Zacarías Monsalbe

I was born in Venezuela. Empeñalo and its US sister brand, PawnShop App, were born from a clear necessity: to digitize pawnbroking—the absolute last financial sector that technology hasn't transformed at scale. While banks spent the last 100 years evolving their systems, pawnbroking stayed exactly the same, forcing users to walk from shop to shop just to compare prices. That friction makes it unviable today.

We are building Pawnbroking 2.0. Just as Uber revolutionized transport and Airbnb revolutionized hospitality, we flipped the script. You no longer search for offers; you publish your physical asset from your phone and let lenders bid for it. By cutting out the traditional middleman and decentralizing liquidity through a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) market, we've successfully slashed average monthly interest rates from 20% down to 6% or less.

This ecosystem is strictly Zero-Trust. Security is guaranteed because the investor gives a final in-person 'OK' to the physical collateral before releasing funds. Furthermore, we don't compete with traditional pawnshops or banks. We provide pawnshops (B2B) with a digital storefront of millions of clients, and we offer traditional banks a secure infrastructure to make fast-liquidation, asset-backed investments.

Beyond Empeñalo, my early start as CEO of Bank of Cryptoactive at 18 opened a path into Venezuela's institutional ecosystem. As a minority shareholder in companies listed on the BVC (Bolsa de Valores de Caracas)—including entities related to Banco Provincial, Mercantil, Banco de Venezuela, CANTV, and Ron Santa Teresa—I've gained access to shareholder assemblies and high-level boardroom networks that have been instrumental in shaping my understanding of traditional finance at scale.

Currently, I'm enrolled in Y Combinator's Startup School—the world's most important startup acceleration program, where thousands of billionaire founders and the architects of the modern tech ecosystem share their scaling playbooks. This, combined with leadership credentials from Harvard Kennedy School (Exercising Leadership), the World Bank, a verified edX certification in Project Management from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, and a Diploma in Venezuelan Studies, gives our team the cross-sector perspective needed to bridge institutional capital with decentralized P2P infrastructure.

Ecosystem & Ventures

EmpeñaloLomas de NirguaPana Venezuela

Education & Credentials

Y Combinator Startup SchoolHarvard Kennedy SchoolThe World Bank GroupedX — U. Nacional de CórdobaVenezuelan Studies Diploma

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