The WhatsApp MVP that became a $200M exit - w Caique Carvalho (ex-Gringo)

Most unicorns never leave the stable. We celebrate billion-dollar valuations on paper like they’re cash exits—but in Latin America, the real wins are different. The true backbone of the region’s startup ecosystem isn’t paper unicorns. It’s the strategic acquisitions that return capital, recycle talent, and prove you can actually build, scale, and exit here. Yet we give them almost no airtime compared to funding rounds. So earlier this year—months before Sem Parar, the Brazilian mobility giant owned by Corpay, a NYSE-listed payments company with a market cap of over $20 billion, acquired Gringo, a super app for drivers, for about $200 million—I sat down with Caique (Kai) Carvalho, Gringo’s co-founder and former Chief Product Officer. We talked about what really matters when building a consumer-tech company: The hard lessons behind two failed startups—and how they shaped Kai’s approach to product-market fit. The principles of great UX—why listening to customers isn’t enough, and how design clarity turned Gringo into one of Brazil’s most-loved consumer apps. The 80/20 rule of growth—why mastering one acquisition channel drove most of Gringo’s traction. The business-model decisions that turned a WhatsApp MVP into a platform processing billions of reais in transactions every year. The art of building a cap table—how Gringo brought in investors like Kaszek, VEF, and Valor Capital for their complementary strengths. The culture principles that helped the team scale without losing its startup DNA. Join The J Curve Community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠: Weekly deep dives into LATAM's hottest deals, emerging trends, and market intelligence ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠: Daily market insights and exclusive founder updates ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠: Behind-the-scenes podcast moments and quick industry takes ⁠⁠⁠⁠Hit subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠ and share this episode with fellow entrepreneurs and investors