Colada no parque.

Arbitrar o preço de imóveis estressados (seja via leilão ou compra no secundário), ainda é uma fronteira que só os banqueiros e alguns grandes investidores imobiliários dominam. Bancos compram imóveis via dívidas, retomam garantias, compram falências e uma boa quantidade de investidor PF, vai no secundário: consegue comprar imóveis com dívidas, brigas judiciais e familiares diretamente de donos (na maioria herdeiros).

É aí que nasce a tese do Quintal do Parque.

Compramos uma casa (estressada) dentro de uma briga familiar.

Nosso intuito era ter depois do desembaraço, uma marca do varejo alugando esse imóvel e gerando renda. Isso em tese, valorizaria nosso capital imobilizado e paralelamente nos geraria dividendos mensais.

A casa não tinha documento (matrícula), não era regularizada na prefeitura, tinha dívida de IPTU os herdeiros não tinham inventário.

Apesar de ter sido uma tese de investimento em tijolo, muito criticada pela maioria dos “influencers” financeiros, à partir do momento que a casa saiu limpa depois da nossa compra, desembaraçada e reformada, nosso capital lá dobrou, automaticamente.

Durante a reforma, conseguimos que um negócio local (a Sliced) - uma padaria artesanal com 7 anos de existência e 2 unidades - entrasse e virasse moradores comerciais do lugar.

A arbitragem do preço funcionou em:

• combinar uma compra por um valor muito abaixo do que a casa vale;

• e de quebra, ter um locatário com um contrato bom para gerar esses dividendos (22% de yield esperado).

Com nome de Quintal do Parque demos destino rapidamente num imóvel único e de alto valor sentimental com o bairro.

Tem coisas que nem IA, nem a robótica conseguem ameaçar.

Se quiser acompanhar um pouco mais desse negócio, tá aqui o perfil do Quintal no Instagram: @quintaldoparquesp.

My thesis was straightforward: the anomaly in Ambipar’s stock price was closely tied to the chaos surrounding Banco Master in Brazil. Over the past few weeks, dozens of reports emerged exposing the entanglements of this lesser-known financial institution — and its influence across various corners of the Brazilian capital markets.

One of those connections pointed directly to Ambipar (B3: AMBP3), and indirectly, to the controversial investor Nelson Tanure. Although the links aren't always direct, there are too many strange overlaps and coincidences between Tanure, Banco Master, and Ambipar to ignore.

However, to be clear: my decision to short AMBP3 was not based solely on the Banco Master scandal. The real trigger was the abnormal price movement of the stock.

In less than six months, Ambipar's share price jumped from R$9.08 to R$268.00 — without any solid catalyst or material news to justify such a move. Insane!

That type of rally, in my view, usually signals something unsustainable.

The Short

I opened my short position on June 5, selling shares at R$191.36, and closed it on July 1, buying them back at R$157.00. That translated to a 17.69% gain in less than a month.

While I still believe the stock is severely overvalued and could fall further in the coming months, I chose to lock in profits and step aside — at least for now.

As some market veterans often say: “It’s very hard to sit on the other side of the table from Nelson Tanure.”

I agreed.

I first met Lincoln Ando in Silicon Valley in 2014, during a program for Brazilian entrepreneurs led by Bedy Yang. At the time, both Lincoln and I were relatively inexperienced. That group was truly special, and I was lucky to travel and learn alongside the founders of Moip, Social Miner, MindMiners, Konduto, and VaiVolta—Lincoln Ando's first startup.

Lincoln, of course, left a strong impression on me.

Two years later, Lincoln moved on from VaiVolta, and we reconnected to discuss a new thesis he was validating with two other tech entrepreneurs. Within just five minutes of hearing about their new venture, I knew I wanted to invest.

Lincoln and Raphael Melo were tackling online fraud and identity verification using deep technology. In 2016, banks and fintechs were required to conduct identity validation through manual processes, relying heavily on human labor or BPO services to check data.

It was an expensive and non-scalable approach.

Today, it's easy to see how seamless it is to open a bank account, create a profile on a food delivery app, or order a ride via smartphone. But back then, iDwall was the first Brazilian company to enable businesses to automate identity validation, building trust in technology for complex processes like KYC (Know Your Customer), AML (Anti-Money Laundering), fraud detection, and risk prevention.

From that moment on, the process of registering for digital services in Brazil changed forever.

Investing in iDwall

For me, investing in iDwall was about more than just capital. I learned invaluable lessons from the founders about software, fraud prevention, fundraising, and building a scalable platform capable of processing thousands of analyses per minute—insights I later applied at Vindi.

As a pioneer in identity validation, iDwall witnessed many competitors emerge, some as copycats and others pivoting their business models to compete. Despite this, the founders and team maintained a relentless focus on technology, product innovation, and execution.

Their obsession with excellence was a significant learning experience for me as a founder.

The impact of iDwall is undeniable. Two of Brazil's three largest private banks use iDwall's solutions, more than BRL 8 billion in fraud has been prevented, and the company remains at the forefront of innovation.

Scientists, PhDs, Engineers, and a Diverse Team

Fast forward to 2025, and I can confidently say that iDwall has the most sophisticated technology of any company I know.

Today, around 400 companies rely on iDwall’s solutions to prevent fraud and eliminate manual work. The company serves financial institutions, e-commerce platforms, marketplaces, telecom providers, insurance companies, betting platforms, logistics firms, and more.

iDwall works with top-tier brands and industry leaders. One of its core strategies has always been to develop deep technology to support high-caliber enterprises. Itaú, Bradesco, iFood, and SulAmérica are just a few of its esteemed clients.

To maintain its pioneering spirit, iDwall is led by a diverse group of professionals, including scientists, PhDs, engineers, psychologists, lawyers, and experts from various fields. The founders and leadership team are deeply committed to building a robust platform with a strong emphasis on diversity and innovation.

iDwall is the first Brazilian company with 100% locally developed technology to obtain the iBeta2 seal, which certifies compliance with the international ISO 30703-3 standard. To put this into perspective, only 50 companies worldwide have earned this certification.

Backed by GGV Capital, monashees, Canary, Qualcomm Ventures LLC, 500 Startups, ONEVC, Peninsula, and Norte Ventures, iDwall has raised a total of $53 million in funding.

This unique combination of innovation, investment, and execution has made iDwall one of Brazil’s most groundbreaking companies.

iDwall was my first angel investment and one of my most successful in terms of ROI (+90x). But more importantly, it was a priceless learning experience, thanks to Raphael, Lincoln, and the entire iDwall team.

It was one of the best investments of my life—not just financially, but in every sense.

Recently, Lincoln Ando was honored by Okta Ventures as part of “The Identity 25,” recognizing pioneers shaping the future of digital identity.

ps: to invest in this company I simply sent a message to Lincoln on Facebook.

In my opinion, Porto Seguro ("Porto") is the best company listed on B3 (the Brazilian Stock Exchange). Of course, this is a personal view, but one that I strongly believe in.

Porto Seguro (B3: PSSA3) is Brazil’s leading insurance company, with a dominant presence across the country. Over the years, the company has expanded beyond traditional insurance into finance, health, credit cards, rent guarantee insurance, and group savings plans.

Porto Seguro’s history is deeply connected with the growing insurance culture in Brazil. It is the most recognized brand in the market and currently serves around 13 million customers.

Despite its long-standing tradition, the company maintains a forward-thinking and innovative approach.

Business segments: a comprehensive portfolio

Porto Seguro (PSSA3) is primarily engaged in the automobile insurance sector, but its operations span across six key business segments:

1. Car Insurance – Offering a wide range of automobile insurance products;

2. Health Insurance & Plans – Providing health and dental insurance policies and healthcare plans;

3. Life Insurance & Pension Plans – Managing life insurance products and pension plans;

4. Other Insurance – Covering additional non-life insurance policies;

5. Financing – Engaged in credit transactions and credit card services;

6. Other Products – Including insurance services in Uruguay, electronic protection, surveillance, and automotive parts distribution.

In addition, the company offers a range of services not related to insurance activity, such as electronic protection and surveillance and distribution of automotive parts.

A Strategic Partnership with Itaú (NYSE: ITUB)

Founded in 1945 by a group of entrepreneurs, Porto Seguro has continued to grow as a modern and dynamic company. It actively seeks mergers and acquisitions, experiments with new business initiatives, and quickly adapts when needed.

The company’s leadership is also a major strength. The current CEO, Paulo Kakinoff, is widely regarded as one of Brazil’s top executives.

Porto Seguro's primary shareholder is PSIUPAR—a holding company controlled by the Jayme Brasil Garfinkel family and Itau Unibanco NYSE:ITUB—which owns 70.82% of the shares. For me, investing in a company with such high-quality shareholders presents an attractive asymmetry of risk and reward.

Additionally, Artica, an investment firm that I trust, has also invested in Porto Seguro—another signal of the company’s strong potential.

Consistent Earnings and Predictable Growth

Recently, Porto Seguro released its 2024 financial results:

• Total revenue: BRL 37 billion (a 13% increase from the previous year);

• Recurring net income: BRL 2.7 billion (an 18% increase);

• Market capitalization: BRL 25 billion (as of February 26, 2025).

Porto Seguro's consistent growth is remarkable, and its 2025 guidance remains encouraging.

Three Key Reasons Why I Continue to Invest in Porto Seguro

So, I have three important motivations to continue investing in Porto Seguro and still believing in their future vision.

1. The Health Insurance Segment: A Hidden Gem

Porto Seguro’s health insurance division is expanding rapidly, doubling in size year after year. Brazil presents a significant growth opportunity in this sector, as Porto currently ranks only 9th in market share.

Top health insurers in Brazil (2023)

1. Bradesco Saúde

2. Hapvida

3. América Saúde

4. Amil

5. Unimed Nacional

6. Prevent Senior

7. Unimed Belo Horizonte

8. Unimed Saúde

9. Porto Seguro Saúde

10. Unimed Porto Alegre

UBS BB has estimated the value of Porto’s health business at up to BRL 6.5 billion (USD 1.1 billion)—a testament to its untapped potential.

2. Strong Performance in High-Interest Rate Environments

In Brazil’s high-interest-rate scenario, Porto Seguro benefits from customer prepayments, which provide the company with a significant financial edge. Many insurance plans in Brazil are prepaid, allowing Porto to generate returns on its float.

With the Selic rate at 13.25% per year, Porto Seguro continues to generate strong financial returns, even during economic downturns.

3. Market Leadership and Premium Pricing Power

Beyond its exceptional leadership team, Porto Seguro offers the best service in the insurance market. This allows the company to charge premium prices without losing market share.

The brand is highly trusted, known for its superior customer service and long-standing commitment to quality. In Brazil, insurance penetration remains low:

• Only 30% of vehicles have insurance;

• Just 17% of the population has life insurance;

• Only 23% of Brazilians have health plans,

I continue to invest in Porto Seguro because of its: resilient and adaptive strategy, strong positioning in a vast, underpenetrated market, high-quality shareholders and management team

For me, Porto Seguro remains the best investment opportunities on B3.

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I'm an enthusiastic investor in the energy market, and solar energy is one of my key investment theses. Crescera, the VC firm where I currently serve as an advisor, invested in 77Sol, a Brazi…

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The proptech, founded by my friend Guilherme Lourenço, solved one of my challenges in buying apartments to rent and make money through Airbnb in São Paulo. Cardeal is a software tool to search, analyze, and manage real estate auctions in Brazil.

This market is growing fast, and more people are becoming interested in investing and diversifying their portfolios. Cardeal was born at the perfect time.

In the past, real estate auctions were primarily dominated by lawyers, real estate development and construction companies, banks, and large investors. Now, the market can be accessed by investors of all sizes.

My strategy for investing in this asset class (houses and apartments) has always been focused on buying at auctions. Over the last ten years, I’ve purchased more than seven apartments through auctions and learned a great deal about the real estate market.

The Pain:

Searching for good apartments and houses, understanding the most desirable neighborhoods, and calculating ROI was always a lot of hard work for me. The data in this market is fragmented. I spent many days searching auction websites, calculating risks, filtering through various data, consulting hundreds of lawyers, and only after all of this, deciding whether to bid.

It was exhausting. When I discovered the Cardeal platform, all these problems were solved. Now, I simply log in to the platform, search for opportunities, and make my decisions in a fraction of the time!

The company, backed by other significant angel investors (including the founders of iClinic), and created by founders with a deep history in this market, really caught my attention.

It was an easy decision to invest in Cardeal. Recently, I wrote an article there.

Why Cardeal?

The Team: Lourenço, Gabriel Antonini (partner), Paulo Oliveira, and Daniel Silvestre are building one of the most exciting Brazilian startups. They are highly ambitious entrepreneurs, combining complementary skills. Lourenço, in my opinion, is the leading expert in this market. On top of that, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Silvestre at Vindi—a brilliant team all around.

Impact: Investors, banks, and companies using Cardeal are changing the way they bid at auctions. The company’s strategy—combining SaaS and fintech—is one of the main reasons I chose to invest in startups. Managing people’s money is a valuable proposition.

Market: Despite the market's size (in the billions), Brazil is changing the rules of the real estate business. The most exciting company in this space, Quinto Andar, is only 10 years old. The new generation of buyers will bring a fresh dynamic to the real estate market. It’s a market in transition.

Being both an investor and a client at the same time has been a valuable experience. Since my investment in Cardeal, I’ve purchased a house and a farm in the countryside of São Paulo, with both cases supported by Cardeal.

Leilão Cast

Recently, I was invited to speak with the founders on the "Leilão Cast" podcast. See below.

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I recently invested in Estapar (ALPK3) after analyzing the deal between Sem Parar and the Brazilian driver app, Gringo. Here’s why I believe this presents an investment opportunity worth sharing with my subscribers.

Sem Parar, a major fintech owned by Fleetcor, recently acquired Gringo for an estimated BRL 1 billion. This is a significant deal, considering Gringo was only founded in São Paulo in 2019. The app provides financial services and digital solutions for thousands of Brazilian drivers. Just six months ago, Gringo raised BRL 70 million in funding.

Key Details of the Sem Parar-Gringo Deal

According to VEF, one of Gringo’s investors, the sale of its stake in Gringo will add US$15.2 million to its balance sheet—the exact amount the fund had invested in the company over the last two years. What????? The same amount as two years ago?

This raises an important question: Was the valuation justified?

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I fought against a stomach problem and decided to change some habits. Stop drinking was the most effective method at that time.

I was never a drink lover as the medium of Brazilians that appreciate drinking beer, authorial drinks or whisky, for example. But I love to drink wine, specially at dinners with friends and family. My wife is an extraordinary party hostess and this include to take care of the people involved with good food, providing quality drinks and wine.

In that “dry year” I was pushed to drink by those friends at parties. It was not a sacrifice for me, but I was challenged to explain my moment, to drink something to celebrate and to be part of my wife's parties. It's a social culture very hard to fight: not drink in parties.

In 2019, I discovered Kiro in a restaurant in São Paulo. I was shocked! The beverage made by apple juice and ginger, produced with a high control of ingredient origins, change my life in that day. It wasn't a soda, industrial juice or kombucha (arrghhh). Kiro it is a switchel, an non-alcoholic beverage and I remember of the exactly feeling of tasting it.

Now, my wife's parties are watered by Champagnes, Wine and Kiro!!!

Champagnes, Wine and Kiro

Founded by Lee Wang and Roberto Meirelles in São Paulo (2017), Kiro is a symbol of guerrilla business. Why? The founders created one of the most promising beverage brands in Brazil without huge capital, with focus on product, distribution with a strong social responsibility.

Hard to find.

During a year, Kiro was my most “important partner” at parties and dinners. In this period I was a micro influencer to people that don't drink alcohol, to taste Kiro too and I observed hundreds of people drinking the switchel for the first time.

All of them, were surprised by the flavor. I saw in their eyes.

One day I receive a LinkedIn message by Lee, one of the founders, asking me to drink a coffee and tell about the Kiro's strategy. Lucky me.

Meeting people and entrepreneurs like Lee and Roberto is an easy match for me. In the first minute of the conversation about the business, the mission and the beverage market, I was convinced to invest. Deal!

Why I invest in Kiro?

The founders are fighting in a hostile market without capital against big beverage corporations. For me, it's insane and paranoid. I like people that challenge the status quo. They are trying to change the people's culture in drinking alcohol, sodas and other beverage types. It's not a easy mission.

In the recent decade in Brazil, beer companies were the biggest advertisers on Brazilian television. The AbInbev (Anheuser-Busch InBev), the world's leading alcoholic beverage company by sales, is a Brazilian group. In 2023, the company had sales of $59.4 billion. More sales than Coca-Cola and Pepsico.

Imagine entering in this market with a different proposition it's a challenge, but Kiro will grow and make important changing in Brazil.

Investing in a company focused on changing people's habits is always a challenge, but Kiro's mission targets having a better life and be more healthy. This mission connects me.

Why Kiro?

• Team: Lee and Roberto are the real paranoid founders. They are printing a hacker culture on their business and starting a real guerrilla against ABInbev and Coca-Cola brands;

• Impact: Kiro is a real revolution in Brazilian beverage market in taste, production and health (million of people are more careful in to drink alcohol). Kiro also selects small family farms in the Kiro's production;

• Market: Brazilian market is one of the most promising in terms of potential and size. Just to mention, now Kiro is in some of the most famous restaurants in São Paulo.

Nothing more valuable than “the time” effect. I strongly believe in Kiro's impact in the next years. Since 2021, Kiro is an “B” Company

I invest in Kiro because I'm a voracious customer and the founders are very sharp in the mission to improve a better life to people.

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What is Switchel?

A correspondent for a New York paper once told of attending a historical pageant in New England where a soft drink was served to visitors called “switchel.”

She thought it was a molasses, ginger, and vinegar concoction, but she was unsure. She desired a genuine old-fashioned recipe. If this good woman had gone to the Standard dictionary, she would have found this distinctively American drink listed there. It is “A drink made of molasses and water, sometimes with vinegar, ginger, or rum added; hence, any strong drink, flavored.”

An illustration is cited from C. D. Warner’s memoir Being a Boy, which reads: “The luncheon was packed in a large basket with bottles of root beer and a jug of Switchel.”

Source: Almanac

In 2018, I invested in a Brazilian startup and invited a few close tech-founder friends to join me in backing two exceptionally sharp and intelligent entrepreneurs. Fortunately, this investment not only turned out to be financially rewarding but also led to a great friendship with them.

At that time, we weren’t investing in a product—we were investing in an idea.

Choose the Best People and Let Them Work

We decided to invest in this startup purely because of the quality of the founders. The market they were entering was crowded, heavily regulated, and rife with fraud.

What struck me most was their relentless hunger to make their vision a reality. At that point, the startup was nothing more than a concept—no product, no official registration, no revenue in sight.

It was just a thesis, a PowerPoint presentation.

And yet, we invested.

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Last year, in the same period, the bank paid $0.2255121 to all ITUB shareholders.

ITUB Dividends

• Ex/EFF Date: 02/18/2025

• Type: Cash

• Cash Amount: $0.26

• Declaration Date: 02/17/2025

• Payment Date: 03/08/2025

ITUB Key Data

• Exchange: NYSE

• Sector: Finance

• Industry: Major Banks

• Today's High/Low: $5.96/$5.81

• Share Volume: 16,539,598

• Average Volume: 28,700,856

• Market Cap: 57,728,084,714

• P/E Ratio: 9.42

• Forward P/E 1 Yr.: 7.70

• Earnings Per Share(EPS): $0.63

• Annualized Dividend: $0.0342048

• Ex Dividend Date: Feb 4, 2025

• Dividend Pay Date: Mar 13, 2025

The Itau Bank always goes well in Lula's government. It's historical.

I'm writing this post from the farm, surrounded by 20 years old coffee plants, that have been producing for at least a century, for Italian migrant families.

Right now we are finishing 30,000 plants and I'll be back soon to tell you about this new venture here.

This week I learned more about life than reading a hundred books of philosophy.