David Vélez was one of the Colombian entrepreneurs who achieved the greatest success in such a short time, and also in Brazilthe most powerful country in Latin America and competing with the regional banking giants.
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Did you think that in just ten years your brand would have around 100 million customers?
Not even in my wildest dreams. We had a clear vision, but we didn’t imagine how exponential the growth could be. Our first goal was to reach one million customers in five years, we achieved that in just two. We then upped the ante and set a goal of reaching 10 million users within the next five years, and were lucky enough to exceed that goal again in the next two years.
Today, I can say that Nu is on a remarkable upward trajectory, demonstrating robust operational performance, continued growth and increasingly strong profitability. In October, we reached 90 million customers and achieved record quarterly revenue of over $2 billion.
What has not changed is our ambition to be one of the most influential companies in Latin America and to improve people’s quality of life.
What is the next step for the brand?
Our goal is to have a complete financial services platform in Colombia in the coming years, similar to what we already have in Brazil. Our next step in this direction is the launch of the NuCuenta Savings Account, with which we hope to continue to consolidate our operation and position as the leading digital financial services company in the country. NuCuenta will allow us to accelerate growth and offer our customers an even better experience.
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Globally, we will continue to grow in various verticals such as personal loans, marketplaces and investments, which are newer products in our portfolio and with which we can gain a lot in the market.
Nubank is a life project and we will see it grow for many decades.
Do you think the future of banking is digital?
Definitely. In Brazil, we have shown that the digital banking model can not only create one of the best financial services experiences for consumers, but also with operating costs that are 90% lower than traditional banks. This translates into lower commissions and interest rates. Given this advantage, we believe that the global future of financial services belongs to digital companies.
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In which industries do you think there are opportunities for those looking to start a business?
All industries are open to reinvention through digital channels and especially artificial intelligence. There are big opportunities in the education, healthcare, financial services and telecommunications sectors, services that today are generally dominated by large oligopolies that do not serve consumers well.
What do economies like Colombia’s lack for a qualitative leap?
To be part of this digital revolution, we need hundreds of thousands of software programmers, designers, machine learning analysts, and all other functions related to the process of creating digital products. In Colombia we are still training many accountants, administrators, lawyers and we need many more engineers and entrepreneurs!
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You are classified as one of the richest Colombians…
It’s not something I think about much. It gave me a great sense of responsibility and gave me the opportunity to invest in changing other people’s lives and generate a positive impact on society through philanthropy, betting on education and youth development.
What qualities should be essential for a leader?
Effective leadership begins when the leader sees himself as an agent of his environment and creator of the reality he wants to see, and not as a victim of the status quo or the inertia that often immobilizes us. This leads him to a vision of the future, the realization of which requires the ability to mobilize and motivate diverse groups of people. It is essential to have leaders who play with respect for the rules of the game, with integrity and ethics, because only then are the foundations for long-term construction created.
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Holman Rodríguez Martinez
On Twitter @holmanrodriguez
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