The first major funding round held in 2024 in Latin America was announced in the first days of the year. The protagonist is Conta Simples, a Brazilian fintech specialized in offering digital bank accounts with expense management tools, whose CEO, Rodrigo Tognini, is an alumni of Business Administration from Insper. The startup reported raising R$200 million.

 

“This transaction was carried out in less than a month and a half and places Conta Simples on another level”, says Tognini. The round represents a milestone, he explains. “A lot is said about the valley of death in the life cycle of a startup,” he says, referring to the period between investment rounds, when there is a risk of running out of cash flow.

 

“We managed to go through the valley of death relatively calmly, which symbolizes strength and indicates that we are prepared for the next steps, with solutions and products for the entire Brazilian market.”

 

“Strong numbers”

 

This was the fourth round carried out by the fintech. This time, investors who already had relationships with fintech participated: Valor Capital, Jam Fund, Y Combinator, Big Bets, Broadhaven and DOMO, led by the US manager Base10 Partners.

 

Conta Simples, which has approximately 30 thousand active customers, had used only 30% of the funds from the previous round, but opted for the new transaction to accelerate its growth, in order to expand its credit card portfolio, launch new products and expand its customer profile for larger companies.

 

Tognini was a student at Insper between 2014 and 2018, with support from the scholarship program of the institution. “Coming from the interior of São Paulo, the difference in the cost of living is clear, and being part of the program gave me peace of mind and comfort to be able to focus on what was most important during my degree: studies and my development”, he already stated.

 

He was also one of the founders of Liga de Empreendedores (League of Entrepreneurs), a student organization in which he was able to interact and exchange experiences with other students who, like him, were interested in taking risks and opening a business.

 

Before founding Conta Simples, which began to take shape in 2019, he set up another fintech, which did not prosper. Now, he celebrates the company’s good results. “Today we are among the main fintech companies and startups in the Brazilian ecosystem, with a relevant customer base and strong numbers.”