On the afternoon of last Thursday (19), the leadership of G4 Educação was racing against time to close the accounts for 2024 a few days in advance – and enjoy the firm’s party that was scheduled for Friday (20). The end-of-year atmosphere, however, stopped there. The perspective of the various teams in the edtechone of the leaders in the education market for entrepreneurs, was to take advantage of even the last weeks of the year to sell.
“Our client is a business owner. He doesn’t take vacations, he’s always thinking about his business”, says Maria Isabel Antonini, CEO of the company.
G4 earned R$315 million in the year, a growth of more than 50% compared to 2023. It is a revenue that comes from the triad that makes up its ecosystem of solutions: education, with courses and immersions; communities, with business and networking clubs; as well as software and tools.
The target audience is always the entrepreneur. In the five years since G4 was founded, they have experienced some of the services as paying customers – always aiming to find practical and quick solutions to the challenges that arise for those who decide to have their own business in Brazil.
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“If the business environment in Brazil is not the best, we act within our control. We sell solutions, instead of whining about problems”, says Tallis Gomes, president of the board of G4 Educação.
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He comments that, on average, companies that participate in edtech programs grow 122% more than their local competitors in a period of one year. “We connect the right people at the right time, and we help renew the ambition of entrepreneurs.”
Serial entrepreneurs
Gomes is one of the founders of G4, as are Alfredo Soares and Bruno Nardon. They all have a history in the Brazilian startup ecosystem – Gomes at Easy Taxi and Singu, Soares at VTEX, Nardon at Rappi.
As is usual in this environment, they are always looking for new ideas, connections and chances to revolutionize markets. Therefore, in addition to achieving an ambitious growth target in edtechanother achievement of the group this year was to create its own initiative private equitycalled G4 Capital.
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Throughout 2024, the fund’s portfolio reached around R$30 million in stakes in companies interested in exchanging part of their capital for access to the community that orbits around G4 Educação – a model that Gomes calls community for equity.
The traditional flow of investments is preceded by a partnership that works as a kind of “test” – of the solution and of the entrepreneur candidate to join G4 Capital.
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“O founder participates in one of our events, for example, when we test his teaching and the community’s interest in his solution. Having fitwe do due dilligence and proposal, transforming the entrepreneur into a G4 Educação teacher, with the chance to offer his service to our students”, explains Gomes.
In cases where the fit is perfect, the fund can also make additional cash contributions, with the aim of accelerating the entrepreneur’s growth. A recent example is Nalk, a data intelligence platform for sales and marketing – which entered into a partnership with G4 in June and has now received an investment of R$1.5 million. The startup, which had revenues of around R$3 million in 2024, plans to quadruple its value next year – a goal anchored in the prospect of serving 10% of edtech students.
New management
“G4 is more than a business school. We are a movement that transforms the way Brazilian companies grow and develop”, says Maria Isabel. , due to the negative repercussion for the company of a comment by Gomes considered sexist on social media.
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“The idea was already that Misa [como Maria Isabel é chamada] to become CEO, but in 2027. It was prudent to respond, as the situation bothered our clients and mentors”, says Gomes, who was then the company’s CEO.
The executive says that, in practice, her routine has changed little – she has been the company’s CFO (financial director) for two years, always very involved with strategic planning and management activities.
For 2025, some of the most relevant challenges for G4 will be in its hands – including reaching a portfolio of R$90 million in stakes in G4 Capital, tripling its current size.
