With over 20 years of history, Buddha Spa is today one of the largest urban spas networks in Brazil. Founded by Gustavo Albanesi, the company was born from the desire to promote well-being and balance through “touch therapy”. With a presence in various capitals and a solid expansion plan, Buddha Spa grows up maintaining customer experience and organizational culture. In an interview with the program From scratch to the top, Presented by Mariana Amaro, the CEO details the backstage of business creation, the role of the family in the operation, the challenges faced in the pandemic and the next steps of the brand.
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The business model
The story of Buddha Spa began long before the foundation, with the father of the current CEO – Jaime. He had been massages since he was 16 years old. “He is the great creator of the business, already had practice in the business since new,” he explained.
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The executive says that, at the time the business began to take shape, was in college and later worked in the financial market. The venture, which did not yet have the concept of something urban as it is currently, was not the priority at that time. “We were developing. I traveled, brought references from outside the country. And then things were improving, until we became a reference,” he recalls.
It was only in 2008, already approaching the ten years of the brand’s existence, that Albanesi decided to leave his career in finances to prioritize his own company.
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And in the meantime, the presence of the father followed as something very important within the structure. “If we are here, managing to deliver results and managing to absorb market growth, most come from it, to have visualized it before and brought me inside and say: ‘Let’s go to this path.’ And I was incorporating it over time, ”he said.
Currently, Jaime follows the figure of the founder and acting on the fronts of culture and purpose. “It is he who opens many fronts of presentation, showing the importance beyond what we are doing, from the energy impact we have in the form of the application of therapy and the whole experience to the human connection within our operations, with the memory of why we are doing that.”
The business expanded through the franchise model. Today, Buddha Spa has over 150 units around the country.
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Gustavo Albanesi says that from the beginning, he made a point of maintaining control over the company’s growth. For many years, all the invested capital was own. “Acceleration demands more capital. So I started to structure the capture, including debt lines, but always prioritizing control of the essence of the business.”
Despite having already received investor polls, Albanesi sees cautiously the entry of foreign capital. For him, a possible IPO would be a necessary evil, to be considered only in case of real need for capture or strategic change. At the moment, he does not see this movement as something aligned with the way the business is structured and currently operating.
With more than two decades, he maintains a balanced routine between family, friends and work. In leisure times, she likes to play golf, smoke cigar with friends and read. One of the books that even more marked him is talking to God. “It has a playful aspect, but it connects me to spirituality along with the daily life of the business.”
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He also shared two advice. One for entrepreneurs: “It’s worth wasting time at first thinking, Why do I want to do this? What impact do I want to generate? Hit purpose, culture, then the thing thrives.” And another for himself, years ago: “If I had called me more why, I would have been wrong inside a smaller ray.”
For more details of the company’s history and know your strategy for the future, see the full episode in. The program is available and in its podcast version on the main streaming platforms such as,,,
About zero to the top
O podcast From zero to top It is a production of Infomoney And it brings, every Friday, the history of prominent women and men in the Brazilian market to tell their history, sharing the biggest challenges faced along the way and the main strategies used in the construction of the business.
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The program has already received names as founder of Brisanet; , from the Simpar group; Founder of XP Investimentos; , Chairman da Cognna; Supley group co -founder; CEO and founder of 3Tentos; CEO of the King of Mate; one of the founders of the free market; the entrepreneur; , founder and CEO of Cobasi; Executive responsible for Renner’s rise; and told dozens of success stories.
