After fundraising US$3 million, Noh relied on Trace’s expertise to bring the round to Brazil. Ana Zucato, CEO of the startup, explains how our team simplified the process by localizing the round in record time and how our specialized support made it easier for the company. Learn more!
Noh is a pioneering fintech company in Brazil that has developed a shared card for couples who split their daily expenses: “It’s the first social fintech here in Brazil, social in the sense that we bring people together to make a financial movement,” explains Ana Zucato, CEO of Noh.
In 2021, with the product prototype in hand, the startup’s founders decided to seek funding in the United States, which began in August and was completed in October when Noh received a seed round of US$3 million.
To start the process, it was necessary to set up a legal structure in the United States, with a company in Delaware and a holding company in the Cayman Islands, as well as opening an account at an international bank, a slow, bureaucratic process that can take months to complete. In Noh’s case, it took two months for everything to be ready and the round to be concluded.
With the complete structure and the fundraising done, the next step was to bring the money to Brazil. To help with the international transfer process, Ana sought out a company and that’s when she met Trace: “I went to the website, but I had a problem and couldn’t complete my registration. That’s when the team contacted me, just minutes later. The agility caught my attention!”
How the fundraising was brought to Brazil
When choosing the company to bring in the fundraising, Ana says her main concerns were about the fees and the security of the process. At Trace, in addition to offering the best market rate, we have a team of FX specialists responsible for taking care of the process and ensuring the success of the operations.
Noh brought in the fundraising for the first time in November 2021, “We decided to bring in the money as needed. Our goal was to build the company, so first we focused on hiring and equipment for the team,” shares Ana.
She talks about the importance of having partners who guide the process, which is not always familiar to startup founders. “I didn’t know how to locate the round, how much to bring in, or about the bureaucratic part of RDE, IED, etc. I remember the Trace team telling me, we’ll take care of it for you.”
For Ana, what stood out was “the care and attention they had with my service. Trace literally did everything for me.”
The experience with foreign banks also represented a challenge in the process, “I didn’t know how to use it and the experience was bad. At that moment, the Trace team guided me on what to do: click here, then there,” she says. “I was very happy to have raised funds, the money was going to arrive, but I said, I don’t want to deal with this. And when I saw it, the Trace team was taking care of everything.”
The Trace team is prepared to take care of the whole process for the customer: we make the international transfer in up to one day and we also take care of the paralegal services, so that the startup is able to use the funds raised as soon as they arrive in Brazil.
Tips for leaders and founders
Ana shares some tips for leaders and founders who will still go through the fundraising process. First, she recommends being careful with market fluctuations: “In the urgency for fundraising, the startup may end up making a bad negotiation, so you have to be very careful.”
To entrepreneurs who are going to raise funds abroad, the tip is to have all documentation and structure organized: “If you are going for an international format, to open a company in Cayman, Delaware, start now so that at the time of raising funds you only receive the money. Because I did it and I think it would have been very frustrating to start the process later.”
To conclude, Ana advises: “Work with people who will help you, who will facilitate work that is not your area of expertise. You are building a company, you have to focus on that, only that!”
Trace offers financial solutions for startups seeking investors beyond the borders of Brazil and Latin America. Learn how we can contribute to the growth of your company, click here!
