Welcome to Season 4 of The J Curve with me, Olga Maslikhova.

This week, I sit down with Caetano Lacerda and Raphael Dyxklay, co-founders of Brazilian fintech Barte, which is transforming the payments and working capital landscape for mid-to-large companies.

Barte’s journey is a masterclass in efficient growth: from zero to $10M ARR in less than two years on just $1.5M of burn—and then growing sustainably to $20M ARR. Along the way, they’ve pioneered a build-in-public strategy that attracts customers, builds trust, and fosters engagement. They’ve also developed sharp insights into segmenting by use case rather than industry, prioritizing speed and first-principles thinking, and leveraging customer feedback to scale efficiently—insights that have become part of their DNA and that they generously share in this conversation.

Here’s what we cover:

• What founders need to know about horizontal vs. vertical strategies in B2B

• Why building in public is more than a marketing tactic—it’s a B2B growth engine

• How to find product-market fit in fragmented, high-friction industries

• What Brazilian complexity taught Barte about opportunity and execution

• Lessons in prioritizing product bets when everything feels urgent

This episode is the second in a special three-part series brought to you by AWS.

AWS has become a key growth partner for Latin America’s startup ecosystem—helping founders scale from idea to IPO with world-class cloud infrastructure, local expertise, and a global support network. We’re incredibly happy to partner with them.

For founders and investors who see Latin America’s friction as an opportunity—and fintech as the future—this conversation is a must-listen.

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