Fernando Gouveia

Founder & Managing Partner

2022 - Current

Compa is a $20 million venture fund dedicated to the founders and builders empowering us to own a piece of the internet. As a solo GP there are 4 themes I'm exploring: Token-based companies - Companies can now be owned by its users and customers through tokens and NFTs. This redefines what it means to start, manage and scale a business. The fund will focus on projects planning to use these new business models to recruit new teammates and incentivize the use of their products. Global and emerging market focus - While web3 is global we are yet to see products and services that empower individuals in emerging markets with new ways to work, play and earn a living through activities they enjoy. The fund will actively search for founding teams with either an international or immigrant background and those building products that will help onboard billions of people in international markets to web3. Pipes and tunnels - While cultivating communities is a pillar of web3, we are still in the process of building the core infrastructure that will empower founders to create experiences currently impossible in Web2. I'll focus on tools that extract value and insights from Ethereum’s protocol and enhance the possibilities of what can be done with various types of roll-ups on Layer 2s. Fluid structure - Web3 is disrupting venture capital by giving us new ways to find and fund projects. Thanks to my investors, Compa operates as a hybrid venture and hedge fund with a flexible mandate that allows it to adapt and explore what it means to grow a venture firm in a web3 world.

Founder & CEO

2020 - 2022

Clever Credit enables Shopify merchants of all sizes to issue co-branded credit cards to their customers for free. We do this by operating a single credit card program on behalf of all our partners and branding the app based on the merchant that referred the cardholder. Clever Credit offloads the need for brands to deal with banks, create risk/underwriting models and fund these programs, among many other things. Cardholders have the benefit of signing up once and receiving access to the loyalty programs of all participating brands. Want to learn more? Check out our demo: https://www.figma.com/proto/qR3RtfpKkXxmJxpiE4Oeik/Clever-Credit---Prototype?node-id=5%3A70&scaling=scale-down

Head of Business Development

2014 - 2020

Led product and crypto partnerships at Xapo. Oversaw a remote and global team of 17 developers, designers and analysts across 9 time zones. Some of the products I managed and launched include: * World's first Bitcoin debit card (launched March 2014, now available in 90+ countries) * XapoWorld, a mobile game app store that paid users in bitcoin (built 18 games across iOS and Android, 1000+ BTC awarded) * Client services desk which served some of the largest individual and institutional Bitcoin holders (sold to Coinbase for $55MM in 2019) * P2P cash network for users in emerging markets to exchange fiat for crypto (launched in Xapo's top 10 markets) * Bitcoin tipping in Taringa (LATAM's version of Reddit with 30MM MAU, +US$100MM given to creators) * Cold storage insurance from 4 of the best insurers in the world (A.M. rating of A or better) * Rewards and loyalty program that awarded BTC, merchant discounts and perks for using our services

Founder & Managing Partner

2014 - 2015

Created a startup accelerator with Abril, the largest media conglomerate in Brazil, to co-invest and help top Brazilian startups.

Director Business Development

2010 - 2014

* Responsible for Plug and Play's international expansion in select markets in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia * Supporting CEO and VP of International Operations in developing overall partnership strategy and expansion activities * Negotiating partnership terms, conditions and renewals * Managing Plug and Play's Accelerator in Silicon Valley which receives 25-30 handpicked international startups every 3 months * Conducting due diligence on potential international startup investments * Managing startup sourcing and Plug and Play representative teams in Mexico, Poland, Korea * Traveling with startup mentors and investors every 2-3 months to select promising high tech startups to bring to Silicon Valley * Helping relevant startups with business development and fundraising in Silicon Valley and globally * Matchmaking mentors/advisors and startups throughout acceleration program * Startup and business plan competition judge in 15+ countries I've worked with startups from the following countries: China, France, Brazil, Russia, Canada, Australia, Spain, Mexico, South Korea, Belgium, Poland, Argentina, Austria, Colombia, Greece, Singapore, Chile, Portugal, Czech Republic, Romania, New Zealand, Slovakia, Luxembourg

Analyst

2009 - 2009

Retail Banking

2008 - 2008

Helped obtain a license to manage Chinese Yuan for high net worth clients. This all went down during a major Chinese boycott for French products (due to an altercation while the Beijing olympic torch passed through Paris).