Beeteller
NICE TO MEET YOU
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR BUSINESS IDEA? “WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND YOUR COMPANY?”
In 2016 I decided to transform my life, ending a cycle as an executive of companies such as Avon, Danone, and Unilever. At the time, I sought professional assistance from a career transition specialist. This support led me to the idea of entering the financial market.
With this new purpose in mind, I moved to the United States. I spent a year studying in detail the financial sector, which led me to visit a diversity of other countries such as China, Vietnam, and others in Latin America and Europe.
After this period of intense studies, I realized I became very interested in understanding how money was transferred between countries. Additionally, I immersed myself in crypto assets and payments studies. This led the way to strongly believe there was an opportunity for synergy, with a high potential to be the future of the payments industry. A new normal was effervescent.
I talked to several people back in Brazil and invited them to join me on a new project. We further developed the concept alongside these new people and named the company Beeteller. Our name comes from the free translation to the Portuguese of the term bee box because, like bees, our purpose has always been to connect different points in an even more specific way, moving money between these points.
WHO WERE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN THE MOST HELPFUL IN GETTING YOU TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY? HOW DID THEY IMPACT YOUR LIFE AND YOUR SUCCESS?
Beeteller was born from an idea four extraordinary entrepreneurs had. This idea became an aspirational goal; to transform and revolutionize the payment industry. Those who joined me in the early Beeteller years became Beeteller cofounders. They play a crucial role in the evolution of our company’s organizational culture, which is based on promoting a dynamic and innovative work environment on a daily basis. Without them, Beeteller wouldn’t be the same. I’m very grateful and honored to have the opportunity of learning with and from them as we build together the future of the payment industry. Each strategic company area is led by one of them, guaranteeing every business need is fulfilled according to their different professional backgrounds, expertise, and knowledge. My executive team, the Beeteller cofounders; Caio Vidal, Kelly Santos, and Rodrigo Nunes, have impacted me the most as we all embrace and share the responsibility to oversee Beeteller’s growth and transformation.
WHAT DOES “SUCCESS” MEAN TO THE COMPANY? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?
I wouldn’t want to separate what success means to me and what it means to Beeteller. After all, my goals and dreams walk alongside the company’s vision. And when we talk about success, what matters to me the most is the people. We wouldn’t have a reason to exist if it wasn’t for those who are part of our community, whether we refer to those that stand outside our company, those who use our solutions to facilitate their day-to-day activities, or those who work with us leading projects and initiatives to promote the company’s development in the industry. Beeteller is a company with a lean structure but with highly talented people committed to the business. Besides transforming the payments sector, my main ambition is to generate job opportunities and professional development as we foster progress and the growth of society.
WHAT MAKES BEETELLER UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT FROM THE COMPETITION?
We focus on relationships and providing quality service to our merchants. All customers have a direct line with the company’s founders. We prioritize delivering high-quality products and technology, so our customers’ businesses never stop. Our client may have problems, but it won’t be in payments!
HOW DO YOU SEE THE CROSS-BORDER INDUSTRY IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS?
From the beginning, when we founded Beeteller, our vision has always been that, at some point, the money movements in the world would be carried out through crypto. Today, without a doubt, we see this happening.
Personally, I do not believe that the collection of local payments will see significant transformations unless, of course, by improving technologies. Now, this will see significant changes regarding the movement of international remittances. Today, sending international remittances through blockchain already represents a substantial volume of cross-border transactions worldwide. With the rise of CDBCs (Central Bank Digital Currency), moving money internationally instantly will be a reality. Beeteller is prepared for this new moment. Today we already have all the infrastructure for this transformation. The settlement via crypto already represents approximately 90% of our operations, and whenever we ask our clients about performing their transactions via SWIFT or crypto, the option is always crypto. The reason for this is very clear: via crypto, the values will be in the account in only 10 seconds; via Swift, depending on the country, this can take up to 5 days. The revolution is just beginning.
HOW DOES BEETELLER SEE THE CURRENT MOMENT OF THE WORLD MARKET AND THE MOVEMENT THAT HAS LED STARTUPS AROUND THE WORLD TO FACE SERIOUS CASH AND LIQUIDITY PROBLEMS?
We must understand that even the best economists in the world could not predict the escalation of the different circumstances that have impacted the economy worldwide. The COVID-19 Pandemic, failed foreign policies, the Ukraine War, and government changes in several countries around the world, have led our industry to a place of high-interest rates and a great deal of attention to the inflationary factor.
Stable and emerging economies have suffered these consequences. In this context, especially for startups, we see a considerable decrease in the supply of international capital because the so-called risk assets are less attractive, and new investment rounds are less frequent. The reflection of this has been observed in layoffs, cost-cutting, and often in the review of the business model of startups themselves, which should now focus on the search for cash generation.
At Beeteller, at this moment, we recognize ourselves in a different scenario. While, for years, we have watched other startups work to search for international investors, we have always been focused on generating our cash and moving forward soberly into new opportunities. We consider ourselves a camel, always resistant, resilient, living in environments of possible scarcity, and, at the same time, always moving forward consciously and continuously. We were born bootstrap and still have no investors within our business. We always prioritize the profitability and self-sustainability of the business. And this is how we intend to transmute and renew the payments industry around the world.
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