Patricio Villalobos Cuevas and Miguel Ramírez Lombana, or simply Pato & Mike. We have been serial entrepreneurs since 1999 and partners for +23 years. We created underdog as our "personal trademark" for all projects we launch. It represents our core values, our way of working, our teamwork vision and the legacy we want to leave behind.
underdog /ˈəndərˌdôɡ/ noun
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the outcome is an upset.
Mike
Serial entrepreneur who started his first company in 1998. In 1999, “Mike” co-founded mediotiempo.com, a pioneer project on the Mexican Internet landscape, which eventually became the leading sports digital property, acquired in 2010 by Time Warner. After the acquisition, Mike headed Expansion's nascent Interactive division.
In 2013, Mike co-founded Soccerly, a soccer digital platform for the U.S. market and in 2014, launched a portfolio of social-first publishing brands @juanfutbol, @fridapop and @juanbeisbol. These assets were acquired by Playmaker Capital in 2022.
In 2016, co-founded Tikitaka, which today is a leading sports marketing agency that serves leagues, events, clubs, sponsors and startups. In 2018 Sondermut was created to provide consulting services to empower innovation through technology services.
Mike has served in the advisory and board of directors of several companies. He has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, he currently lives in Mexico City, is married and is a proud father of three kids.
Patricio
Mexican entrepreneur with a unique passion for technology, media and football. Married, father of four kids and proud of being an Underdog.
Avid fan of Lio Messi and the perfection of FC Barcelona. Admirer of Olafur Eliasson, Ferran Adrià and Yoshitomo Nara.
In 1999 he co-founded mediotiempo.com as a hobby and eventually turned it into one of the biggest online properties in Latin America, the number one sports site in Mexico and a digital-media success story as it was acquired in 2010 by Grupo Expansión, a Time Warner Company at that time.
After serving a few years as Expansion's CTO, in 2012 along with Mike, Pato continued his entreprenurial path with the main goal of building platforms that embrace the digital transformation of sports and other industries.
In 2018 he co-founded Sondermut, to serve SMEs with better and smoother technology to enable the world ot tomorrow.
Brands & Companies
Acquired by Time Warner (2010)
Acquired by PMKR 2022
Acquired by PMKR 2022
Acquired by PMKR 2022
Acquired by Time Warner (2010)
Acquired by Playmaker Capital (2022)
Some of our recent clients
Timeline
November 1999
Our entrepreneurial journey starts, it's been 23 years!
February 2000
mediotiempo.com launched as the first “underdog” project with the goal of informing and entertaining futbol fans in the early days of the internet in Mexico.
January 2004
We created Mexico´s largest sport subscription SMS service (GOL-4636), reaching more than 3 million fans every month.
June 2010
mediotiempo.com is acquired by Grupo Expansión, a Time Warner subsidiary, at that time, the largest entertainment company in the world.
January 2013
Soccerly is launched with the goal of creating a soccer-specific digital platform for fans in the US.
May 2014
juanfutbol launches days before Brazil 2014 World Cup, reaching to date millions of fans across multiple markets including Mexico, USA and Colombia.
November 2015
penta launches as a platform to distribute sports related video content.
January 2016
tikitaka, our own sports marketing agency that specializes in content, creativity and tech development services.
June 2016
fridapop is a media brand that shares stories that inspire, empower and promote the growth of women’s sport.
March 2018
juanbeisbol, our third publishing brand, focusing on baseball and its huge fan base in Mexico.
March 2018
Sondermut is created as an information technology company that provides consulting services to empower innovation for a brighter future.
November 2019
Pokal, our events division, which has specialized in the organization of soccer youth tournaments with thousands of participants year-round.
August 2022
Playmaker Capital acquires our 3 media brands (juanfutbol, juanbeisbol and fridapop) to consolidate its presence in the Mexican market.
November 1999
Our entreprenurial journey starts, it's been 23 years!
February 2000
mediotiempo.com launched as the first “underdog” project with the goal of informing and entertaining futbol fans in the early days of the internet in Mexico.
January 2004
We created Mexico´s largest sport subscription SMS service (GOL-4636), reaching more than 3 million fans every month.
June 2010
mediotiempo.com is acquired by Grupo Expansión, a Time Warner subsidiary, at that time, the largest entertainment company in the world.
January 2013
Soccerly is launched with the goal of creating a soccer-specific digital platform for fans in the US.
May 2014
juanfutbol launches days before Brazil 2014 World Cup, reaching to date millions of fans across multiple markets including Mexico, USA and Colombia.
November 2015
penta launches as a platform to distribute sports related video content.
January 2016
tikitaka, our own sports marketing agency that specializes in content, creativity and tech development services.
June 2016
fridapop is a media brand that shares stories that inspire, empower and promote the growth of women’s sport.
March 2018
juanbeisbol, our third publishing brand, focusing on baseball and its huge fan base in Mexico.
March 2018
Sondermut is created as an information technology company that provides consulting services to empower innovation for a brighter future.
November 2019
Pokal, our events division, which has specialized in the organization of soccer youth tournaments with thousands of participants year-round.
August 2022
Playmaker Capital acquires our 3 media brands (juanfutbol, juanbeisbol and fridapop) to consolidate its presence in the Mexican market.
Boards & Advisory past & present
Contact
Drop us an email anytime, we’d love to hear about you and your project!
hola@underdog.mx