David Vélez
David Vélez | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Vélez in 2023 | |
| Born | 1982 |
| Alma mater | Stanford University |
| Title | Founder and CEO of Nubank |
David Vélez is a Colombian banker, engineer and entrepreneur. He is the CEO and cofounder of the Brazilian fintech startup Nubank.[1]
Biography[edit]
Vélez was born in Medellín, but his family fled cartel violence when he was nine years old and migrated to Costa Rica.[2] Vélez visited a German school in Costa Rica. In Cologne, Germany, he studied mathematics for a year. When he came of age, he went to Stanford University to study engineering, but he didn't come up with an idea to found a company yet. After graduating, he worked at General Atlantic in Brazil and got a job as an analyst at Morgan Stanley, a financial services company.[3]
Nubank[edit]
The idea for Nubank came about when David Vélez needed to open a bank account in Brazil. To do so, he had to keep his bag in a locker and even then the revolving door locked, trapping him at the entrance to the branch. When he needed a manager, he was kept waiting for a long time and the document requirements were very bureaucratic because he was a foreigner. After he finally managed to open an account, he noticed that everything was very expensive, with high fees for simple services. That's when he thought of creating a bank using technology, taking advantage of smartphones used for other services in Brazil. He founded the online bank Nubank in 2013 together with Brazilian Cristina Junqueira and the American Edward Wible. The company started with him and his employees as the first customers. The startup went on to receive investments from Sequoia and Khosla Ventures.[4][3]
He founded his first Nubank branch abroad at the end of 2017, in Berlin. In 2019, Nubank had over 12 million customers.[3] In 2023, the number of customers had risen to 90 million people in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.[2]
Net worth[edit]
According to Forbes magazine, he has an estimated fortune of around 12 billion US dollars in February 2024.[2] He announced in 2021 that he would donate a large part of his wealth to social projects over his life.[5][6]
References[edit]
- ^ "Até onde vai o Nubank?". epocanegocios.globo.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-10-13.
- ^ a b c "David Velez & family". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
- ^ a b c Busch, Alexander (2019-08-04). "Nubanks David Vélez: Ein revolutionärer Finanzdienstleister". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
- ^ Mendonça, Heloísa (2018-01-18). "Fundador do Nubank: "Queremos trazer quem paga as tarifas absurdas dos grandes bancos brasileiros"". EL PAÍS (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-10-13.
- ^ "David Vélez, cofundador do Nubank, e Mariel Reyes prometem doar fortuna em vida". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
- ^ "Digital Bank Founder Worth $6 Billion to Donate Most of Fortune". Wealth Management. 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
