#102 - Lessons from Amazon and high-performance cultures: Alex Szapiro, Softbank

Alex Szapiro is a veteran when it comes to working with tech in Brazil. He was part of the early Submarino team and served as the country manager for Palm, Apple and Amazon, where he helped bring its operation to the country and stayed for over 8 years of incredible growth.

In April 2021, he left Amazon for Softbank, where he's now Head of Brazil and an Operating Partner. And it's an intense time for that position too, because Softbank is investing heavily in Latin America and especially in Brazil: the Softbank LATAM fund began with US$ 5 billion in 2019 and added another US$ 3 billion to it two years later.

Softbank is now investing in early stage, growth and digital transformation in the region and has many unicorns in its 60+ company portfolio, like Rappi, Quinto Andar, Gympass, Loft and MadeiraMadeira.

Alex and I talk about:

• How startup investing has changed in Latin America over the years;
• The importance of talent management;
• How Softbank makes choices now while thinking in the (very) long term.

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