11.06.2020

Beacon Teen Talks: Benchimol talks about conscious entrepreneurship

CEO and founder of XP Inc., Guilherme Benchimol was the guest of the third edition of Beacon Teen Talks, a chat that is part of the Beacon Talks Lives initiative, with its major focus on teenagers.

During the virtual meeting, Benchimol talked about his career, how he overcame challenges of entrepreneurship, which skills he believes are essential for the professional of the future, the importance of understanding a company’s organizational culture, and meritocracy.

The talk also addressed the importance of solidarity and conscious capitalism nowadays with the new coronavirus pandemic. Guilherme thinks that the concept of conscious capitalism is to have a purpose, besides being successful and making money. “It is to realize how we can do more and impact society in some way, and it is this willingness to contribute that will develop increasingly qualified companies and professionals in the future.”

During the chat with director Maria Eduarda Sawaya, the XP founder answered questions from spectators and explained how family, school and sport influence teenagers to be resilient and supportive. He also explained why he considers to be fundamental for parents to start training their children, from an early age, on the importance of achieving something by their own effort, the value of money and frustration.

Graduated in Economics from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Benchimol’s history of overcoming and entrepreneurship is a reference for many people. When he was only 24 years old, he was fired from a brokerage company and, looking for financial independence, he used his savings and together with a friend they founded the XP Inc., which is currently considered one of the most important brokerage companies in the country.

For him, an entrepreneurial spirit is to be the protagonist of your own life, to believe in yourself and to have courage. “At XP, our organizational culture is formed by three strands: big dream, open mind and entrepreneurial spirit.”

About entrepreneurship being something you learn, Benchimol said that schools should explore this theme more and more. He also highlighted the importance that the sport had in his life, since the practice teaches determination, learning from mistakes and valuing our achievements.

As an advice for young people who are going to enter the job market, Benchimol is categorical: “you must have grit and be willing to learn more and more and chase what you want”. Another factor that he considers essential is knowing Math, as it helps to measure the risks of any action we take.

Furthermore, having to identify with the organizational culture of the company you work for is essential to be happy with your job. If the organizational culture does not match with who you are and your values, the frustration is certain.

Finally, the executive spoke about the complexity of approaching meritocracy and its concepts, but teenagers must understand frustration and how this feeling is part of our lives. He affirms, once again, that success comes only if we always do our best.

“If you become an entrepreneur without learning how to inspire people, you don’t get anywhere”, adds Benchimol.

You can follow the entire Live video here.