This article is part of Fintech Leaders, a newsletter with over 37,000 dreamers, entrepreneurs, investors, and students of financial services. I invite you to share and sign up here!
My guests today are Sergio Fogel and Gonzalo Strauss, two amazing Uruguayan entrepreneurs. Sergio is a fintech legend, who’s built and bootstrapped multiple fintechs, including dLocal (NASDAQ: DLO), a company that IPOd on the Nasdaq in 2021 and is currently valued at around $8 Billion and showing great results.
Most recently, Sergio and Gonzalo teamed up to build Datanomik, a B2B open finance enabler that aims to simplify financial data processes for companies and fintechs around the world. They are backed by a16z, Canary, Nazca, Latitud, and many more.
In this episode, we discuss:
The story of dLocal and how they built a global multibillion-dollar giant with minimal funding. What culture did they create and what was their secret sauce?
“The initial days of a company, that’s when the culture is defined. And after that, it's very, very hard to change the culture. The best way the culture is made is leading by example. And we were very committed and frugal, and that is engraved in the culture of the company. Even today, dLocal doesn't pay for business class flights. Everybody flies coach.”
– Sergio Fogel
The IPO process. How do you know if a company is ready? Sergio takes us through their decision-making framework and why they listed on the Nasdaq.
“We felt that being a public company would give us a bit of legitimacy in front of our customers. It's much easier to onboard a customer when you're a public company.”
– Sergio Fogel
Working with younger Co-founders. Sergio explains the value of building a multi-generational founding team.
“I really like the combination of two co-founders with a big age gap. Because the younger person brings the energy, I mean, building a company is very, very hard and requires very long hours. And the younger person has the energy and the time. And the older one, maybe wants to prioritize lifestyle, but on the other side tends to have a network of contacts and has more experience." – Sergio Fogel
Launching Datanomik. Gonzalo built an internal tool at his previous company and then realized this could be an independent company. How did he end up partnering with Sergio?
“Sergio was my first pitch, and I told him ‘look, we have this MVP, we have been achieving these preliminary results, and I want to focus on this specific project.’ – Sergio told me, ‘Gonzalo, this is not an MVP, this is already a product, you already have a customer!’“
– Gonzalo Strauss
Is Uruguay the next global tech hub? We explore some of the reasons behind the tremendous success of the country’s tech scene… and a whole lot more!
“Every technology company in Uruguay is default global. I mean, you cannot be local, unless your ambitions are very small.” – Sergio Fogel
“It’s kind of a snowball effect… dLocal is a great success and a great story. And every Uruguayan working in tech is inspired by dLocal’s story. I was inspired by dLocal’s story.”
– Gonzalo Strauss
Want more podcast episodes? Join me and follow Fintech Leaders today on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app for weekly conversations with today’s global leaders that will dominate the 21st century in fintech, business, and beyond.
Previous Episodes You May Enjoy:
Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.
Sergio Fogel & Gonzalo Strauss – Building dLocal, Datanomik, and AstroPay. What’s the Secret to Scaling a Multibillion-dollar Company with Minimal Funding?