Leticia Leite, Co-Founder and Head of Corporate Communications at Peixe Urbano, took the Red Innova New York stage yesterday afternoon as the day’s final individual presenter. In a session titled Lessons from Brazil: From 0 to 20 Million Users in 2 Years, The Peixe Urbano Story, Leite let attendees in on a few of the ingredients for Peixe Urbano’s recipe for success.
Peixe Urbano, a platform that helps users to explore the best things to do in their cities, is one of Brazil’s biggest startup success stories to date. Leite credited much of the company’s progress to its approach to and strategy of running a business in Brazil and shared a few lessons learned with the audience:
-Move fast and give yourself a “pioneer” advantage.
-Build the best team and acquire talent that you allow to take risks.
-Cultivate a strong corporate culture, and stay true to it as you grow.
-Stick to your long-term vision as a guiding star.
-Set out your priorities and focus.
Diversification, M&A, Brazil Focus Ahead
After taking a look at the past, Leite turned her attention to the present and, more importantly, the future of Peixe Urbano.
The company is currently focusing on diversification, having already gotten its feet wet in verticals such as reservations, delivery and travel. Mergers and acquisitions will also be an important part of Peixe Urbano’s strategy moving forward.
As far as Peixe Urbano’s plans for the rest of Latin America go, Leite was optimistic but not overly so. In 2011, the company expanded into Argentina, Mexico and Chile but soon recognized that the markets in those countries were significantly smaller than that of Brazil. Thus, Peixe Urbano is now focused on expanding in Brazil, which accounts for 90% of its revenues.
Leite was also cautious when speaking of Peixe Urbano’s progress in the mobile sector. She said that while Peixe Urbano has experienced a huge amount of growth in the area (six times over, in fact), mobile still accounts for less than 10% of its business.
Image, original source.
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