Brazil Startup Report

A 15-min guide by World Startup Report
Last Updated: 6/30/2014

Drew Beaurline
Co-founder @ConstructLATAM
!
Research Lead
@WorldStartuprpt
!
Techstars and SEED Graduate
@wheretodrew
Diego Gomes
Co-founder @Rock Content
!
Volunteer @Dealbook.co
!
Blog @webholic
@dttg
AUTHORS
Nico  
Berman
Eric
Acher
Luciano
Tavares
Luiz
Octavio Maluf
André
Barrence
Cássio
Spina
Matt
Montenegro
Bowei
Gai
CONTRIBUTORS
@2014 All Rights ReservedJoin us: @WorldStartupRpt

Document
Document our world’s startup ecosystems through a series of reports
detailing the local culture, trends, key players and challenges. Share these
reports for free to beneﬁt everyone in the global startup community.
OUR MISSION
Connect
Identify and empower local startup activists to become the ambassadors of
each ecosystem. Leverage this network of ambassadors to help connect
people to each other and build a global startup community.

Brazil is the gateway to success in Latin
America.
WHY BRAZIL?
!
The companies that have won Brazil are the
largest in the region.

BRAZIL AT A GLANCE
Brazil India United
States
Popula4on 202M 1237M 314M
GDP
(2013) $2.4T $1.8T $15.6T
GDP
per
capita
(2012) $11,339 $1,503 $51,748
Inﬂa4on
rate
(2014) 6% 7% 2%
Area
(km2) 8,515,767 3,166,414 9,372,610
Ease
of
doing
business
(2014) 123 134 4
%
of
popula4on
that
speaks

english
(2012)
5% 10% 94%
Number
of
millionaires
(2014) 126,000 190,000 9,630,000
World
Cup
match

victories
(all
4me)
70
0 8

WEB AND MOBILE STATISTICS
Brazil India United
States
Popula4on 202M 1237M 314M
Internet
popula4on
(2013) 50% 13% 81%
Mobile
phone
penetra4on
(2013) 126% 72% 106%
Smartphone
penetra4on
(2014) 23% 10% 76%
Credit
card
penetra4on
(2013) 69% 1.6% 71%
Facebook
penetra4on
(2013) 35% 5% 53%
E-‐commerce
revenue
(2013) $13.1B $16B $207B
Largest
internet
company B2W

($2.1B)
Flipkart

($2.5B)
Google

($410B)

BRAZIL
=
ALL OTHER SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES COMBINED!
Brazil All
Other
South
American

Countries
Combined
202M Popula4on 190M
8.51M
km2 Geographic
size 9.39M
km2
64B Foreign
direct
investment 64B
99M Internet
users 95M
242M Mobile
subscrip4on 215M
2.34B PE
&
VC
Raised
in
2013 2.53B
“Startups across other South American countries also understand the opportunity, and will try
to bring their businesses to Brazil once a model is partially validated.” @nicoberman

"Brazil's economic miracle actually occurred in the
1970's. The country already has basic
infrastructure and is not starting completely from
scratch like India.” @eacher
ECOSYSTEM HISTORY

1998-2008: PIONEERS
The ﬁrst wave of Brazilian internet startups started in
1998 during the hype of the Internet Bubble.
The Akwan oﬃce in Belo Horizonte remains Google’s South American research and development center.
Zeek and Cadê?
Search (1999)
!
Acquired by Starmedia
UOL
Media (2005)
!
IPO but no longer
publicly traded
Akwan
Search (2005)
!
Bought by Google

“When the bubble burst in 2000, almost all
startup activity disappeared. Similar to the USA,
the internet startups that did survive became
some of the biggest tech companies in Brazil.”
@dttg
THE BRAZILIAN BUBBLE BURSTS

2009: A HERO EMERGES
The Global Financial Crisis lightly impacted Brazil
!
While the developed world witnessed low growth rates, American and European investors
along with companies like Naspers, Tiger Global, NEA, Goldman Sachs and Barclays
Capital saw growth opportunities in Brazil.
!
Local Venture Capital ﬁrms like Monashees Capital and Confrapar were doing early stage
deals and passing them to foreign ﬁrms for follow on rounds.
When Buscapé (a price comparison engine) sold to Naspers for $342 million, foreign investors
had a success case to prove their investment thesis. Capital then poured into Brazil.

2010-2012: ATTACK OF THE CLONES
Replicating a proven internet business model was hot!
• E-commerce business models were the most commonly copied.
• Forrester forecasted that the e-commerce market in Brazil would grow by 18%
annually.
• High profile VC's competed for deals and valuations were inflated.
Dafiti
(Amazon clone)
!
Total investment of $249 million
!
Estimated revenues of $200 million
in 2013
BrandsClub
(Gilt clone)
!
Raised more than $17 million
!
Facing crisis and considered a
failure by some
Peixe Urbano
(Groupon clone)
!
0-500 employees in under a year
!
Underwent a complete restructuring

“Investors could be convinced more easily in 2010
that copying a proven internet business model
from the United States was a sure bet. Many
were too early and did not understand the
market.” @ClemensRaemy
RACING TO REPLICATE

2013: NEW BEGINNINGS
Foreign investors get nervous
● By 2013, prominent foreign investors like Sequoia and Accel Partners closed their
offices in Brazil because startups were not growing at expected rates.
!
So local investors moved in
● Local investors with more knowledge of the Brazilian landscape quickly took their
place and are now leading the ecosystem.
● There are at least three funds with more than $100 million under management
that are focused on investing in Brazilian companies: eBricks Ventures, Redpoint
eVentures and Kaszek.
!
But no one wants to miss out on Brazilian opportunities
● Foreign investors are choosing to keep their operations in the USA and invest
alongside local venture capital and private equity funds.
● This allows foreign investors to take advantage of the large market and skip the
complications of deal flow and bureaucratic policies.
The new (2014) $135 million fund of Kaszek Ventures received participation from both
Sequoia and Accel Partners whose departure worried many entrepreneurs.

TOP STARTUPS
Daﬁti
(Amazon Clone)
!
Raised $249 million dollars
Funded by Rocket Internet
EasyTaxi
(Uber Clone)
!
Available in over 27 countries
Funded by Rocket Internet
Resultados Digitais
!
First marketing automation
company in Brazil
0 to 500 clients in 2 years
ContaAzul
!
Leading B2B accounting software
More than 10k customers
Funded by 500 startups
Bidu
!
Raised $9 million
Mercado Livre partner for
online insurance sales
Rising Stars
Recent Success

ANGELS, ACCELERATORS, VCs
Angels Accelerators VCs
Florian
O=o

(Founder
Groupon
Brazil)
21212 Kaszek
Ventures
Kai
Schoppen

(CEO
of
BrandsClub)
Wayra Monashees
Fabrice
Grinda

(Serial
entrepreneur)
Papaya
Ventures Tiger
Global
Manoel
Lemos

(Chief
Digital
Oﬃcer
of
Abril)
Media)
MicrosoY
Accelerator Rocket
Internet
Luciano
Tavares

(Founder
of
Magne]s)
AceleraMGTI RedPoint
eVentures
Cassio
Spina

(Anjos
do
Brasil
founder)
Outsource
Brazil eBricks
Capital
Jose
Marin Aceleratech Insight
Venture
Partners
SEED 500Startups
Startup
Rio Trive
Capital
Astella
Invest

MEDIA, MEETUPS, EVENTS
Blogs
&
Media Meetups Events
&
Conferences
Startupi BR
NewTech PREI
Webholic Circuito
Startup Campus
Party
Brazil
Exame
PME SanPedroCerva Lean
Startup
Machine
Man
in
the
arena Brazil
Founders Demo
Day
Minas
Terceiro
Turno Geeks
on
a
Plane Campus
Party
Startup
Stars Startup
Weekend
Startup
Farm

“Brazil is so diverse that a Brazilian passport is
one of the most coveted items on the black
market. Anyone can be a Brazilian!”
@CassioSpina
CULTURE

BRAZIL CULTURAL SURPRISES
Trust is the only scarce commodity in Brazil
• Brazilians must trust someone before they ever sign a contract due to the country’s
history of violence and corruption.
!
But foreigners are loved!
• Brazilians are incredibly hospitable and often times more willing to trust a foreigner.
• Foreign founders can use this to their advantage in order to fundraise and receive
introductions to prominent ﬁgures in the ecosystem.
!
Friendship and celebration are obsessions
• “Americans typically conduct business in a transactional way with companies.
Brazilians do business with people. Friendship is typically the ﬁrst step in a
business relationships and it causes longer sales cycles than in USA.” @dttg
• Brazilians are extremely extroverted and enjoy celebrating every occasion.
• Municipalities can decide to make Brazil's World Cup matches into public holidays.

“Carnival is a holiday that starts 46 days before
Easter. 80% of Brazil's annual consumption of
beer and 70% of the annual tourism comes during
this time. This month of decreased business
activity is great for making new connections but
expect much lower B2B sales numbers.” @dttg
CARNIVAL

BRAZILIAN CULTURE v STARTUP CULTURE
Brazilians only work 228 days a year and expect to pay double
• Brazilian law mandates that no one can work more than 44 hours a week without
receiving additional pay.
• Employees are entitled to a 13th month salary 30 days paid vacation per year and cost
employers an additional 40% in payroll tax.
!
1st time Brazilian founders and investors tend to be short-sighted
• The culture of young entrepreneur working for free for an experienced entrepreneur to
learn and establish a network, is not common in Brazil.
• 1st time Brazilian investors can handcuff founders and push them to focus on revenue
• Most Brazilians are focused on the now instead of the long-term future.
!
Talented entrepreneurs are hard to find
• Staying in the same job and moving up the corporate/government hierarchy is regarded
as the most effective way to obtain wealth.
• However, a startup community with a higher appetite for risk is growing fast because
startups are now “TV cool.”

ONLINE CULTURE
Brazil are some of the most active Facebook users in the world!
• Brazilians publish the most number of posts out of all Facebook countries
• The global average time spent on Facebook is 361 minutes per user/month
• Brazilians spend 535 minutes per month on Facebook!
• It’s not uncommon for high level introductions to come through Facebook instead of email.
!
E-commerce is solving major pains for consumers
• The diﬃculty of transportation in major Brazilian cities makes shopping a headache
• The average e-commerce order size is $170!
!
Brazilians are early adopters
• Companies are more willing to invest in innovation than any other South American Nation.
• 35% of the population is perceived as an early adopter.
"Online culture is also extroverted and focused on friendship.” @wheretodrew

“Truck drivers are waiting weeks to put their
containers on a ship! Lines of trucks stretch over
50km long.” @wheretodrew
LOGISTICS AND
INFRASTRUCTURE

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Getting logistics right is crazy
• Practices like free returns are costly and will catch an entrepreneur off guard.
!
Poorly maintained roads cause unbearable traffic in large cities
• Wealthy executives travel by helicopter in Sao Paulo to avoid getting stuck in street
traffic.
!
Trucks are everywhere
• Only 25% of goods and services are transported by train as opposed to 43% in the
USA.
!
Ports lack capacity
• Commodity exporters are trying to meet demand from China and USA but fail due to
portuary infrastructure problems.

TECHNOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Brazil lacks an API Ecosystem
• Payment API's, logistics tracking systems and public data API’s are outdated and
sometimes non-existent.
!
Boletos and Installments are MUST-HAVES
• 30% of e-commerce transactions occur using “boletos”. Shoppers will print out a
serial code and then pay at a local corner store or ATM.
• Although these methods of payment seem archaic, e-commerce startups
incentivize consumers to shop online by oﬀering payment plans with a high
number of “parcelas” (installments.)
• “Brazilians are buying shampoo with a boleto or paying for it in parcelas over 6
months.” @lmzmendes
!
3g is really 1g
• Operators are only obliged to oﬀer 30% of the contracted speed!
!
“Brazilian entrepreneurs in the mobile space need to spend a lot more time optimizing
applications to function well with limited connectivity.” @wheretodrew

TAXES
Most startups are taxed on their revenues, not profit
• There are two main types of tax regimes, lucro presumido (estimated profits) and
lucro real (real profits).
• Setting up a company that is taxed lucro real will cost a startup more money in
legal/setup fees than being taxed on revenues.
!
The “simples” tax regime is great for local entrepreneurs
• The simples tax model offers lower tax rates to young companies (around 8% on
revenue).
• Unfortunately, foreign founders can't incorporate under the simples tax regime.
• Foreigners should expect to be taxed around 17% on every invoice from day one.
!
Accountants are a commodity and necessity
• Due to the complexity of the system, every startup needs an accounting service.
Luckily, they are not very expensive.

BUREAUCRACY
DEEPLY INGRAINED IN THE CULTURE
Dealing with the Brazilian government is costly and complicated
• 13.2% of the population is employed by the government vs. 6.9% in the USA.
• The cost of corruption and bureaucracy are often called “Brazil Costs.”
• Common internet business models in the USA, involving online legal services, peer to
peer lending and ticketing are complicated or illegal in Brazil.
• The lack of legal templates for company incorporation can cause thousands of dollars in
upfront costs.
!
It’s even worse for foreign entrepreneurs
• Foreign entrepreneurs should expect to spend about 70 days and around $3,000 in
legal fees to incorporate.
“It's critical to prioritize certain legal matters over others to avoid having a startup
become stagnant. A great lawyer is your best friend.” @dttg

“To innovate, it takes risk. And for a high-risk business
to succeed, a long and uncertain investment return is
required. The investor in Brazil has to deal with an
inhospitable environment and can not support the
risk to build a billion dollar business.
!
Let’s say we put risk on a numerical scale. The
investor typically can handle a risk of 10. Our
economy now accounts for 5, then the other 5 are
insuﬃcient to truly innovative sectors of the economy
which would be incredibly beneﬁcial to the economy.”
!
@gusguida
RISKS

TALENT POOL
Startup hires typically choose an increased salary and
benefits over equity
• Most individuals would rather work for the government, banks or big corporations.
• Technical talent is so scarce that they are usually not afraid of being fired.
!
Competitors are dangerous but employees can hit harder
• The government will always take the side of the employee in any legal dispute.
• Employers will often have salaried employees punch in and out of a time clock to
avoid a dispute where an employee claims they were overworked.
!
A salary raise cannot be reversed
• Companies cannot fire anyone in the month where the employee is supposed to
negotiate a raise on their own behalf or through their union.
Minimum annual salary by law is $4300
Talent
Costs
USD

(including
benefits)
Entry
Level Good/Experienced
Hire
Developer
Salary
(yearly) $50,000 $109,000
Startups
Salary
(yearly

es4mate)
$20,000 $36,000

COMPETITION
Brazil has less competition than the USA or China.
• The lack of startups serving the local market leads to very little competition
among startups.
• Culturally, Brazilians tend to be less nasty and cut-throat in business than they
are in soccer.
!
Bureaucracy as a beneﬁt
• Foreign competitors are often afraid to enter Brazil given the thick bureaucracy.
This can help shield an early stage startup from a mature foreign competitor.
!
Young startup ecosystem
• Startups are still a new concept so many do not have local competitors.
“Local startups are usually competing against adversity rather than against other startups. This
can be good or bad, depending on the startup and its sector. Our company, for instance, does not
have local competitors. But we also don’t have regulatory incentives that similar startups ﬁnd in
the US.” @dmbranco

FUNDRAISING
High interest rates make bootstrapping difficult
• Brazilian credit cards have insanely high interest rates.
• Business loans require a local friend/family member to assume liability for unpaid
company's debt.
!
Few Angels have the expertise to mentor a growing startup
• Local term sheets are typically not as “startup friendly” as they are in the USA.
• It’s important to find local angels that will understand the unit economics of internet
business models.
!
Series A’s are led by 3 major players
• Monashees, Kaszek and eBricks Digital are usually the best options for a series A.
• They will also participate in Series B rounds that are led by international VC’s.
!
Stay close to the tech hubs
• Strong communities are forming in Belo Horizonte (San Pedro Valley) and Rio de
Janeiro but São Paulo is still the place to be when fundraising from local investors.
“If you find yourself in the ‘seed round crunch,’ get on the night bus to São Paulo and find a
couch to sleep on.” @wheretodrew

GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS
Both Federal and State governments in Brazil are creating programs that support technology
startups. The two main programs are Startup Brazil and SEED, both modeled after StartupChile.
A third program is being launched in Rio de Janeiro. The fierce competition among these
programs is benefitting the ecosystem and becoming a major opportunity for entrepreneurs.
SEED Startup
Brazil
Loca4on Belo
Horizonte Many
Ci]es
Total
funding Up
to
R$80,000 Over
R$200,000
Government
responsible? State Federal
Required
private
accelerator

involvement?
No Yes
Equity
taken
for
money? No Yes
Free
office
space? Yes Yes
Visa
help? Lots Some
Rules
for
use
of
funds? Few Many

"If the government wants to help entrepreneurs,
they shouldn't incentivize them with more capital.
They should be removing bureaucratic obstacles."
@eacher
LOOKING AHEAD

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
Brazil has 99 million tech-savvy internet users
• Brazilians can be easily found on social networks.
• Paid traﬃc sources like Facebook advertising and Google Adwords cost a lot less than in
the US.
• By 2016 broadband and 3G penetration are projected to increase by 32% and 103%
respectively.
!
Few competitors in a big potential market
• The bureaucratic environment and lack of entrepreneurs protects companies from
competition.
• The 5th largest market in the world based on population and geographic area presents a
huge opportunity if bureaucracy is managed correctly.
!
Brazilians are accustomed to paying high prices for goods/services
• The government has set high tariﬀs for any imported good or service which has caused
Brazilians to become accustomed to paying double for basic necessities.
“Brazilians have a hard time perceiving a product or service as valuable if the
price is too cheap.” @wheretodrew

OPPORTUNITIES
B2B software (Saas)
• Brazil is following a similar evolution as the United States. The ﬁrst entrepreneurs
pursued the exponential growth curves that are typical in B2C startups.
• However, a new generation of B2B Startups has emerged.
• Saas providers like ContaAzul and Resultados Digitais are expected to be huge exits
and are leading the cloud computing movement.
• B2B companies will have an easier time bootstrapping oﬀ of revenues and
navigating local funding complexities.
!
E-commerce
• E-commerce remains attractive, but most of the companies in the sector are raising
series B,C and D rounds.
• E-commerce sales are expected to reach $22 billion by 2016.
!
Infrastructure and logistics
• Services that are bureaucratic and costly due to infrastructure constraints are
creating huge opportunities for disruption.
• Payments, ticketing, legal documents and construction are just to name a few.

Title Text
BRAZIL COMMODITY
INNOVATION MAP
Mobile
Communication
(Whatsapp)
Whatsapp
Job Board
(Monster)
Catho
Taxi
(Uber)
EasyTaxi
Accounting
(Quickbooks)
Contazul
Fashion
(Aalora)
Dafiti
Auction
(Ebay)
Mercado Livre
Home Purchase
(Zillow)
Vivareal
Hotels
(hotels.com)
Hotel Urbano
Listing
(Craigslist)
OLX
Auto Sales
(Autotrader)
Webmotors
Private Sales
(FAB)
Brandsclub
Microwork
(Taskrabbit)
Get Ninjas
Crowdfunding
(Kickstarter)
Catarse
Education
(Coursera)
Portal Educação
Furniture
(One Kings Lane)
Oppa
Content Marketing
(Contently)
Rock Content
Marketing
Automation
(Hubspot)
Resultados Digitais
Reservation
(Opentable)
Zuppa
Field Team
Management
(FieldLens)
Construct
Groceries
(Freshdirect)
Frutas em casa
Legal
(Legalzoom)
???
Taxes
(Turbo Tax)
???
Lending
(Lending Club)
???
Ride Sharing
(Lyft)
???
Social community
(Reddit)
??
Saturated
Mature
Semi-Mature
Infancy
Non Existant

ADVICE: LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS
Stop waiting and jump
• Brazilians understand the market and government much better than foreign
entrepreneurs.
• Yet often times local entrepreneurs lack agility, determination and access to capital,
thus resulting in missed opportunities.
!
Beware the “seed funding gap”
• There are a lot of foreigners coming to Brazil and investors are becoming more
selective. It might be better to obtain seed investments in other markets.
• Finding an establish investor in Europe or the USA might help a local entrepreneur
get better terms and raise funding successfully.
!
You don't need to be a visionary
• Early technology adopters can follow global startup trends to identify when an
international business model is ready for the local market.
• Just make sure you are the ﬁrst mover and prioritize bureaucratic obstacles.

ADVICE: FOREIGN ENTREPRENEURS
Focus on language and culture
• Find a co-founder, key hire, investor or mentor that has experience operating in
Brazil.
• Only 5% of the population speaks English and the Brazilian way of doing business is
hard to understand.
!
“Gringo” is not a bad thing
• People will love to work for you, and investors will pay premium on your valuation if
you are a smart foreigner.
• Most of the major deals in the past two years had at least one foreigner in the
founding team.
!
Stay clear of markets that can be disrupted by regulation
• Unions and industry groups have a lot of power and will outlast any startup in
litigation. Make sure to avoid these.
!
Meet the top notch MBAs
• The founders of some of the best startups and managers of larger companies like
MercadoLivre have MBAs from Stanford and Harvard. They're super well
connected, have a great track record and can introduce you to the right people.

ADVICE: INVESTORS
Look for exits in the $10 million to $100 million range
• There have only been 7 exits of over $500M in the past decade. Therefore,
successful investment strategies tend to focus on high local attrition opportunities
and on the "middle of the curve" (i.e. less reliance on outliers).
!
Structure the correct investment vehicle to avoid liabilities
• Most of the time it is better for angels to do convertible debt deals in order to avoid
liability.
!
Consider investing in a local fund, instead of individual
companies
• If you see the market opportunity but have a hard time adding value to Brazilian
startups, a local fund could be a good option.
!
Expect to wait twice as long for companies to mature
• Due to a lack of experienced founders and bureaucratic policies, companies take a
lot more time to mature when compared to the USA.

ADVICE: FOREIGN COMPANIES
Find a country manager/consultant before expanding
• It is hard to hire locals who are accustomed to USA or European business
standards.
• Some people specialize in becoming country managers for USA companies in
Brazil. Seek these people.
!
Flexibility is key
• Certain technologies like the Boleto payment system can seem archaic. However,
the majority of the population use these services and there's no sign they will
disappear soon.
• If you worry about every bureaucratic detail you will be overwhelmed so prioritize
eﬀectively.
!
Corporate structure and employment law
• Read and re-read advice regarding hiring and visas. This tends to be the biggest
initial headache for most foreign companies.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Brazil is NOT the best place to run a business and
entrepreneurs have a million complaints!
!
!
!
So why does everyone still want to come here?
!

CONCLUSION
!
The answer is simple. Brazil is equal to the rest of
the South American market COMBINED.
!
!
If you can win Brazil, you will have an easier time
winning other South American markets.
!
!
Those who can bring both relevant sector expertise
and a deep understanding of the local environment
will be positioned for big wins.

WORLD STARTUP WIKI
•If you would like to:
• Learn more about navigating the Brazilian ecosystem
• Compare statistics with countries all over the world
• View more sources for our data
Take a look at the World Startup Wiki!
!
(A crowdsourced effort by the top entrepreneurs and investors in startup ecosystems around the world)

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SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Brad FeldDave McClure

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