myriad of resources together towards a common goal.