Customer love is the ultimate moat: Nubank was founded on a simple insight: customers want to be treated well. David found a large market dominated by a few companies who treated customers badly. By obsessing over customer experience and consistently choosing customer interests over short-term profits, Nubank built an emotional connection that became their strongest competitive advantage.


Crisis demands radical transparency: When regulatory changes threatened Nubank's existence, leadership chose brutal honesty with employees over false comfort. Being transparent in moments of crisis—especially when you don’t have all the answers—builds trust and rallies the team around solving seemingly impossible challenges.

Build your team around your gaps: As an outsider to Brazilian banking and technology, Vélez focused on finding co-founders who could fill his critical weaknesses—bringing on Cristina Junqueira for her deep understanding of Brazilian banking and Edward Wible for technical leadership. Don’t let pride or conventional wisdom stop you from choosing complementary talent.

Make regulation a competitive advantage: Rather than fighting regulators, Nubank aimed to be “the kid in the front row” getting A+ grades. This approach turned potential adversaries into allies and created barriers to entry that protected the business as it scaled.

Think big but start focused: Although Nubank’s ultimate vision was to reinvent banking globally, they started with a single product (credit cards) in a single market (Brazil). This focused approach allowed them to build a strong foundation before expanding to multiple products and countries.

Culture is set in crucible moments: A few defining moments shape your company culture. Nubank's decision to reverse fees when they failed to send payment reminders—even though it hurt profits—showed employees and customers alike that their values weren't just marketing speak.