#92 - Polishing an opportunity like a diamond: Stelleo Tolda, Mercado Libre

Mercado Libre began in a Buenos Aires garage in 1999, when online shopping was pretty much all about eBay auctions. Now the biggest company in Latin America, Meli is valued at over 50 billion dollars and active in 18 countries in the region.

Brazil is one of the main markets, with around 1.5 million packages delivered everyday, big investments in logistics, machine learning, hiring, and in its own fintech, Mercado Pago.

One of Meli's co-founders and our guest today is a Brazilian himself. Stelleo Tolda dedicated 22 years to the company, from those early days in Argentina to his 10 years as General Manager and then President of Commerce in Brazil. He recently left the day-to-day operations to become an advisor.

This episode is going to sound a bit different: it was recorded live as a session with our community of Latitud fellows.

In this session, Stelleo and I talk about:

• How tech has changed in the last two decades
• The vital turning points for the business
• How Mercado Libre seized new opportunities during the pandemic

Building something new? Apply for the Latitud Fellowship at apply.latitud.com

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