NuBank started back in 2013 with $2mn in seed capital with the idea of fighting the bureaucracy and complexity of the Brazil financial system; the company has grown into the world’s largest and most valuable digital bank; they recently expanded beyond their Brazil borders to Mexico and Argentina; Co-Founder and CEO David Vélez tells the FT, “We are a Latin American company that wants to free the banking industry for Latin Americans. There are 250m unbanked in Latin America, and we have a long-term vision.”; the company has shaken up the Brazil banking market as many of the traditional banks have now launched digital products in response to NuBank; the startup’s culture is just as important to their success as their product set, “This culture is our most significant competitive advantage,” says Vélez to the FT. “It also makes us hungrier to challenge the status quo. Nubank is based on four pillars: technology, design, user experience and data science. The combination of these enables us to grow.” Financial Times
