But obviously, they are given all the benefits of being David Velez's children, right?
Of course, they are given an education and, obviously, a lot of affection, a lot of love, a lot of guidance. They are our children.
And for me, family is super important, and even though I'm often traveling and all, I try to put the kids to sleep every night when I'm home, read a story to each one of them, and take them to school. For me, that is a super important part. I make room in my work to try to have quality time, and that helps. But the message is also sent that expectations are high, so they won't have it easy either. Work hard.
And have you thought at some point, like, "at this age" or "when this happens, I'll dedicate 100% to my family, to my retirement"?
I think maybe—I think not yet. I think I would get very bored. Yes, sometimes I really miss having free time to sit down and read a book. I miss having that, but I still have a lot of desire. There is still a lot of energy and a lot of fuel left.
Project. Exactly. A project with so much potential that leaving it now would be a sin.
It would be a sin, and it's not the example I'm setting for my kids. If I spend the whole day doing nothing, what example am I setting for my kids? What would I expect from them? So, in a way, I am helping to educate by example.
And has a child never come up to you and said, "Dad, why do I have to do this? Why do I have to work if you're David Velez?"
But I would. I would say at least once they should have said it.
No, no, they haven't said it that way, but they do complain, "Why do I have to do this?" or "Why do I have to do that?" and the message is, "We all have to work here; nothing is free in this house." Each one—everyone has responsibilities. Go for it, my son. And that is the work ethic for when they grow up. I did it with my parents. "Ugh, what a drag to have to do all this." Go for it, my son, go for it, go for it, go for it. And that builds that work ethic that becomes so important.
At any point, did you ever have it in mind to be such a wealthy man, or did you not think about that, focusing more on the project?
It never crossed my mind; it was never a goal, never something where I'd say, "Oh, I want to have all that money."
And right now, you handle it very normally.
Yes, because I think there are people who get changed by money. Doesn't it say that money amplifies the qualities one already has? If you have negative qualities, it will amplify those negative qualities. If you have certain positive qualities, it will amplify those positive qualities.
So it is not something that has to change you. I see it as a great opportunity to be able to create more impact. For me, my life's purpose is impact. That is the word. It is feeling that every minute, every hour, every day creates impact, whether here, whether outside, whether with my family, or with my friends, because we only have one life.
Yes, yes, as far as we know.
Imagine being 80, 90 years old, or at the end of your life saying, "I wasted my life."
If we only had one, what a waste to say I can't be young again or have even tried? So, something I keep very much in mind is that phrase, "Memento Mori," to remember mortality, that we have our days numbered, our hours numbered. At any moment, it could be the last moment for any human, regardless of whether they have money or not; we all have an end.
Yes. And something very present there is, given that scarcity of time, how do I make the most of my time and the other capacities I have, which are perhaps energy, knowledge, and money, and how do I manage to increase the impact that those capacities allow me?
Do you know what happens, and what I see a lot, and it even happens to me? And it's that sometimes, to reach such high levels, one has to be a slave to work. A slave to work. I have spoken with people who say, "No, I prefer to live my life because my life is the only one I have." In your position, has David Velez been a slave to work or not, to get where you are really?
No, I wouldn't say I've ever been a slave to work. It is different, as I have always worked extremely hard, but it is different. I believe one is a slave when one doesn't choose their job, where one is working doing something that has no purpose or lacks some knowledge, reason, or it isn't something you even like, that you don't like. Then it becomes a chore, it becomes something you're just in, but if you manage to find something that you're passionate about, that brings impact, then it's not a chore, I'm not a slave, and I can work 100 hours a week and be happy.
And another thing I wanted to say is about being in your 20s. And this is something many people disagree with, and I feel it—my strong belief is that your 20s, when you're 20 to 30 years old, is for working as hard as you can.
Yeah. That's the time when, in your 20s, you develop all your capabilities.
I have to send this clip to many people in my family, because I tell them, I say, I have all my energy, I'm in my 20s, I have to work now, it's the time. And I feel like between 20 and 30, in that period, you also have that energy and that hunger to conquer everything. I don't know if that ever goes away, but I agree with what you're saying.
Yes, no, at 24 I would sleep in the office, I worked Saturdays and Sundays, I worked 100 hours, and it was very hard, but I had a lot of energy and the important thing was that I was learning a lot. In your 30s you start slowing down a bit, you have less energy in your 40s even more, then you have a family and kids, so you start making different space and you start balancing things a bit. But that talk about work-life balance in your 20s, that will come later. Your 20s are for developing every capability you can possibly have.
Look at what he's saying, because unfortunately, the youth—and it's happening a lot in Colombia—is that it's precisely the age where they fall most into distractions, into any type of substances, and they get stuck there, they get stuck right at the most important age, 20 to 30. It's just that that's the age where in Colombia, people basically get lost. People get lost from 20 to 30.
I don't know if that has a lot to do with what we've discussed: obviously social status, the neighborhood, how things work in Colombia, that not everyone has the same opportunities, which is a reality. But look, I think something very big is going to come out of this conversation, you know... having young people so close to someone who has achieved so much is also a huge motivation. Imagine how I am here, I feel good, and I'm already at that point where I've also achieved things and I feel motivated. Wow, I also want to have these things, I also want to work hard, I also want to go very far. And the people watching this, who are young, I know it will help them because they have to, because it's about stopping if they really want to achieve great things in life, put all that aside and take advantage of, let's call it, taking advantage of your 20s.
Yes, yes, yes.
Take advantage of your 20s. And it's a very important piece of advice for everyone, because many people get lost in that, between 20 and 30 years old, they don't work, they forget what's really important and fall into that world I mentioned, which is super heavy. In the end, the support you're giving is impressive; I also saw during the earthquake that you made a huge contribution to Colombia, and it's... I don't know how you get to say, "No, it's that I can't," how does that support for Colombia come about? You felt it as a necessity.
Yes, as a necessity when those types of calamities happen and you see people who already had so little and they lose everything. That touches you, and you have the possibility to help people. It's almost an obligation. You feel like: what can I do to help the people who have lost everything, so it's something very natural if one is constantly talking and thinking about impact, which, again, is what motivates me. It's almost obvious to reach the point of making those types of decisions, and it was very good to see so many other entrepreneurs in Colombia saying: "Let's move forward and let's give what we can to rebuild." Many, many joined together in a single goal, to help Colombia.
That's super good, right, Babi? Brother, I think we should do a session. I'll read the comments from people here to see if maybe someone has some question they want to ask you. Take advantage, take advantage since it took three months to get this appointment.
No, it's just that hopefully next time it won't be as long.
Yes, yes. No, no, no, no. Let's see, let's take advantage of this moment for any doubts or questions you want to ask David, he's going to do it, they've already started. Let's see, this is a very good one. What would you invest the money in if you had no money and won the lottery right now? Right now, right now, what would you invest in? No, you don't have money, you're an average person and you win the lottery.
I would invest in CDTs or bonds or even the Nubank savings box, and it's not to advertise, but it's just that most people think that investing is taking absurd risks to try to double or triple it, and really the way to build money and build wealth is by investing long-term. Having a very long-term mindset and seeing how the interest rate is compounded over the years, it keeps compounding and compounding, compounding and it grows exponentially.
And that is safe money where you are not taking any type of risk. There is a specific type of risk there from the government of Colombia if it goes bankrupt because they are treasury bonds.
But in general, it's not buying, it's not placing bets, it's not investing in stocks that you really have little ability to understand, it's looking for safe investments that maybe don't pay as much as others that promise you the world. Come on, we see these pyramids and these frauds that exist in Colombia too much. None of that, none of that is true.
None of it, those are pure deceptions. It's looking for safe investments, treasury bonds, government bonds of Colombia, Nubank boxes, investing long-term and being very responsible and disciplined with what you spend.
It's just that, we talked about it when we started the stream, when I told him, so if I have a million dollars and I put it in the Nubank box in one year, I would have another $130,000 extra just for having it sitting there, just for having the million dollars sitting there. And what he answers is literally where he is accurate. What do I do if I win the lottery? I put it there, I'm not losing it, I have my money there and on top of that, the more time that passes, the more the fortune grows, right?
And that is the part that often costs us humans to understand.
The exponential. That grows on interest over interest over interest over interest.
And that in 5 to 10 years, that is a lot of money. Why don't people do that? They aren't able to save, they don't have the...
Yeah, I think first because there are always the siren songs of get-rich-quick schemes, of free money, of pyramid schemes, and all that, where there's a lot of money and a lot of fraud, and it gets lost. Another is the discipline to save for the long term, and the discipline to not spend so much. I think it's that combination.
Let's see, there are many questions here. Let's throw out another one. At what moment did you realize that this is what you wanted to do?
Well, I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, I mean, I always wanted to, but as I told you, since I was 20, when I arrived at that bank and I spent 12 years, from age 20 to 33, trying to come up with ideas, ideas, ideas, ideas, and nothing would come to mind.
I can't imagine how it must feel, which was the bank you were at when you said, "No, you know what? I've had enough."
One of the big banks here in Brazil. I won't say the name so as not to, but one of the most luxurious branches.
That's a very good one. What is a sacrifice you truly believe is the biggest one you've made to get where you are?
I think it was working so hard in my 20s, because back then in my 20s, that decade again, it was few friends, not much going out, no girlfriend, no partying; it was work, work, hard work. And there were friends who were going out to parties, having fun and everything, and sometimes I could go too, I won't say I didn't. But it was a time where I said, I am here to learn, to learn everything I can, to gather as much information as possible.
How important is a woman when it comes to a man's growth in a project like this? For example, your wife, how important has she been for you to be where you are now?
Oh, she was very important. I met her at the beginning of Nubank and I mean, she lived the whole process. She really did live the whole process and she was a support, a very, very strong support. I sometimes say that since I started Nubank, I sleep like a baby.
Yes. I wake up every 2 hours crying in a panic. That's entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship isn't—everyone says entrepreneurship is going to give talks, doing shows and all those interviews, no, entrepreneurship is very hard. It is a lot of work.
Things don't work out, things go broke, you find yourself with no money. So, having had someone, a partner who gives you that continuous support, and look, especially since I'm so interested in having a family that functions well, the children, it has given me the peace of mind to be able, many times, to focus on what needs to be done here inside Nubank.
Of course. And in this case, young people who are 20 years old, should they find a wife? Do you think it's, in one's youth, now is it good for someone who is starting a business to have a wife? Well, I say it in the sense that women take up time, right? I think so. I mean, as long as it's the right company, the company...
There is company that adds and there is company that subtracts. If it's company that lifts you up, of course, at 20 too, right? It's healthy to have, and it's healthy to have friends too. I'm not saying one has to be cloistered. It's good to have some kind of a breather too and people with whom you can discuss even the crazy things too, or bad, and having a girlfriend or having a boyfriend, all of that is very, very useful, but being surrounded by people who are going to add to you and not people who are going to subtract from you.
I have a doubt from my point of view. I don't know if that's happening to me because of the world I surround myself with or if the world is really changing, but I feel and see in the world and around me, and especially in Colombia, that traditional families are not even... people don't want to get married anymore, they don't want to have a partner; you see a lot of these infidelities now and it's even normalized. I don't know if it's happening in my world or if really in the normal world everything is working the way it always has, right? I think it's like that everywhere.
Yes, yes, I think it's like that everywhere. Everyone will have their reasons for choosing and their vision for choosing what is best for their life. I think there is freedom there.
Question one about. Does Nu have a maintenance fee? Can a young person without fixed income use it and save?
Zero maintenance fees. Anyone can open an account, get a debit card, and can open a credit card.
Anyone of legal age can open an account.
Really, right? And, I mean, it just asks you for documentation.
