Nilson Ivano

NU is not seen as a tech company it’s still seen by people as a bank and it’s that that is driving the growth. And this growth is because TRUST is flowing into the digital banking market. Trust is all that is needed for people to leave ‘traditional’ banks and go to new digital banks like Nubank, Wise, Revolut, TymeBank and others. Why? Because of UX. These new banks’ UX is still light years ahead of tranditional banks. UX isn’t just the UI of an app or a website it’s how you feel when you interact with them. There is such a big difference between the new and traditional banks the the only thing stopping a massive exodus (this is already starting) is trust. We should expect to see way more growth as more people switch. We are still at the beginning of ‘the early majority’.

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This fintech company disrupted the entire industry in 6 years. Its Brex. They turned a small startup into a $12.3B giant. How? Here’s the story: Henrique Dubugras and his co-founder, Pedro Franceschi, dropped out of Stanford to start Brex in 2017. They wanted to solve a real pain point they experienced firsthand, "startups’ difficulty in securing corporate credit cards". Traditional banks failed to serve startups with no credit history, so they thought of building a financial services platform that addressed these challenges. Built from scratch, no relying on third-party processors. Brex created a solution for startups: No personal guarantees, fast signups, and higher limits. Now it's $12.3B company. And here's how they did it in just 6 years: 1. Targeted User Acquisition Cold emails, billboards, and champagne, their growth strategy was unorthodox but effective. They built a pipeline by marketing where their users hung out, even on LinkedIn.     2. Nailing Retention Early Brex understood retention was critical. They used churn data to improve customer service and even developed white-glove support to keep customers happy. 3. Iterating for Scale From a simple corporate card, Brex grew into a financial platform. They created multiple revenue streams — expense management, bill pay, and even venture debt.     4. Creating a Moat The founders kept adding value with features like a cash management account and travel integration. Customers were more likely to stay, leading to strong expansion revenue.     5. Non-traditional marketing They experimented with unique tactics, driving demo bookings through creative campaigns — this set them apart from competitors.     When faced with growing pains, Brex doubled down on venture-backed startups, offloading SMBs to maintain their premium positioning. Brex’s journey proves that success comes from understanding your market’s pain points and solving them better than anyone else. What can you take from this? Focus on retention, find creative marketing channels, and don’t be afraid to pivot. #startup #casestudy

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Cool post. We are definitely seeing a crowding market with players of all sizes participating - hyper scalers, large SaaS platforms like Salesforce, ipaas players in different sizes and shapes, GenAI Agent platforms (e.g Crew), GenAI frameworks, GenAI solutions, add recently GenAI model providers (they want a piece of the cake, not just to do the groceries shopping). They all start from a slightly different angle, but eventually we see many re-implementations of the following across the GenAI stack: 1. Development frameworks: platforms for building and deploying AI agents 2. Task automation - from agentic loops to process engineering, and from email response to complete sales and other pipelines. 3. Integration platforms - connect AI agents with other apps and services. This especially seems at the moment as a hard problem, but will we see some standardization? 4. No-code/low-code interfaces allowing users to create AI agents without any coding knowledge. The half-full person would say that this is a testimony to the centrality of Agents as the next paradigm of applications, and a key part of the maturing GenAI OS. The half-empty person will respond, “yes but” - should we expect a correction of this crowded space, with the above capabilities (and more) moving into the “OS layer” - offered by a few large players, with the advantage of scale and deep model integration. My 2c: 1) Focus on what's unique and differentiated! 2) Don't mix temporary hurdles of immature tech with systematic limitations 3) Fine to use these as beach head, but have a defensible strategy beyond #ai #startups #innovation

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Would a Nubank copy-paste work in Africa? Probably not (at least right now). "LATAM is similar to the US: credit-cards are understood, widespread. Credit cards as a product are supremely powerful. Users can seamlessly borrow and spend. It’s a gold mine for the issuer, and it’s (in part) what made Nubank so successful. A small survey estimated that 58% of Latin Americans have credit cards. In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, the figure stands at around 1.6%. Any African neobank play has to start with contextually-relevant products, like someone’s first proper bank account." Read the full Realistic Optimist piece by Hassan Bourgi, co-founder of Djamo here: https://lnkd.in/gSb4TNfB

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BJJ CORE PRINCIPLES APPLIED TO THE STARTUP JOURNEY 🥋 As I navigate the startup journey, I’ve been reflecting on core principles of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and how they apply to startups (and to life in general). The parallels are numerous! Just as in BJJ, the startup path is marked by BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS -pushing through the hard times and constantly refining your approach. BJJ has provided lessons in strategy, patience, and perseverance, all of which are just as relevant in business as they are on the mat. 1. LEVERAGE: Doing More with Less In BJJ, leverage allows a smaller practitioner to overcome a larger opponent. In startups, it’s about maximizing limited resources. Whether it’s capital, personnel, or time, founders must make strategic decisions to gain an edge with what they have. ---------------- 2. CONNECTION AND SENSITIVITY: Building Relationships and Staying Attuned In BJJ, connection is about staying in sync with your opponent’s movements, while sensitivity helps you react to subtle shifts. In startups, this translates to building meaningful relationships - with customers, your team, or investors - and staying attuned to their needs. Sensitivity to feedback and market changes allows a startup to adjust and grow, and make complete pivots if warranted. --------------- 3. WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION: Balance and Control Proper weight distribution in BJJ enhances control. In startups, it’s about balancing focus across product development, marketing, and operations to keep the business steady during highs and lows. ---------------- 4. TECHNIQUE: Precision Over Power In BJJ, superior technique wins over brute strength. In startups, it’s about focusing on execution, ensuring strategies are well thought out and refined. It’s not about doing more, it’s about doing it RIGHT. --------------- 5. BEING COMFORTABLE IN UNCOMFORTABLE POSITIONS In BJJ, you learn to breathe and stay calm in hellish positions. Startups often face tough moments - financial constraints, rejections, or setbacks. The ability to remain calm and adapt during these times is crucial. --------------- 6. ADAPTABILITY In BJJ, no two matches are the same—you have to adapt to your opponent’s style and strategy. Similarly, startups operate in constantly shifting environments. The ability to adjust and embrace uncertainty is what keeps startups alive. -------------- 7. RESILIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE Both BJJ and startups demand resilience. Failure is part of the process in both, but those who learn from mistakes and keep pushing forward ultimately succeed. ------------- #Startup #Unicorn #JiuJitsu #BusinessStrategy #Innovation #AngelInvesting

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The SaaS Fallacy: A Wake-Up Call for Brazilian Startups In Brazil’s startup ecosystem, there’s a persistent myth: “If you want to succeed, you HAVE to be SaaS.” Now don’t get me wrong—SaaS is amazing, scalable, and highly profitable… eventually. But here’s the reality: You don’t need to be SaaS from Day 1 to build a thriving business. Say the word "consulting" during a meeting with a startup here, and they might take it as an insult. But why? It doesn’t matter if your business model is SaaS, consulting, or selling lemonade, what matters is that you make money. Startups are about survival first and scalability second. Here’s my advice: Grow organically. Especially in a market with funding scarcity like ours, bootstrapping is a superpower. Yes, SaaS can be a game-changer in the long run, but don’t be afraid to lean on consulting as a means to generate cash flow early on. Every dollar you make through consulting today buys you the time, space, and resources to eventually develop that killer SaaS product tomorrow. Think of consulting as your lifeline, profitable, flexible, and without the pressure of burning through VC funding at an unsustainable pace. You don’t need to impress investors with an instant SaaS model, let your sales and cash flow tell the story. So to all the startups out there: It’s okay to grow organically and embrace consulting as part of your journey. Consulting today, SaaS tomorrow. it’s not a failure, it’s a strategic move. Build, sell, and survive without the obsession of instant scalability. #BrazilianStartups #SaaS #Consulting #Bootstrapping #OrganicGrowth

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I wrote about the different builder personas one can find in web3: - corporate - mercenary - app builders - tinkerers Descriptions are in the X thread (because Linkedin limits post length). Can you think of any others? https://lnkd.in/dph-5drV

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Brex is one of my favorite fintechs. Ever wonder what their journey from $0 to over $300M in revenue within 7 years looked like? 2017-2018: The Birth of Brex • Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, both 22-year-old Stanford dropouts, decided to flip the fintech world on its head by launching Brex, a corporate credit card tailored for startups. • With their co-CEO model (which has become popular), they doubled their management bandwidth. Internal & external duties? No problem when you have twice the number of CEOs to lead folks 2019-2020: Rapid growth • Brex quickly partnered with big names like DoorDash, Flexport, and Roblox. • In 2019, they secured $300 million in funding, catapulting their valuation to $2.6 billion. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you’re swimming in a pool of investor cash. 2021-2022: Diversification and challenges • Brex expanded its product suite to include expense management, bill pay, & travel booking services. If you’re going to burn through cash, you might as well make it convenient. • Despite their success, they faced some “minor” hiccups. Layoffs in 2022 were a delightful reminder that even fintech unicorns aren’t immune to cutting costs by cutting people. 2023: Strategic shifts • Transitioning to a single CEO model, Pedro took the helm while Henrique became chairman. Having two brains was slowing things down? • They continued to innovate, integrating AI into their platform. By the end of 2023, Brex hit over $300 million in revenue, proving that even with all the chaos, they were still making bank​. 2024: Path to profitability • With a goal of being cash-flow positive by 2025, Brex halved its cash burn by chopping 20% of its staff and focused on sustainable growth. Making money instead of burning it is always a sound strategy. • Serving 30K+ customers globally, Brex’s commitment to transparency & customer-centric solutions has kept them in the game. They’re not just participating – they’re rewriting the rules. Want to copy their homework? 1. Identify a significant pain point in an industry and create a solution that addresses it. Please don't start a business without doing this. 2. Utilize a strong co-founder dynamic to maximize efficiency & divide responsibilities effectively. Two heads are better than one, until they aren’t. 3. Secure early partnerships with influential companies to build credibility and a customer base. It’s always about who you know. 4. Listen to your customers. & Expand your product offerings to meet their evolving needs. 5. Maintain a strong focus on transparency & trust to build a loyal customer base. People surprisingly prefer not being lied to. 6. Strategically manage growth, and make tough decisions like layoffs when necessary to ensure long-term sustainability. 7. If you want to go public, be profitable. Did I miss anything?

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