Fintech Nubank acqui-hires Plataformatec and its team of engineers

Contxto – Traditional Brazilian banks are scurrying to acquire fintechs and stay relevant in the digital era. But neobanks and challenger banks are also looking into making purchases of their own, and the latest to do so is Nubank.

This week, the fintech announced it had acquired its first company, Plataformatec. Nubank wanted this Brazilian consulting company because it wanted to tap into its pool of talented engineers and developers. Not to mention its insights on agile methodologies.

This type of strategic acquisition is commonly referred to as acqui-hiring.

A smart purchase

Brazilian Plataformatec is a consulting firm specializing in startups and their digital products that’s been around since 2009. This company also has some serious skills in developing and deploying workflow methodologies.

Plataformatec and Nubank initiated contact when the former began providing services for the latter. And apparently, Plataformatec helped the unicorn’s productivity so much that Nubank was all…

Plataformatec had already worked with other big names before Nubank came along to buy them out. Do Creditas and Pipefy ring a bell?

Anyway, Marcelo Park, Plataformatec’s CEO also reported that various companies had shown interest in buying them out. Nonetheless, Plataformatec and Nubank shared culture chemistry and that’s what drove the consulting firm to say, “I do.”

“Of all the companies interested in acquiring Plataformatec, we shared the most values with Nubank. [They’re] always striving for the best outcomes, challenging what’s established and working collaboratively and respectfully. [These] are all deeply rooted traits at Plataformatec and Nubank.”

And I gotta hand it to him, in life and in business, chemistry is key.

Acquiring talent to grow

The Brazilian digital bank is reportedly growing at a rate of 50,000 new customers every day. 

And in order to sustain this speed and size, businesses need big teams. But as anyone who works in software development can tell you, it gets incredibly messy keeping tabs on tasks when there’s no clear-cut process.

As a result, it’s fairly logical to me that Nubank is highly invested in pouring resources into ensuring its teams operate as efficiently as possible.

And acqui-hiring Plataformatec’s methodology know-how is a step in that direction.

-ML