Finding Their Second Act

Before they built Mercê do Bairro together, Diego Libanio and Guilherme Bonifácio had individually achieved immense success. Libanio co-founded Zé Delivery, the home delivery service arm of AmBev that saw explosive growth during the pandemic. Bonifácio co-founded a delivery platform, iFood, which became one of the first unicorns in Latin America and has 80% of the food delivery market share in Brazil. As the two companies scaled, both founders missed being on the ground and wanted to build again from scratch. So how did these seasoned entrepreneurs decide what to do next?

“A startup is all-consuming,” Libanio acknowledges. “I need to build something that will excite and motivate me when I wake up each day”

The first step was choosing the right venture. Libanio traveled to China and spoke with founders, advisors and high-level executives to understand solutions for emerging markets like Brazil. For three months, he conducted vigorous research and narrowed down his funnel to 300 ideas. (Libanio jokes about his massive Excel spreadsheet containing endless columns of criteria for each business opportunity, comparing market size, problem size, global trends and his knowledge of the field.)

Gradually, as the data fell into place, Libanio whittled down his list to 10 ideas, and the remaining questions became more introspective in scope. “A startup is all-consuming,” he acknowledges. “I need to build something that will excite and motivate me when I wake up each day.”

This left him with a final idea: A virtual retail chain that improves small grocery store revenue and efficiency by offering digital procurement, access to credit, inventory management and brand makeover.

The next step in Libanio’s process was choosing the right business partner. He was closing in on his ultimate idea when he met Bonifácio. They both had an operational track record, but choosing a co-founder is a consequential decision that requires immense synergy. Bonifácio fondly recalls when he and Libanio drew up separate lists of the company values their future startup should have. When they compared their lists, Bonifácio’s 10 values exactly matched Libanio’s. That parity in purpose is precisely what you should look for in your next co-founder, the duo says.

Choosing a co-founder is a consequential decision that requires immense synergy

That balance of data- and values-driven decision-making led to Mercê do Bairro and cemented a partnership with unlimited potential to bring capital to the region’s small shopkeepers.