Under the motto "Distribution is the new moat," Nomada Fund launches as the world's first New Media fund
Backed by leading media outlets and communities in the U.S. and Latin America, the fund invests distribution instead of capital as AI makes software cheaper to build and community and trust become key advantages.
Nomada Fund announced its launch as the world's first New Media fund. Instead of providing capital, the fund invests Media Credits through a program of sustained distribution and coverage across more than 10 New Media platforms, including newsletters, podcasts, communities, events, SEO, and GEO, with reach across Latin America and the United States.
The firm is backed by ILB Media Group, a New Media conglomerate that brings together more than 20 finance and investment media outlets in the United States and Latin America. This partnership allows Nomada Fund to give its portfolio startups sustained distribution to investors, founders, and potential customers from their earliest stages.
Nomada Fund
A proven model
Nomada Fund uses the same financial structure as Media for Equity (M4E) funds, in which media groups contribute advertising space in exchange for equity in growing companies. The difference lies in two key areas: instead of television, radio, or print, Nomada Fund operates on New Media platforms, where trust and brand discovery are built today; and instead of coming in once a company has reached maturity, it invests from the early stages (Pre-seed and Seed). In practical terms, this makes Nomada Fund the world’s first Distribution for Equity (D4E) fund.
The approach responds to a shift in how companies are built. With AI agents, APIs, and no-code tools, a small team can recreate a working product in a matter of days. What a competitor cannot copy in that time is the trust of the people who follow a company, open its emails, and recommend its work.
That is the origin of the firm's guiding motto: "Distribution is the new moat." In finance, a moat is what protects a company from its competitors. For years, that moat was technology. Today, according to Nomada Fund, it is distribution: the ability to reach the right people and turn that visibility into trust, reputation, and lasting relationships.
"A startup's most valuable asset is no longer just its product, but its brand and its relationship with people," said Jose Kont. "Having a lot of followers guarantees nothing. A small community that responds, tests products, and recommends a brand can be worth far more than a massive audience that barely sees the posts."
A team built from within the ecosystem
Jose Kont joins as co-founder and Managing Partner of the firm. With more than 20 years of experience, he is a recognized New Media expert and a partner at ecosystem-building firms such as Impacta VC in Chile, CAFI in Central America, and Cuantico VP in the United States.
Israel García Ballesteros, co-founder and Venture Partner at Nomada Fund, is the CEO and founder of Startuplinks, the leading Spanish-speaking community of venture capital funds and accelerators, with more than 270 institutional members across the region.
The team is completed by Venture Partners Rodrigo Giacaman, founder of Startups Latam; Luca Modyeievsky, CEO and Founder of The Startup Journal; Ileana Figueroa, CEO of Pulso Capital; and Jose Manuel Aguirre, founder of TECHLA. As a result, several of the most relevant media outlets and communities in Latin America's startup ecosystem are directly part of the firm. On the legal side, Eugenia di Marco joins as advisor. She is an international legal advisor with training from UC Berkeley School of Law and MIT, among other institutions.
From rented reach to owned channels
The data supports the firm's approach. The Rival IQ 2026 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report puts the median Instagram engagement rate for brands at 0.30% of followers, down from 0.36% the previous year. Because that attention depends on platforms and algorithms a company does not control, Nomada Fund helps startups move it into owned channels such as newsletters, communities, events, and direct conversations with potential customers or investors.
"When anyone can build software over a weekend, the edge goes to whoever reaches the right people first," the firm said.
