The J Curve

The newest issue of The J Curve Insider just dropped. Here’s what you need to know: ??DTC isn’t just struggling—it’s dying.?The best brands are pivoting to?B2B2C, wholesale, and hybrid models. ??Loyalty programs are the new CAC strategy.?Smart founders?turn retention into recurring revenue. ??Shein is outpacing Zara.?AI-driven manufacturing, real-time inventory, and ruthless cost-cutting. ☆?Longevity & metabolic health are exploding.?The next?Nike or Patagonia won’t be a fitness brand—it’ll be a longevity brand. ???Consumer tech is shifting from software to survival.?AI, automation, and?hyper-personalized commerce?are the new table stakes. Michele Valad?o Levy—the operator-investor who built Melissa Shoes USA into a cult brand—joined us to?break it all down. ???Want a J Curve T-shirt? First 5 to share their biggest learning from this interview and tag us get one! cc Olga Maslikhova ???Get the full insights in The J Curve Insider. ???Sign up ???? https://lnkd.in/dg2uT4-x

?Did you read this week’s issue of The J Curve Insider yet? If not, here’s what you missed: Andre Penha transformed Brazil’s rental market with QuintoAndar, building a $5B+ proptech leader. Now, he’s taking on an even bigger challenge: making chargers a thing of the past. ?? No more cables. No more batteries. ? Just?power, delivered wirelessly—like Wi-Fi. In this week’s?J Curve Insider, André breaks down: ? How QuintoAndar cracked a broken market when no one believed it could ? Why the best founders focus on?culture, not capital ? The blueprint for scaling?deep-tech startups ? Why?wireless power?is inevitable—just like the internet and mobile before it “In 2012, no one believed people would rent apartments entirely online. In 2025, no one believes they’ll never need to plug in their phone again. But they will.”?– André Penha ???Read the full drop now—https://lnkd.in/eaB93vzH cc Olga Maslikhova

If you didn't listen to The J Curve podcast where Olga interviews me, here's a shorter version in case you don't have time but want to read what I said, either to agree or to disagree. We talk about founding impactful businesses, raising money, QuintoAndar and IBBX. Here it is: https://lnkd.in/dGR8XRKH

If you didn't listen to The J Curve podcast where Olga interviews me, here's a shorter version in case you don't have time but want to read what I said, either to agree or to disagree. We talk about founding impactful businesses, raising money, QuintoAndar and IBBX. Here it is: https://lnkd.in/dGR8XRKH

Podcasting is a business of patience, compounding, and outliers ?? This chart tells a story every podcaster knows: growth is never linear. It’s a long game, where consistency pays off in sudden, unpredictable surges. This season, the outlier episode was with Paulo Passoni—a conversation that took off and reinforced what I’ve seen before: certain episodes break through in ways that reshape the entire trajectory of a podcast. The Andre Penha episode is following the same viewership dynamic. These spikes aren’t accidents; they’re the result of years of consistency, trust, and distribution power built over time. I’m incredibly bullish on long-form podcasting as a medium. It’s one of the most lucrative distribution opportunities for founders, investors, and operators who want to shape narratives and drive impact. The ability to go deep, tell real stories, and capture attention in an increasingly fragmented digital world is an unmatched asset. And this impact extends beyond just numbers. We’re building something much bigger for Latin America and Brazil—a space where ambitious founders, investors, and operators can connect, learn, and push the ecosystem forward. The future of The J Curve isn’t just about growing listenership. It’s about compounding influence, knowledge, and opportunity—for LATAM and beyond. Let’s keep building.

Last time I was in Mexico was eight years ago. A lot has changed since. Back then, the fintech scene was just emerging—today, Mexico is one of the hottest fintech markets in the world. This coming week, I’m heading to Mexico for the second time to record a number of episodes on fintech and crypto and meet some of the most high-impact founders in the space. Excited to dive deep into how Mexico’s fintech revolution is unfolding and what’s next for the ecosystem. I’ll have a couple of hours to be a tourist—what places should I visit? Who’s a must-meet entrepreneur / investors in the city? Let me know. Antonia Rojas Eing Federico Antoni (??: Throwback to my last time in Mexico—looking forward to this trip!)

?? From $5B Real Estate Giant to Betting on the Future of Power Some founders build?one?billion-dollar company. Andre Penha is working on his second. After scaling?QuintoAndar?into a?$5B+ proptech giant, fixing Brazil’s?broken rental market, and raising?$750M from top investors, he’s back—with a?radical new bet. Wireless electricity. No chargers. No cables. No batteries.?Just power flowing through the air. On this episode of?The J Curve, we go deep on?how to build industry-changing companies in complex, bureaucratic markets?and what it really takes to win. ???Here’s what we cover: ???The hidden drivers of QuintoAndar’s breakout success?– How?transparency, speed, and reliability?created a?flywheel effect?that crushed competitors. ???Fundraising is NOT about storytelling—it’s about traction.?How Andre turned?early investor skepticism into $750M+ in funding. ???High-stakes decisions at scale?– How to pick?Option A vs. Option B?when both could change your company’s future. ???Culture as a competitive advantage?– Why?firing high performers?was the best move for QuintoAndar’s long-term success. ???Why wireless power is inevitable?– And how?IBBX is betting that in 10 years, plugging in your phone will sound as ridiculous as dial-up internet. “If your idea sounds crazy, you’re probably onto something.” This episode is for?founders who make the hard calls, investors who back bold bets, and operators who know that breaking an industry starts with seeing what everyone else ignores. ?? Listen / watch on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eKrk3n8j ?? Subscribe to The J Curve Insider:?https://lnkd.in/eaB93vzH ?? Watch on YouTube:?https://lnkd.in/edTYdmJH Let’s get into it. ?? Olga Maslikhova #startups #venturecapital #entrepreneurship #fundraising #scaling #deeptech #wirelesspower #TheJCurve

How do you scale a startup in a?fragmented, bureaucratic market?where everyone tells you it’s impossible??You rewrite the rules. Andre Penha did just that with?QuintoAndar, turning?Brazil’s broken rental market into a $5B+ real estate behemoth?and raising?$750M from top investors?along the way. Now, he’s back at it—this time, trying to?make power cords, chargers, and batteries obsolete?with?IBBX, a company betting on?wireless electricity as the next trillion-dollar industry. This episode of?The J Curve?is packed with?raw, founder-first insights?on what it really takes to build, scale, and raise in complex markets. Here’s what we cover: ??The real reason QuintoAndar took off—why?transparency, speed, and reliability?turned a struggling marketplace into Latin America’s biggest proptech company. ??Fundraising is NOT about storytelling—it’s about product—how Andre turned investor skepticism into?$750M+ in funding. ??How to make high-stakes decisions—choosing between?Option A vs. Option B?when both could change the company’s trajectory. ??The boardroom advantage—why?lean, no-BS boards?separate companies that scale from those that stall. ??Why wireless power is inevitable—and how?IBBX is betting that in 10 years, no one will ever plug in a device again. Andre doesn’t just?build startups—he rewrites the playbook for entire industries. ?? Listen now:?[link in comment] ?? Subscribe to The J Curve Insider:?blog.thejcurve.com ?? Follow us on YouTube:?@thejcurvepodcast If you’re scaling, fundraising, or betting on?the next big tech shift, this episode is a?must-listen.?Let’s get into it. ?? Thank you to my dear friend Marcelo Sampaio for introducing me to Andre. cc Paulo Passoni Bianca Martinelli

LATAM’s biggest untapped VC opportunity: Operator-led funds Some of the best investors in Latin America won’t be ex-bankers or consultants. They’ll be?operators—founders and executives who’ve?built, scaled, and survived?in the region. And here’s why: ??LATAM is a battlefield, not a playbook?– No plug-and-play strategies here. Operators who’ve?fought through regulatory chaos, built distribution from scratch, and hacked growth in fragmented economies?have the edge to guide founders through the fire. ???Too much spreadsheet VC, not enough founder-first capital?– Many LATAM investors still act like private equity shops, focused on financial gymnastics over real operational support. Operators?know what it actually takes to win—because they’ve done it. ???Cash isn’t King, capital efficiency is?– In a region where?fundraising is hard, burn rates can kill you, and capital is scarce, only those who’ve bootstrapped, scaled, and exited know how to spot?resilient, capital-efficient businesses?before they break out. ???Operators earn instant credibility with founders?– Raising money isn’t just about valuation; it’s about?trust. Operators have?lived the pain, scaled the chaos, and fought the hiring wars—so when they invest, founders know they’re backing?real?partners, not just check-writers. ???Winning in LATAM is about talent, not just capital?– The hardest problem isn’t just money—it’s building?A+ teams in a talent-constrained market. Operator-VCs bring?battle-tested hiring playbooks and deep networks, helping founders scale faster. ?? The data says it all: ?? In the US,?60%+ of top-performing early-stage funds?have at least one former operator as a GP. ?? In LATAM,?80%+ of unicorns were built by repeat entrepreneurs, yet few transition into venture. ?? Globally,?operator-led funds are outperforming traditional VC?by delivering real operational leverage. My bet:?The next generation of VCs in LATAM won’t come from Faria Lima or PE firms.?They’ll be the founders who built this ecosystem from the ground up.

How many profitable $5B proptech companies do you know? My guess—not many. Real estate is one of the toughest sectors to disrupt, and the graveyard of startups that tried and failed is long. But the ones that succeed, do so by going against conventional wisdom. If you’re building something truly innovative, don’t expect consensus. In fact, if everyone agrees with you from day one, you’re probably not innovating at all. The greatest breakthroughs—the ones that change industries, habits, and behaviors—are almost always met with skepticism. When the iPhone launched, critics dismissed it because it wasn’t a BlackBerry. No keyboard, no way it could work. Fast forward, and no one carries a phone with a keyboard anymore. Real innovation is stubborn. It forces the market to catch up, not the other way around. This is exactly what we discuss with Andre Penha, co-founder at QuintoAndar and CEO of IBBX in the upcoming episode of The J Curve. We dive into what it takes to build at the intersection of real estate and tech, why consensus is overrated, and how to spot opportunities others ignore. Drops Tuesday. ???