The Peel with Turner Novak Building the $3B API That Didn’t Exist, Europe’s Regulation Problem | Marcelo Lebre, Co-founder of Remote
Jan 15, 2026
Marcelo Lebre, Co-founder and President of Remote, shares his journey in revolutionizing global payroll. He dives into the complexities of payroll automation, revealing why many still cling to outdated spreadsheet systems. The conversation highlights the challenges of navigating European regulations and how Remote addresses them. Marcelo recounts the lessons learned from launching Remote during the pandemic and offers insights on managing distributed teams. His story includes eight failed startup attempts, culminating in the creation of the $3B API that changed the industry.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Payroll Is Exponentially Complex Globally
- Global payroll requires owning legal entities and deep country-specific tax, payroll, and legal knowledge that changes frequently.
- Marcelo says this complexity makes an end-to-end global payroll product rare and capital-intensive to build.
Most Workers Are Edge Cases For Governments
- Many payroll rules are additive and create edge cases that compound into exponential complexity.
- Marcelo estimates roughly 70% of people are "edge cases" that demand expert interpretation and underwriting.
Document Everything By Default
- Document every operational rule and process by default so knowledge becomes reusable and automatable.
- Marcelo used exhaustive documentation to unlock AI and product automation across countries.
