Fabrício Souza

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) regularly publishes a Consumer Sentiment Barometer to understand how consumers feel and spend. The latest August 2024 release shows that consumer confidence is starting to bounce back, though the recovery is uneven across Brazil, China, Germany, India, the UK, and the US. A few take-aways: ▪ Sentiment is impacted by income: Low and middle income consumers say they spend less while affluents show more resilient spend patterns. ▪ Rising costs are causing economic hardships: Consumers are spending more but often in response to higher prices, and not due to greater demand. ▪ Consumer spending outlook varies widely by category: Leisure Travel and Insurance are among resilient categories with enduring spend, Luxury is a feel-good category that has come off peak spending patterns, while snacking and dining are taking lower priority in consumer spending.   Companies need to take a de-aggregated market by market view to understanding and anticipating sentiment and consumer spend. Click for more: https://lnkd.in/gE6M_2Eb.   Look forward to sharing the next editions of this series, with Patrick Witschi, Gabriela Barrios, and Lauren Taylor. #consumersentiment #customerinsights #resilience

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Interesting paper on the next level of AI ethics. Heterogeneity problem and how could AI help alleviate the issues around informational and behavioral gaps to aid markets to deliver better. Actually, this is similar to 90s when we were discussing how internet would be solving the issue of information gaps and allow markets to function efficiently as per the premise of the (neoliberal) economic models. That failed to deliver and now the hope is AI will be able to address these gaps to enable markets to function efficiently which will benefit all, and not a certain group (human welfare), with help of regulation. Well, one can only hope.

This part of my conversation with Joao Barbosa, co-founder at the world’s leading wellness platform Gympass (now Wellhub) valued at $2.4 is a testament to the fact that nothing big actually started big 👇 It took Gympass 5 pivots and 2 near death experiences to find the business model that works and is scalable across the globe What I found really interesting is the framework that the team had around pivots - the tripod approach towards creating value. This approach could benefit many founders especially in marketplace kinda businesses Head over to our channels on Spotify, Apple and YouTube to watch / listen to the full conversation link in comment 🔗 The J Curve #thejcurvepodcast #podcastrecommendation #gympass #pivot #entrepreneurship #founder #venturecapital

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Inspiration for entrepreneurs: :   'My advice is to focus on the importance of forging a long term relationship, whether with colleagues, partners, or customers. It is often easy to get caught up in short term decisions.'   @Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Founder of Care.com   #RelationshipBuilding #LongTermSuccess   Develop lasting business relationships with The Cantillon's guidance.

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This advice from Geraldo Thomaz, founder and co-CEO of NYSE-traded enterprise e-commerce platform VTEX (customers include Coca Cola and Walmart), will save startup founders from making critical mistakes in their go-to-market and customer acquisition strategies. 🚀👇 If you're like many founders who think about marketing your products to low-end customers first and then entering the enterprise segment, think again. The game for low-end and enterprise customers is totally different. Check out this snippet from my conversation with Geraldo on the latest episode of The J Curve and go to our channels on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Podcast to listen the full interview that’s packed with practical tips for founders and investors alike 🎙️ #StartupAdvice #TheJCurve #GoToMarket #CustomerAcquisition #vtex #fromlatamtotheworld #thejcurvepodcast

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What leadership skills and capabilities will companies need to truly become data- and gen AI-driven and to make it successful across the enterprise? José Pedro Almeida, a top health AI and chief AI strategist and advisory board member at Intelligence Ventures, shares insights for leaders on navigating the complexities of AI integration and executing broad-scale transformation. ​ 🎧 Listen to the full podcast episode here: https://bit.ly/3UIqkS4.​ #Leadership #AI #GenerativeAI #Innovation #Transformation

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Third and last part of my post with some insights from the #fundraising of our latest fund. Some of the tools we used and how we managed to get the finish line successfully!

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Join us next week as we explore the impact of AI on organizational decision making processes. As business leaders, we all rely on our teams' ability to make informed decisions about strategy deployment and execution. AI brings about great opportunities, as well as some significant challenges, especially when it comes to its ability to influence our thinking and decision-making processes.

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‌I recently returned from spending a week in São Paulo, where I had the pleasure of visiting friends and loved ones. In addition to reconnecting, I engaged in productive discussions with founders, fellow venture capitalists, and other asset allocators. ✈ 👨‍💻 👊 The trip was filled with great meetings, offering valuable insights and market perspectives on early-stage venture capital and the fintech ecosystem in Brazil. 🎯 🌎 💡 #VCs #earlystage #investments #networking

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Saindo do forno: BCG’s 2024 M&A Report. https://lnkd.in/dx3KWz6U Dealmakers in 2024 are balancing both challenges and opportunities. On one hand, market volatility, evolving regulations, and geopolitical tensions are complicating things. Yet, on the other, inflation is stabilizing, and private equity firms are holding record levels of dry powder ($2.1 trillion at the end of September), ready to act. #BCGMAReport

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As a leader you will always have one of two problems as you grow in your career: 1. You’re constantly developing your skills in your core competency and getting better and better as the years go by, but you’re stagnant with how you manage people. 2. You don’t have time for the nitty-gritty details of your core skillset anymore, and become more and more of a people leader / manager. Both are not necessarily ideal because you want to be good at your core skillset AND great at managing people. In my talk with Alberto Silveira we discuss #1: when you’re really good at your core skillset but not growing the people leadership / management side of things. How do you break out of it? Alberto talks all about it here: https://lnkd.in/gqtg5Npa Of course, the real truth is it really depends on what you’re trying to accomplish in your career. You don’t HAVE to be a people manager to succeed. In fact, that kind of job can be draining for a lot of people. But many think they HAVE to manage people to be a leader. There are plenty of leaders who don’t manage people 24 x 7. Here are some examples of people I’ve met who were noted leaders without a team: - Chief evangelist: spent most of her time doing roadshows, huge for lead-gen - Wizard of channel partner sales: one man wrecking ball of biz dev - Board member: sat on all the big customer calls, raked it in for the company - Chief software architect: insane technical skills, dominated all new product development - Lead scientist: excellent researcher, feted guru in the company, didn't have a team So it is possible to be a leader and not manage people. You just have to decide what you want. #leadership #softwaredevelopment #technocratic

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I’m proud to share that we just published Symphonic Capital's first Impact Report! 🎉 At Symphonic Capital, we're driven by the belief that venture capital can be a force for transformative change. Over the past year, we've had the privilege of supporting incredible pre-seed founders tackling critical challenges in healthcare and financial services. Our 2024 Impact Report highlights not just our results, but the values and processes that guide us—rigor, innovation, and accountability. It’s a testament to how we’re reshaping the culture of VC and championing founders who are: 1. Going after big market opportunities 2. Solving big problems 3. Creating meaningful impact Check out the full report and see what’s ahead for Symphonic: https://lnkd.in/eGm_5Vme #venturecapital #startupfounders #impact #impactreport

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I have a unique list of places to visit, ranging from natural landscapes to tech centers and research facilities. One place at the top of my list was the Sirius synchrotron light source in Campinas, Brazil, the second brightest in the world. I recommend you read this recent piece (https://lnkd.in/dcfucTcr) about Sirius, on how AI turbocharges the particle accelerator and green hydrogen in the capital of science. Reading the piece about Campinas, a city 100 km from São Paulo, reminded me of its remarkable tech-oriented and science-dense economy. Home to one of Brazil's top universities and numerous deep-tech companies with global ambitions, Campinas offers a unique blend of globally-minded tech entrepreneurship and world-class science. Big science projects like Sirius are essential for advancing knowledge and driving innovation. At the GFCC | The Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils, we highlighted this in the "Leveraging Extreme Innovation" report (https://bit.ly/3Wes9a5), analyzing 17 transformational tech projects worldwide, including Sirius. These projects push the boundaries of science, technology, and business, leading to market innovations. Sirius is part of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), a major science infrastructure with global relevance. Notably, CNPEM operates as a private non-profit, showcasing the importance of institutional innovation. Innovation in institutions is crucial for emerging nations, especially in Latin America. Hugo Resende, a favorite author of mine on LinkedIn, shares valuable insights on innovation. We agree on three key points (right, Hugo?) innovation is poorly understood in Brazil, it's primarily about business and the economy, not just science and technology, and Brazil needs to improve its business environment and modernize its institutions to foster innovation. Even operating under the Brazilian business environment and institutional constraints, CNPEM’s innovative model provides a template for what is possible to do in the country regarding science and technology, and even innovation. But real change will only happen when Brazil trains and empowers a globally-minded generation of Brazilians at scale. Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), a key player in training talent, has produced companies like the Nasdaq-listed CI&T showcasing successful examples of research-industry partnerships. Interestingly, CNPEM harbors ILUM (https://ilum.cnpem.br/), a highly innovative, project-based higher education program. Federal universities in Brazil need reinvention, and ILUM's innovative setup could serve as an inspiration. It reminds me of what my friend João Jornada achieved during his tenure at Inmetro, combining cutting-edge research with education, creating the opportunity for students to work with cutting-edge science tools, in globally relevant projects. Any thoughts BR colleagues? If you are not Brazilian: to these points resonate with your reality? Comments?

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🚀 This one’s for the founders: a masterclass in execution and innovation. This week, I sat down with Adhemar M., founder and CEO of Kovi, a Brazilian company redefining mobility through car subscriptions and connected tech in a market plagued by high costs and limited credit access. Backed by ~$145M in funding from the likes of Valor Capital Group, monashees, MAYA CAPITAL, Globo Ventures, Norte Ventures and Peter Thiel's family office, Kovi is addressing high car costs, tough credit barriers, and insurance gaps in one of the world’s most exciting markets. What we covered 👇🏻 ​🔑 Driving innovation: How Brazil’s mobility challenges are powering market transformation ​🤝 Connect the dots: Building stronger founder/VC partnerships through transparency and market education ⚙️ Complexity doesn’t scale: Lessons in building efficient, scalable operations 🌐 Break down silos: Creating synergy between tech and operations in a startup ​⚡ Clean win: How Brazil’s renewable edge and gig economy lead the EV growth Link in comments—don’t miss this one! 🎧 PS: Thank you Vander Corteze, MD for the intro to Adhemar and for some excellent question suggestions 👏🏻

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Just had the privilege of attending a talk with Pedro Franceschi, co-founder and CEO of Brex, and fellow Brazilian powerhouse in the tech and fintech space at Pear VC. His insights were nothing short of gold for founders and innovators alike. Here are some key takeaways that really hit home: 🔑 Founder-market fit > product-market fit Pedro emphasized that the best founders deeply understand the problem they’re solving. Finding a problem you’re passionate about and that can compound over time is more important than focusing on the solution itself. Solutions will evolve; it’s the core problem that matters. 🛠️ Don’t confuse solutions with problems Founder failure mode is crafting a solution in search of a problem. Instead, start with understanding your customers’ pain points. As Pedro put it, when the pain is big enough, customers will use your product even if the initial interface is far from perfect. 🧠 Think in first principles A powerful reminder from Pedro: When approaching a problem, ask yourself, “Why hasn’t anyone solved this before?” By breaking it down to its most fundamental truths, you can challenge obstacles and innovate in ways others haven’t thought possible. 📈 Don’t chase average. Stand out! This was a gem: you don’t need to do everything well from the start. That’ll just make you average. Instead, find one thing to really excel at and be creative. That’s where the alpha is generated. Brex’s standout creativity even extended to buying billboards, an undervalued marketing channel with unmeasured ROI, but that worked. If you’re building, scaling, or just starting, Pedro’s approach is one to live by: stay focused on the right problems, stand out where it counts, and keep that vision simple and clear. Thanks for the inspiration, Pedro! #Fintech #Innovation #Founders #Entrepreneurship #FirstPrinciples #Brex

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In this latest episode of The Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast, Heidrick & Struggles’ Federico Guerreschi speaks to José Pedro Almeida, a top health AI and chief AI strategist and advisory board member at Intelligence Ventures. José discusses the potential of generative AI and its impact on businesses and healthcare organizations worldwide, explaining how AI-driven digital workforce models can revolutionize patient care and operational efficiency.​ 🎧 Listen here:​ https://bit.ly/3QdUSIH. #Leadership #AI #Healthcare #GenerativeAI #Innovation

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In this latest episode of The Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast, Heidrick & Struggles’ Federico Guerreschi speaks to José Pedro Almeida, a top health AI and chief AI strategist and advisory board member at Intelligence Ventures. José discusses the potential of generative AI and its impact on businesses and healthcare organizations worldwide, explaining how AI-driven digital workforce models can revolutionize patient care and operational efficiency.​ 🎧 Listen here:​ https://bit.ly/3QdUSIH. #Leadership #AI #Healthcare #GenerativeAI #Innovation

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Top healthcare and AI strategist José Pedro Almeida joins The Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast to discuss how generative AI is set to revolutionize industries and why businesses need to adapt swiftly. 🎧 Listen here: https://bit.ly/3UIqkS4. ​ #Leadership #AI #GenerativeAI #Innovation #Transformation

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We’ve got something really special for you on the latest episode of The J Curve 💥 I sat down with Marcelo Maziero and Fernando Fontes, the brilliant minds behind CERC, to talk about how they’re transforming Brazil’s $5 trillion receivables market into a globally recognized model 🇧🇷🔥 An important milestone in their success was securing a $100 million funding round led by Mubadala Capital, the investment arm of Mubadala, one of the world’s largest and most respected sovereign wealth funds based in Abu Dhabi. Mubadala is known for its strategic investments in sectors that shape the future, and their backing of CERC underscores the transformative potential of the company. We discuss 👇🏻 1️⃣ CERC’s $5 trillion bet: how reinventing receivables is transforming Brazil’s financial infrastructure? 2️⃣ Regulation as strategy: how CERC turned compliance into a competitive advantage in Brazil’s fintech landscape? 3️⃣ Brazil-specific strategy: how deep understanding of industry pain points can fuel innovation? 4️⃣ Co-founder chemistry: how the right partnership drives startup success? 5️⃣ Long-horizon funding: how CERC secured $100M by aligning with investors who understand infrastructure and share a long-term vision? This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs and investors alike, offering deep insights into the intricacies of scaling a fintech in Latin America. [🔗 in comment 👇🏻] #Entrepreneurship #Fintech #Brazil #Podcast #Innovation

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