How They Hire: David Vélez, Founder & CEO of Nubank
Every week, we highlight a top founder's hiring playbook.
In Sequoia Capital’s podcast, David Vélez shared insights on his passion for social impact, his commitment to seeking continuous challenges, and how reimagining the banking system shaped his hiring strategy:
We had a very clear view that we wanted to build a culture of missionaries, not mercenaries... We hire very smart people and we give them a lot of context of what they need to do, what are the problems we're trying to solve for customers... and then we let them run. We let them basically make their own decisions. We trust them.
David Vélez, Founder & CEO of Nubank
David Vélez built Nubank by challenging the entrenched, high-fee banking system in Latin America. This required assembling a team of "missionaries, not mercenaries".
His hiring philosophy centers on finding exceptionally talented people who are driven by a strong sense of purpose and a desire to challenge the banking status quo.
To assess this, Vélez tests whether candidates can make independent decisions and move quickly to solve customer problems. He’s less interested in a "correct" answer and more interested in how a candidate thinks.
Nubank also runs a “Bar Raiser” programme, adapted from Amazon. Bar Raisers are trained interviewers from outside the hiring team who assess whether a candidate raises the company’s talent and cultural bar. They can veto hires to protect long-term talent quality over short-term needs.
In short, Vélez believes that when you hire talent who are passionate about the mission, you don't need to micromanage them with extensive rules or processes.