The founders of XP, Stone and Nubank — Guilherme Benchimol, André Street and David Vélez, respectively — formalized this Tuesday (10) the opening of B55, a non-profit organization aimed at entrepreneurs who have already overcome the initial risks of opening their businesses, but still face challenges in growing.
The executive direction will be in charge of production engineer Cristhiano Faé, who has experience in founding companies such as Accera and Scale Partners, in addition to acting as an investor and advisor in several companies.
Faé states that, having already gone through all the cycles of the entrepreneurial journey, he believes he knows what this audience needs. “An environment that supports their daily growth, people who walk together and a community that helps them sustain their journey. That’s where we will make a difference, with human capital”, he says.
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In Brazil, there are around 47 million entrepreneurs, but more than 70% of companies face some type of stagnation today, according to André Street. He assesses that there is a lack of real connection in the market, with concrete exchanges and shared experiences. That’s exactly where B55 comes in: creating a support network with applied knowledge and method.
“We have an opportunity to truly transform entrepreneurs and their companies and, thus, enhance the growth of our country”, says the founder of Stone.
B55’s operation will be structured around four axes: Education & Development, Community & Networking, Journey & Acceleration and Entrepreneurship & Innovation Hub.
The education front will be based on real experiences, encouraging a network of contacts between leaders, acceleration programs with capital contributions and the creation of a physical community center, the location of which is still being defined in different municipalities.
The idea is to have a concrete space where the community can, in fact, coexist — giving body, soul and identity to B55.
“Entrepreneurship is cyclical, it never ends, and the entrepreneur needs to be part of an environment that constantly helps him break through and consolidate. That’s where the institute makes a difference, placing these people alongside high-impact entrepreneurs, receiving loose demands and giving back with clear direction, permanent support and applied guidance”, highlights Vélez.
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For Benchimol, B55 was born with the mission of promoting real transformation, going beyond selling courses and delivering certificates. The objective is to offer space and human contact.
“We want to offer a place where people feel safe and comfortable to talk about their vulnerabilities and have the opportunity to have conversations that can impact their companies in a concrete way. These are conversations that don’t happen in meeting rooms; they arise naturally, in coexistence. Hence the idea of a hub”, says the founder of XP.
The activity schedule foresees the first launch for the beginning of March. Planning for the remainder of the year includes offering programs adapted to different levels of business maturity and cost-free actions to expand the reach of the initiative.
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The goal is that, by the end of the year, the hub will have accessible options for different profiles, with practical programs for various stages of a company’s journey and maturity. B55 will also have free initiatives to further expand the institute’s impact.
