The J Curve with Olga Maslikhova

Olga Maslikhova
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The J Curve, hosted by seasoned investor and Stanford GSB alum Olga Maslikhova, is your front-row seat to Latin America’s tech revolution. Ranked in the top 5% of global videocasts, we bring you unfiltered conversations with the visionaries—entrepreneurs and investors—who are redefining the tech landscape in Brazil and beyond. Tune in bi-weekly for insider stories, hard-earned lessons, and strategies behind some of LATAM’s most groundbreaking tech successes.

  1. OCT 1

    The Anti-Hustle Culture Behind One of Brazil’s Fastest-Growing Fintechs — with Piero Contezini (Asaas)

    Is hustle culture the biggest startup lie? Is Brazil the end of credit cards? Can a fintech run like a pharmaceutical lab? In this episode of The J Curve, I sit down with Piero Contezini — founder and executive chairman of Asaas, one of Brazil’s most influential fintech platforms serving thousands of SMEs and processing billions in payments. Backed by SoftBank, Bond, Bradesco, and other top investors, Asaas has evolved from a Stripe-for-Brazil experiment into a full-stack financial operating system with 37 revenue streams. Piero’s story is one of relentless experimentation, radical cultural rules (like an 8-hour workday and zero-bug policy), and building in sync with Brazil’s regulatory revolution around PIX and Open Finance. Here’s what we cover: • Why service companies can’t scale like product companies • How one SME pain point grew into 37 revenue streams • The fintech monetization model tied directly to customer success • The culture rules that shaped Asaas: 8-hour workdays and zero bugs • How PIX and Open Finance reshaped Brazil’s fintech landscape Join The J Curve Community: ⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠: Weekly deep dives into LATAM's hottest deals, emerging trends, and market intelligence ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠: Daily market insights and exclusive founder updates ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠: Behind-the-scenes podcast moments and quick industry takes ⁠⁠⁠Hit subscribe⁠⁠⁠ and share this episode with fellow entrepreneurs and investors

    52 min

  2. SEP 9

    Brazil vs Mexico: The Playbook for Betting on LatAm’s Giants — with Julio Vasconcellos (Atlantico)

    Julio Vasconcellos is the Managing Partner at Atlantico, one of Latin America’s leading venture firms, and the driving force behind the Latin America Digital Transformation Report. Now in its 6th edition, the report has become the definitive data backbone for investors and founders seeking to understand the region’s tech landscape. Previously, Julio was Facebook’s first country lead in Brazil and co-founder of Peixe Urbano, giving him a rare operator-to-investor perspective on LatAm’s digital transformation. In this episode, Julio unpacks the 2025 report’s biggest findings—from venture returns to geopolitics, Pix’s disruption, AI adoption, and Mexico’s rise—and what they mean for global LPs, founders, and corporates betting on the region. Here’s what we cover: LatAm Venture Outperformance: Why local VC funds have quietly outperformed global peers, and what it will take to attract more LP capital. Brazil vs. Mexico: Why Mexico features so prominently this year, how it compares to Brazil, and what it means for investors placing their first bets. The Geopolitics of Tech: 39% of Brazilians say they’d align with China over the U.S.—what’s driving that sentiment? Pix’s Relentless Rise: With 87% corporate penetration and $15B in fee savings, Pix is reshaping payments. What does this mean for Visa, Mastercard, and fintechs? Brazil’s AI Moment: Over 60% of Brazilians have tried ChatGPT, and Microsoft just invested $2.7B in AI/cloud. What role will Brazil play in the global AI race? Founder Archetypes: Atlantico’s research into the traits of successful Latin American founders—and how they compare to Silicon Valley counterparts. Join The J Curve Community: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠: Weekly deep dives into LATAM's hottest deals, emerging trends, and market intelligence ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠: Daily market insights and exclusive founder updates ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠: Behind-the-scenes podcast moments and quick industry takes ⁠⁠Hit subscribe⁠⁠ and share this episode with fellow entrepreneurs and investors

    1h 18m

  3. AUG 26

    Building Olist: Pivots, M&A, Product-Market Fit & AI-Powered Commerce in Brazil w Tiago Dalvi

    Tiago Dalvi is the solo founder and CEO of Olist, Brazil's leading e-commerce operating system serving 45,000+ merchants and processing 60 billion reais annually. Olist has raised $314M from investors including SoftBank, Wellington Management, Goldman Sachs, Valor Capital Group, and Accel partner Kevin Efrusy, and operates in Brazil's $60B+ e-commerce market. The Brazilian unicorn founder discusses marketplace strategy, venture capital, M&A integration, and building Latin America's leading SMB commerce platform. Here's what we cover: From Marketplace to Ecosystem: Olist began as a single storefront. Today it's an operating system for 45,000+ merchants. What does it really take to expand from one product to a multi-product platform? The Three Pillars of a High-Performing Board: Behind every enduring company is a board built on the right foundation. What makes boards truly high-performing—and why do the best ones keep evolving? The M&A Integration Playbook: Acquisitions can accelerate growth—or sink the ship. Tiago shares the hardest lessons from integration, why protecting new acquisitions from the gravitational pull of core operations is critical for innovation, and why earnouts are so tricky to get right. Olist's Vision of Intelligent Commerce: What if your business could think for itself? Tiago explains how AI-powered decision-making could reshape SMB operations across Latin America's fragmented ecosystem. The Investor Breakup Playbook: Not every relationship lasts forever—including with investors. Why does Tiago part ways with board members he "really likes," what tough conversations are required when someone who got you to $10M isn't right for $100M, and how secondaries help recycle the cap table without burning bridges? Join The J Curve Community: ⁠Newsletter⁠: Weekly deep dives into LATAM's hottest deals, emerging trends, and market intelligence ⁠LinkedIn⁠: Daily market insights and exclusive founder updates ⁠Instagram⁠: Behind-the-scenes podcast moments and quick industry takes ⁠Hit subscribe⁠ and share this episode with fellow entrepreneurs and investors

    1h 14m

  4. AUG 12

    Why 90% of LATAM Founders Fail at VC Fundraising (And the Playbook That Actually Works) w / Olga Maslikhova

    Why do 90% of LATAM founders struggle to raise venture capital funding? It's not their product or market - it's because they don't understand the game they're playing. This episode reveals the patterns behind every major VC success story from Nubank to QuintoAndar. I cover the fund economics that drive every investment decision, the founder profiles that get fast-tracked, the three business models that dominate portfolios, and the four-element framework for stacking odds in your favor. Plus: why fundraising is actually sales, how to evaluate VCs before they evaluate you, and the exit math that determines premium outcomes. Key Insights & Takeaways: The Goldman/McKinsey pattern: Why majority of funded LATAM founders share investment banking or top consulting backgrounds—and how to borrow credibility if you don't have itFund math reality check: How a $300M fund needs $6B+ outcomes from single deals, and why this changes everything about what VCs actually fundThe Stanford platform mindset: How to shift from "solving problems" to "designing market architecture" and why this mindset separates venture capital winners from the restMarket timing: How 2012's 3G+smartphones created unicorns, and why 2025's Pix+AI+Open Finance could be biggerThe 4-element fundable startup framework: Backable founder profile + compounding business model + broken market + perfect timing = venture capital magnetFundraising as B2B sales: Why treating VCs as prospects with systematic qualification, relationship-building, and follow-up changes outcomesVenture capital fund cycle: How a $100M fund in year 2 beats a $500M fund in year 8, and how to research this before pitchingThe multi-country premium: Why regional businesses price higher than local ones, and how to build global buyer optionality from day one Join The J Curve Community: ⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠: Weekly deep dives into LATAM's hottest deals, emerging trends, and market intelligence ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠: Daily market insights and exclusive founder updates ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠: Behind-the-scenes podcast moments and quick industry takes Share this with one founder who needs to hear this playbook: ⁠Hit subscribe⁠⁠ and help us reach more Latin American entrepreneurs and investors

    32 min

  5. AUG 6

    The $1B Pismo Playbook: How Brazilian Startups Beat Silicon Valley at Global Scale

    Three ecosystem builders who created $1B+ in exits share the exact strategies behind Latin America's biggest tech wins in this rare roundtable, recorded live in São Paulo with AWS. Daniela Binatti: Built Pismo into one of Visa's largest fintech acquisitions ($1B cash) Romero Rodrigues: Sold Buscapé to Naspers for $374M, now Managing Partner at Headline. Early investor in Pismo and Wellhub Carlos Costa: Valor Capital Managing Partner ($2B+ AUM) behind CloudWalk ($2.15B valuation), WellHub ($2.2B valuation), and Pismo ($1B exit) Key Insights & Takeaways: The "bonds vs options" framework: How Brazilian companies use stable local cash flow to fund aggressive global expansion betsWhy LATAM-to-LATAM expansion is a trap: Same operational complexity as global markets but with negligible valuation impactThe 25-year compounding curve: Why Pismo's real growth phase began after the $1B acquisition, not beforeGlobal infrastructure strategy: Building multi-country, multi-currency architecture from day one vs. retrofitting laterMarket education playbook: Converting banks from on-premise skeptics to SaaS believers across 78 countriesThe Brazil advantage: How a 150M+ user domestic market creates unique pressure-testing for global-ready productsTiming global expansion: When borderless business models should skip local validation entirely Join The J Curve Community: ⁠Newsletter⁠: Weekly deep dives into LATAM's hottest deals, emerging trends, and market intelligence ⁠LinkedIn⁠: Daily market insights and exclusive founder updates ⁠Instagram⁠: Behind-the-scenes podcast moments and quick industry takes Share this with one founder who needs to hear this playbook: Hit subscribe⁠ and help us reach more Latin American entrepreneurs and investors

    1h 18m

  6. JUL 29

    How Sami Tripled Gross Margin in Brazil's $60B Private Health Insurance Market w / Dr. Vitor Asseituno

    Dr. Vitor Asseituno is the CEO and Co-Founder of Sami, Brazil's fastest-growing health insurance startup. Sami has raised $65M total funding and serves 20,000+ customers across 11 Brazilian cities in the $60B private health insurance market. Key Insights & Takeaways: 1. The "pipeline mathematics" behind turning 100+ VC rejections into Series B success 2. Investor psychology: what resonates when pitching complex healthcare business models 3. How embracing broker networks after everyone said "avoid them" drives 50%+ of sales 4. AI workflow implementation: $800+ monthly savings per clinician and 30% EMR compliance improvement 5. Loss ratio optimization tactics: the specific changes that improved margins from 85% to 53% 6. Why regional focus beats national scale in Brazil's complex healthcare market Join The J Curve Community: Newsletter: Weekly deep dives into LATAM's hottest deals, emerging trends, and market intelligence LinkedIn: Daily market insights and exclusive founder updates Instagram: Behind-the-scenes podcast moments and quick industry takes Hit subscribe and share this episode with fellow entrepreneurs and investors

    1 hr

  7. JUL 1

    Federico Vega (Frete.com) on Cracking Network Effects in a $100B Legacy Freight Market

    Welcome to Season 4 of The J Curve with me, Olga Maslikhova. This week, I sit down with Federico Vega, founder and CEO of Frete.com—the largest freight matching platform in Latin America. Federico’s story is anything but conventional: he grew up in a small town in Patagonia, left a career in investment banking at JP Morgan in London, and moved—without speaking the language—to Brazil to reinvent an entire industry. What started as a Facebook group for truck drivers has evolved into a logistics giant, processing nearly $18 billion in freight transactions annually and serving ~900,000 active drivers—roughly 80% of Brazil’s entire trucking fleet. In this episode, Federico shares how Frete.comsolved the classic chicken-and-egg dilemma, scaled a fragmented industry from the ground up, and transformed Brazilian complexity into a competitive moat. It’s a masterclass in grit, product obsession, and doing things that don’t scale. Here’s what we cover: How to break network effects open in traditional industriesWhy doing unscalable things early creates lasting strategic edgeWhat Brazilian truck stops taught Federico about product designHow to use AI and data to combat fraud and drive operational leverageThe culture-building playbook behind Frete.com’s growthFor founders building in complex markets—and investors betting on logistics and fintech as the future—this episode is a must-listen. More from us:  Subscribe to our weekly newsletter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The J Curve Insider⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we go beyond the podcast to break down the most exciting investment & tech trends in LATAM. Sharp. Concise. Real business strategies and market insights you won’t find anywhere else. Delivered straight to your inbox.Follow us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram

    1h 14m

  8. JUN 17

    Olga Maslikhova, Host of The J Curve: LATAM’s Volatility Builds Better Operators

    Welcome to this special solo episode of Season 4 of The J Curve with me, Olga Maslikhova. Every few months, I zoom out to reflect on the lessons that stuck with me from the show. Think of this as your quarterly operator’s memo—especially if you’re building, raising, or investing in Latin America. Q2 was full of sharp insights and real operator depth. But in this edition of The J Curve Insider, I won’t recap every episode. I’ll go deep into three.  João Del Valle (EBANX), Mike Packer (QED), and Gustavo Mapeli (Kanastra). We’ll unpack EBANX’s global growth playbook, explore how QED built conviction around LATAM as an outsider VC—and what they’re betting on next—and break down how Kanastra scaled by defying startup orthodoxy. Here’s what I’ll get into: → In LATAM, complexity isn’t a bug—it’s the moat. → Revenue is the best anti-dilution strategy. → In frontier markets, global expansion is a risk management. → Outsiders win in LATAM when they think like founders: test, learn, commit. → Multi-product vs. single-product: what founders need to ask before picking a lane. If you enjoy today’s episode, please rate us on Spotify, subscribe to our newsletter at ⁠blog.thejcurve.com⁠, and follow us on YouTube (@thejcurvepodcast) and Instagram (@olgamaslikhova). Let’s get into it.

    28 min
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Ratings & Reviews

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About

The J Curve, hosted by seasoned investor and Stanford GSB alum Olga Maslikhova, is your front-row seat to Latin America’s tech revolution. Ranked in the top 5% of global videocasts, we bring you unfiltered conversations with the visionaries—entrepreneurs and investors—who are redefining the tech landscape in Brazil and beyond. Tune in bi-weekly for insider stories, hard-earned lessons, and strategies behind some of LATAM’s most groundbreaking tech successes.

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