Last week I sat down with Geraldo Thomaz, founder and co-CEO at e-commerce platform VTEX to talk about building enterprise sales, the transformative journey of a CEO leading a public company, and the critical need to maintain core fundamentals, even in the toughest times. Here are the five big ideas from that conversation 👇🏻 1️⃣ The foundation of high performing partnership is trust, complementarity, vision alignment and clear division of responsibilities Early in their partnership, Geraldo and Mariano made a strategic decision to clearly divide their responsibilities, with each having the final say in their respective areas. This reduced conflicts and expedited decision-making. By advising each other instead of competing for dominance, they enriched their decisions with diverse perspectives without causing friction 2️⃣ Staying true to core principles help weather economic downturns As the company grows and faces new challenges, maintaining core business fundamentals is critical. For VTEX, this meant staying true to their SaaS model, saying no the service component at the expense of short-term revenue gains, avoiding unnecessary customization and commitment to international expansion, despite financial constraints 3️⃣ To succeed in enterprise sales, target enterprise clients early Transitioning from low-end clients to enterprise is often challenging and less likely to succeed. Another important aspect is to establish and maintain the perception of being an enterprise brand early on, as this attracts larger clients. VTEX benefited from being perceived as an enterprise brand due to their association with Walmart 4️⃣ The key challenges of becoming a public company CEO involve a significant shift in responsibilities and mindset As a public company CEO, clearly articulating the company's vision is paramount. It's also essential to recognize that stock price fluctuations can significantly impact employee morale, making it necessary to educate employees about the company's financial health and long-term strategy to maintain confidence. Additionally, public company employees may become more risk-averse, especially in turbulent market conditions. Reminding the team that taking calculated risks remains essential for growth and innovation is vital 5️⃣ Be ready to pivot your business model based on market demands and learnings VTEX's journey to becoming a global digital commerce powerhouse involved several strategic pivots. Initially starting as a textile marketplace, they soon shifted to an outsourcing firm building simple websites to generate revenue. They explored various business models, including a SaaS solution for salespeople and a CRM system. The major turning point came in 2008 when they focused on e-commerce, leveraging their expertise to secure Walmart as a client 🔗 to this week's newsletter with deeper insights 👇🏻 #thejcurvepodcast #entrepreneurship #leadership #vtex #vamoslatam #frombraziltotheworld
VTEX is incredible. And to become such a powerhouse NYSE traded company, they had to follow core principles from them beginning. It helped Geraldo and Mariano are close partners and they focused on enterprise clients, not on smb. I liked how he described all the changes he had to make to achieve their goal and also how he’s friendship with Mariano helped the company. Highly recommended
Link to the newsletter: https://blog.thejcurve.com/p/five-big-ideas-conversation-geraldo-thomaz-founder-coceo-nysetraded-ecommerce-platform-vtex-key-deci