Those who see VTEx today earning more than $ 230 million a year may not imagine that it all started with a partnership signed on the basis of confidence and without any real in your pocket. Alexandre Soncini, co-founder of the e-commerce platform, recalls the early years of the trajectory, marked by the founding of WX7 in the late 1990s-in the bursting of the bubble of internet companies-and the fusion with two other companies that would give rise to VTEx, as early as 2010.
“For seven years, we didn’t have a salary,” says Soncini at Podcast From zero to toprecalling the first steps of WX7, founded alongside Rafael, his partner. The company started developing dynamic websites for nightclubs and small customers of the pre-right social era, at a time when the Brazilian digital market was still crawling.
Without access to the risk capital or angel investors, everything was built with their own efforts – and with the help of families, who banked survival while the business did not make a profit.
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At the time of the Pontocom bubble between 1999 and 2000, more than 500 companies broke and Nasdaq lost $ 5 trillion in market value. But it was exactly in this turbulent scenario that WX7 was born, as a producer of internet solutions. Years later, the union with Vitex (at the time still called Textile Showcase) and a third company would consolidate what would become one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Latin America.
“We met the founders of Vitex at a fair in the United States and soon realized that it made sense to gather the rags. It was all in the word, with a hand -written contract that I keep to this day.”
Of voluntary intern to the merger of three companies
Before founding WX7, Alexandre Soncini had a brief career in motorsport. He even set up his own kart mechanics at 16 as a way to play competitions, but eventually migrated to technology, an area that fascinated him from adolescence. He started programming at age 13 and decided to study computer engineering.
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It was during an informal visit to a small digital agency that he met Rafael, his future partner. Without asking for pay, Soncini offered himself as a volunteer intern, just to learn. The partnership evolved rapidly: the two noticed a growing demand for web development and founded WX7 together in the early 2000s.
“It was all very embryonic. The company was incubated within the agency. We started serving ballads and events. We did sites with programming of attractions, something dynamic, which was not common at the time.”
Gradually, the business grew – but with great difficulty and without capital. For years, the partners worked without any compensation.
Even with the graduation completed, Soncini did not follow the traditional path of his fellow engineers. He preferred to bet on building his own business, although not knowing if it would become something relevant in the market. “It was a choice. We believed that we could create something of impact in the long run.”
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The point of turning to the company came through a strategic decision: focus on e-commerce. It was at this moment that Soncini and Rafael decided to invest heavily – even without resources – on a trip to one of the main fairs in the sector in the United States.
To play the ticket and the stay, they resorted to a loan. But the bet worked: it was at this event that they met Mariano and Geraldo, founders of the then textile showcase.
The conversation evolved fast. In a short time, the founders of the three companies decided to come together. And the merger happened as informally as possible: the operations were unified even before the legal formalization, with all employees installed in a new office in the south of São Paulo.
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“WX7’s office was in Mooca, Vitex’s in another region. We rented a slab in Cardoso de Melo and took everyone there, even without formal contract. Trust was total. We knew that if anyone wanted to act in bad faith, a contract would not protect us. Then we prefer to follow the base of good faith.”
The official agreement was only signed eight months later. Until then, the company already operated unified, with all shared decisions and routines.
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With the official fusion, the new VTEx started its climbing as an e-commerce platform. In 2011, the company earned about $ 7 to 8 million per year. Today, it exceeds US $ 230 million annually. The trajectory was neither linear nor exempted from sacrifices.
“The first 10 years were of pure construction. No glamor, no salary, no investors.”
Despite the difficulties, the focus has always been a differential. “We had times when we were trying to do everything. But when we decided to focus, the game started to turn. The focus on e-commerce was fundamental,” he says.
By choosing to specialize, the company has better understand customer pain, develop specific solutions and gain relevance in the market.
VTEX growth has also been packed with a culture of trust, collaboration and long -term vision. “There was no mindset of seeking a quick exit or immediate gain. What moved us was to create something that made a difference in the world,” says the co -founder.
And so, based on the word and hard work, VTEx has become a global reference in the e-commerce platform market-showing that it is possible to build a digital giant even starting with a handwritten paper and no penny in the pocket.
