“We aim to shake up the industry. To draw more money to the guys who produce, to entrepreneurs, to small cities.” André Street‘s session in the Latam Cross-Border Summit, payments focused event powered by the Brazilian fintech EBANX, could be summarized in one word: inspiration. The chairman of Brazilian payments company Stone–which launched its IPO on the Nasdaq in October 2018, raising more than $1 billion–is a businessman driven by inspiration.
Street took the stage to talk about how the Brazilian acquirer became a trailblazer in Latin America. Founded in 2012, Stone benefited from a regulatory change to grow in the Brazilian credit card market, occupying space in a sector controlled by the major brands Rede and Cielo. When it went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018, it reached the unicorn status.
But seven years later, the payments landscape in Brazil has changed quite a bit. Asked by EBANX’s CEO Alphonse Voigt about how Stone is managing to survive and stay competitive in a market increasingly more competitive and in constant change, Street defended the role of pioneers in the market in co-creating the shift of the financial system.
“Regulation is pretty much there, putting together and crafting the foundation of transformation in the financial system is our role. We [Stone, EBANX, and other players] need to be more responsible, create more features and products to say competitive–and we can expect that things will surely change–but we will be the fastest ones to adapt,” said Street.
Street also highlighted the importance of being humble, staying curious, and continuing studies. “Never let your company be a big one”, he said. And this mindset of staying true to their roots doesn’t seem to be exclusive to Stone’s founder – Amazon’s CEO and one of the most successful global entrepreneurs Jeff Bezos has a similar quote that says “I like treating things as if they’re small, you know Amazon even though it is a large company, I want it to have the heart and spirit of a small one.”
What you really want to know is what motivates people. […] In my case, what motivates me is growth. The growth of more people than myself: clients, employees, partners.
Andre Street, Stone’s chairman
The Latam Cross-border Summit 2019 is being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With more than 200 attendees, among companies and specialized entities, the event takes place from September 23rd to 26th.
