Episode Details

Martín Escobari sits down with Guilherme Benchimol, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors at XP Inc., a leading, technology-driven financial services platform and a trusted provider of low-fee financial products and services in Brazil. They discuss Guilherme’s decision at twenty-four to hang out his own shingle after being let go from a job at a brokerage firm; the early days of XP inside a 270-square foot room, and the ‘aha’ moment about financial education that led to the company’s first wave of loyal customers; the ongoing importance of live events to XP’s customer engagement, based on lessons learned from US brokerage firm Charles Schwab; the three values that define XP’s meritocratic culture, including having an entrepreneurial spirit, and the creative approach that XP takes to employee feedback; Guilherme’s transition out of the CEO role, and the theory that got him thinking about making a change; the differences between the business cultures in Latin America and the U.S., including views about making mistakes; the importance of finding an investment partner who is willing to get in the trenches; and other topics.