Big ideas from the conversation with Alexandre Zolko, founder at $400M customer loyalty platform CRM&Bonus: raising $80m Series B led by BOND, customer driven innovations and ownership mentality

Brazil is by far the largest market for loyalty programs in Latin America, followed by Mexico and Argentina. An astonishing 81% of Brazilians—that’s roughly 174 million people—are participants in some type of loyalty program. In 2023, the Brazilian loyalty market was estimated at ~$5b and is demonstrating a robust annual growth rate exceeding 13%.

Companies in Brazil that have committed to ongoing and well-structured loyalty programs experience a remarkable result: they engage in six times more interactions—both transactional and relational—with their top customers. This statistic highlights the undeniable power of loyalty initiatives in enhancing customer relationships and driving business growth.

Interestingly, a significant 41.1% of Brazilian consumers express a strong preference for cash-back rewards from their favored brands. This brings us to the fascinating journey of CRM Bonus, currently the leading customer loyalty platform in Brazil. Founded in 2018 by Alexandre Zolko, CRM Bonus began its life as an internal tool aimed at boosting sales in his family’s chain of retail stores. Recognizing its potential, Alexandre later expanded the platform to serve the broader market and launched a suite of new products, dramatically expanding CRM Bonus’s total addressable market (TAM) in Brazil. This move not only diversified their revenue streams but also positioned them to tap into sectors previously dominated by tech giants like Meta and Google—a whopping $10 billion-a-year opportunity. 🚀

I was incredibly inspired by many aspects of CRM Bonus and Alexandre's journey during our conversation. Here are a few highlights:

💥 CRM Bonus is Alexandre's 8th venture that achieved profitability just 3 months post-launch and bootstrapped for 3 years before securing a substantial ~$56M Series A from giants like Riverwood Capital and SoftBank

🎙Our interview was Alexandre’s first ever interview in English and he completely crushed it

💸 CRM Bonus was the inaugural investment of Mary Meeker’s venture firm, BOND in Latin America. Mary, known for her tenure co-leading Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund and investments in Pinterest, Airbnb, Waze, Spotify, and Meta/Facebook, led an $80M Series B in CRM Bonus.

🚀Amidst a market downturn, CRM Bonus stands out as one of the few growth-stage tech companies to secure follow-on capital at a valuation 2.2x higher than its previous round.

The five big ideas from our conversation with Alexandre are 👇🏻

1️⃣ Focus is Key
From his own experience, Alexandre highlights the danger of diluting efforts across multiple ventures. A concentrated focus on one business at a time is crucial to effectively grow and manage a startup

2️⃣ Foster Ownership Mentality
Emphasizing the ownership mentality among team members can drive commitment and performance, ensuring that employees treat the business as their own

3️⃣ Embrace Customer-Centric Innovation
CRM Bonus's success is largely due to its ability to innovate based on specific customer needs, enhancing loyalty by offering tailored rewards that encourage repeat business

4️⃣ Stay Adaptable
Alexandre stresses the importance of adaptability and humility in leadership. Recognizing mistakes, being open to change, and adapting strategies are essential traits that can steer a startup through volatile phases towards success

5️⃣ Build with Purpose
Alexandre advises founders to build their companies with both profitability and purpose in mind. This approach not only ensures the business can thrive independently and sustainably but also prepares it for potential sale and fundraising

Alexandre’s book recommendation is Walt Disney: The Biography by Neal Gabler

You can watch the full interview with Alexandre on Youtube 👀👇🏻

Or listen / watch the episode on Spotify 🎧

Before you go, here’s some content that I’ve been exploring this week:

The Diary of a CEO with Adam Grant - super interesting take on the downsides of hiring based on cultural fit

Art of Investing with Mitch Rales, the co-founder of Danaher and one of the best long-term investors in the world - This conversation challenged my views on the traditional venture capital model and spurred deep reflections on the future of platforms and venture capital

20VC with Jason Lemkin - great listen for enterprise software founders and those interested in the future of VC and tech

Jeff Bezos on writing well

The art of learning by Josh Waitzkin - an amazing book for those who want to get really good at learning

Thanks for reading,

Olga