Why This Founder Left a $160M Startup to Fix Supply Chains with AI | Cedrik Hoffmann
Why This Founder Left a $160M Startup to Fix Supply Chains with AI
Cedrik Hoffmann is the co-founder & CEO of Ameeba, a startup bringing AI-powered intelligence to supply chain operations. Before that, he scaled and exited Valoreo — a $160M VC-backed roll-up of consumer brands across Latin America.
In this conversation, Cedrik shares the raw truth of leaving high-paid jobs, building in overlooked industries, and how personal loss and failure shaped his founder mindset. From hustling trade shows in Taiwan with no product, to raising millions and leading hundreds — this is a story of grit, reinvention, and staying obsessed with the problem.
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Chapters
00:00 – The only career where failure is rewarded
01:00 – Cedrik’s early life and unlikely path to Goldman Sachs
03:00 – Realizing banking wasn’t the dream
04:40 – The turning point: advice from his wife
06:00 – Going all in: no business, no plan, just hustle
08:00 – Meeting Jack and taking over a Taiwanese factory
11:00 – How a cold call from old friends led to Valoreo
13:00 – Raising $160M and scaling across Latin America
15:30 – Why fundraising isn’t the milestone
17:00 – The truth about exit returns and dilution
18:50 – The origin of Ameeba and building the tool he wished he had
21:00 – AI in supply chains: hype vs real problems
23:30 – How Cedrik found the right co-founder
26:00 – Choosing co-founders like life partners
29:00 – Why co-developing with customers worked
32:00 – What most B2B founders get wrong about product
34:00 – The zombie tech stack inside global supply chains
36:00 – How geopolitics is reshaping where goods are made
38:00 – Nearshoring, cost misconceptions, and supply chain as a brand story
42:00 – Competing with Shein and surviving retail disruption
44:00 – Why founders need to understand their supply chain
48:00 – Balancing fatherhood and founder life
52:00 – Cedrik’s biggest failure — and what he learned
54:00 – Luck vs talent vs grit
56:00 – Where to find Cedrik online
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