Building a Fintech in São Paulo’s Winter: What I Learned the Hard Way

I arrived in São Paulo in the middle of a gray winter, when the famous garoa hangs in the air like a soft curtain and the dry cold sneaks under your jacket. I carried a demo on my laptop, a letter from an incubator, and more courage than sense. What I didn’t have, yet, was a Brazilian bank account, a tax number, or the faintest idea how much of my life would be spent in line at cartórios. Still, I knew I was where I needed to be. If you’ve ever watched a street vendor scan a QR code as fast as any café in Berlin, you understand the electric pull of Brazil’s payments culture. This is where the future of money feels present.

The Visa (And Why I Didn’t Pick the Easy Route)

As a Portuguese citizen, I could have used the CPLP mobility agreement for a simpler residence permit. A few founders I met did that to get started. But because I needed to be an administrator of a Brazilian company, open corporate accounts, and engage with regulators, I opted for what people here loosely call the “startup visa”—technically a temporary residence tied to investment in an innovative Brazilian company. My incubator letter helped justify the “innovation” angle.

Here’s how it played out for me:

• Before arriving: I gathered apostilled documents in Lisbon—birth certificate, criminal record check, and company papers. The apostille step saved me later headaches at Brazilian notaries.
• Entry: I came in with the approved authorization and a list of appointments. Within 90 days, I registered at the Polícia Federal to get my CRNM (resident ID) and, crucially, the number that everyone asks for.
• CPF: If you remember nothing else, remember this—get your CPF early. It’s the tax ID you need for a SIM card, bank account, lease, literally everything. I applied at the Receita Federal and got it before opening a business bank account.
• Company setup: My lawyer and contador (accountant) were non-negotiable expenses. We registered the LTDA with the state Junta Comercial, obtained the CNPJ (company tax ID), then the municipal license. We also secured a digital certificate (e-CNPJ) for issuing invoices.

Regulations shift and sectors differ, but fintech is regulated here. We had early conversations with the Central Bank about our model and capital requirements and made peace with the fact that approvals take time. Brazil has a regulatory sandbox; even if you don’t get in, understanding what’s happening there helps frame your compliance strategy.

The São Paulo Tech Scene: WhatsApp Is Your Office

I’d pictured pitch decks and polite coffee meetings. What I found was WhatsApp voice notes at 7:32 a.m., meetups that turned into feijoada lunches, and an ecosystem that runs on speed and warmth. São Paulo’s tech hubs—Pinheiros, Vila Madalena, Paulista, Itaim—are dense with energy. I started at a coworking space near Faria Lima because we needed to be a few metro stops from the banks, partners, and older fintechs willing to mentor us.

Places that made a difference:

• Cubo Itaú and Inovabra Habitat for events where you learn as much in the hallway as on stage.
• ABFintechs meetups that demystified licensing, compliance, and the realities of integrating with PIX.
• Product and data meetups around Paulista where I met two of the engineers who later joined as contractors.

In winter, evenings draw in early and the city feels more introverted, but offices stay busy, and there’s something about hot cafézinho during a light drizzle that makes even hard conversations easier.

Bureaucracy: Bring Patience, Highlighters, and Snacks

Bureaucracy was my biggest culture shock, even as a Portuguese person used to paperwork. The cartório, for notarizations and certified copies, became a second home. The first time a clerk handed back a document because a single page lacked the right stamp, I nearly cried. The second time, I downloaded a checklist template and started walking in with a plastic folder of originals, certified copies, and translated, apostilled versions.

Three things saved us:

• A contador who speaks “startup.” He helped us navigate whether we fit into Simples (we didn’t, given our activity) and set up Nota Fiscal issuance correctly from day one.
• Early bank relationships. We opened a business account before we were fully ready to transact, just to ensure KYC and document flow were sorted.
• Saying “vamos marcar” and meaning it. You can get stuck in email threads for weeks. Phone calls or WhatsApp often cut through.

Language and Culture: Same Portuguese, Different Music

Brazilian Portuguese is close to ours, but not the same song. The first week, a partner asked me for “o seu Whats” and I searched for a contract clause, not my number. People address you with “você,” not “tu,” and saying “pois não” in shops still makes me smile. In business, warmth comes first, and then the paperwork. I learned that declining coffee can feel like declining connection. Take the coffee.

Culturally, the “jeitinho” is real—a flexible, creative way around problems. The trick is distinguishing helpful flexibility from risky shortcuts. For fintech, we drew hard lines around compliance and found other places to be flexible, like adjusting our product roadmap to align with PIX features people actually use daily.

Housing, Costs, and Healthcare: The Boring Stuff You Need to Know

I rushed my first apartment and learned three lessons:

• Listings rarely include furniture. My “ready-to-move-in” studio had a sink and a promise.
• Rent is only part of the cost. Condo fees and IPTU (property tax passed to tenants) are real. Ask for the total monthly amount.
• Get your CPF before attempting anything housing-related.

What I pay (one founder’s experience; your mileage will vary):

• Rent for a 1-bedroom in Pinheiros: R$5,200 + R$1,100 condo + IPTU about R$220/month.
• Utilities: R$350–600 (winter is dry, so I bought a humidifier).
• Mobile plan: R$80 with plenty of data (you’ll need your CPF to sign up).
• Coworking: R$900 for a hot desk; private rooms were R$3,500–6,000.

Healthcare: I registered for SUS for emergencies and got a private plan (Amil in my case) around R$650/month. There’s a waiting period (carência) for some services, so get it early. Most clinics offer telemedicine. Pharmacies are everywhere, and pharmacists are a reliable first stop for minor issues.

Safety: Practical, Not Paranoid

São Paulo taught me to be practical. I don’t walk with my phone out near the curb because moto theft happens. I use ride-hailing apps (Uber and 99) at night, especially when leaving events late. I favor neighborhoods with portaria (doormen) and well-lit streets. On Sundays when Paulista is closed to cars, it’s lovely and safe—but pickpockets enjoy a good stroll, too.

I bought a cheap backup phone, use a crossbody bag, and back up my laptop religiously. That balance—enjoy the city, don’t be naïve—keeps me sane.

Day-to-Day Life: Winter Routines and Comfort Food

Winter in São Paulo is mild but dry; my skin and sinuses complained. I learned to carry a water bottle and use saline spray like a local. Mornings start with pão de queijo and a short; lunches are “por quilo” buffets where my plate reveals how stressed I am by how much farofa it contains. Dinner might be sushi in Liberdade or a sandwich at a lanchonete if I worked too late.

Transport: I live near the yellow line of the metro and swear by the Bilhete Único card. Traffic is real; the rodízio (license plate rotation) is a thing. A metro at 8:30 a.m. is crowded but efficient, and often faster than a car. Within three weeks, I appreciated why so much of business happens on WhatsApp—latency in the city is time.

Seasonal bits I loved: Festa Junina lingers into July, and even in August people are still offering quentão and canjica at neighborhood events. Father’s Day in August had our team chatting about family rituals over brigadeiros. On cold Saturdays, feijoada with friends at a boteco is unbeatable.

Building the Team: Contracts, Contractors, and the CLT Dance

Hiring was a crash course in Brazilian labor realities. Many tech workers prefer PJ (contractor via their own company) for flexibility and tax reasons, while others want CLT (formal employment) with benefits like 13th salary and paid vacations. We started with a hybrid approach and built a benefits package even for contractors: health stipend, meal vouchers, and a learning budget. If you’re foreign, get local legal advice; compliance errors are expensive.

Salaries surprised me less than speed. Good engineers move fast here. We won two hires because we were decisive and human—quick feedback, transparent comp, and an offer call where I spoke honestly about risk.

The First Integration: When PIX Becomes Real

Our first big win wasn’t a fundraising round; it was pushing our first live PIX integration with a partner that trusted us. That morning, São Paulo was drizzling, my hair was rebelling, and our dev lead sent me a WhatsApp voice note: “Tá no ar.” It’s live.

A few hours later, a beta user paid a tiny invoice, and the notification hit my screen like a bell. It wasn’t about the amount. It was that the thing we’d imagined now existed in the world, on a winter afternoon in a city that had quickly become home.

Advice If You’re Considering the Same Path

• Choose your visa for your business model. The “startup/investor” route is paperwork-heavy but pays off if you need to manage a company and build deep banking relationships. Rules change—speak to a Brazilian immigration lawyer.
• Get CPF early, then CRNM, then CNPJ. Each unlocks the next door.
• Budget for a lawyer and contador. They are not optional for fintech.
• Learn WhatsApp etiquette. Voice notes are normal; fast replies mean respect.
• Don’t skip the cultural steps. Take the coffee, go to the meetup, show up on time even if others don’t.
• Prioritize safety like you prioritize backups—quietly, consistently.
• Winter is your friend for focus. Use the gray days to ship, and the street festivals to breathe.

If you’re reading this from a café far away, wondering if you can make it here: you can. It won’t be neat. Your fingerprints will be on every stamped page, your Portuguese will pick up a new rhythm, and your product will be better for the friction. The city gives as much as it asks, and on most days, that feels like a fair trade.

Best wishes from São Paulo,