Simplifying Brazilians' relationship with personal finance is the goal of Guiabolso, an app created by entrepreneurs Thiago Alvares and Benjamin Gleason. Founded in 2012, the fintech started with a financial consulting solution. Today it has more than 200 employees and five million users.
In addition to helping clients manage their finances, the startup uses artificial intelligence to identify patterns and recommend the best services for its users, as well as to alert them if they are paying unnecessary or above-average fees.
Last year, Guiabolso was recognized as one of the most innovative fintechs in the world by KPMG.
We went to their office to show you everything. The interview was with the Head of People, Kádima.
Startse: I'd like you to tell us a bit about the space, this new office build, which has a very colorful environment as you can see here. Thank you for joining us.
Guiabolso: Thank you for having us. Here at Guiabolso we strongly believe that cross-functional integration is one of the key drivers of motivation for our employees. We believe this allows us to improve productivity and achieve strong results. So our environment, beyond being colorful, is also very welcoming. We believe this inspires people in their day-to-day to work collaboratively, and we know that an environment that fosters that kind of comfort certainly leads to people being far more productive and far more creative. On top of that, we are now much closer to the subway, so all of this certainly contributes to making our day-to-day even better.
Startse: How do the different areas coexist? You have common areas, the office space…
Guiabolso: We are spread across two floors here, so it's an environment where everyone can sit together, and since we use laptops we can integrate easily. Across these two floors, we also have a balcony, which is really great because some places have space constraints, and here we can hold pleasant outdoor meetings. On top of that, we have other spaces such as the game room and the break room. So it's a really interesting environment for everyone.
Startse: Beyond the office space, you've gone through a brand repositioning. What is the new Guiabolso?
Guiabolso: The new Guiabolso is a platform that, in addition to providing financial management, also
offers Brazilians the best the market has to offer. We understand that we can
help Brazilians manage their finances and make the best financial decisions, but beyond that, given everything available in the market in terms of products and services in this space, we want to offer only the best.
Startse: How would you define Guiabolso's culture?
Guiabolso: Guiabolso's culture is quite flexible. We strongly believe that when we
are transparent, we achieve results much faster, and when teams work closely together, you need everyone aligned on the same goals — everyone pulling in the same direction — and that is very powerful and leads the team to achieve outstanding results.
Startse: What kinds of initiatives do you run to maintain that integration?
Guiabolso: We believe that integration actually begins before an employee joins Guiabolso. We have a communication format with them that already fosters part of that
integration. We have an onboarding process that spans all departments, so the person immediately starts getting a feel for the challenges in each area and begins to understand what our day-to-day
looks like. We also have a coffee chat with the CEO, which is a really important moment for people to ask questions and feel more connected. And there's also a happy hour with the CEO, which I think is even better and reflects a lot of our culture — it's a more relaxed moment where we give everyone the freedom to ask any questions, including those who are new here. We also set aside time every week to discuss our results and share news. Every Tuesday we talk about other happenings within Guiabolso — we share updates on projects that are underway or details that everyone wants to know about — and we also have other events as well.
Startse: How are the teams here structured?
Guiabolso: We strongly believe in a process I call the inverted org chart. It's as if we obviously have the natural departments of an organization — technology, the people team, and all the others. But we believe it's better to work not in vertical silos, but rather to flip the org chart so that teams work within what I call here tribes. That way we have shared goals, and teams that often sit together — the technology team alongside the revenue team alongside someone from the legal department. The most interesting part of this is that we have people from different teams working closely together, or even sitting at the same table, so that we have communication and synergy far better than if we worked in isolation.
Startse: And on a day-to-day basis here, do you use any particular work methodology? How does that dynamic work?
Guiabolso: We use the Agile methodology, which is obviously far more prevalent in the technology space, so as you walk around the office you can see boards in a very transparent way that show our projects. It's very interesting to be able to observe things so transparently. We also use the Scrum methodology. Another really interesting point is that my own team is also shaping itself around
a Scrum methodology. The most interesting part of all this is the way it
will also help shape the company's culture. They have access to every area of the office, to all of our projects in progress from day one — that is very much part of what
we believe will increasingly transform our business.
Startse: For those who want to be part of this, what do you look for when
hiring an employee?
Guiabolso: The people who join this company — I often say they have a different DNA. And what I mean by different is people who want to make things happen, people who understand that their contribution is highly relevant — that it can change the day-to-day of an organization, but beyond that, it can change the financial system and help Brazilians with their finances. And we do have open positions right now, which is a result of our expansion, so
the best and greatest part of all this is that Guiabolso has been growing rapidly. When we look at each semester, we have new open positions. Positions that require exactly the mindset we talked about — so we are looking for Brazilians across the board who want to be part of this dream.