Ideas worth spreading

How to discover your business's competitive advantage

21,728 views |

Cristina Junqueira and Elena Crescia |

TED@BCG

• September 2022

What does it take to start something as big as a bank from scratch? Social entrepreneur Cristina Junqueira did just that when she cofounded Nubank in her native Brazil, identifying the challenges people faced at traditional banks (like long lines and wait times) as an opportunity to take a different approach. It's a lesson on how listening to "customer pain" can turn into your competitive advantage -- and even disrupt a stagnant industry in need of improvement. (This conversation is hosted by TEDxSãoPaulo organizer and curator Elena Crescia.)

What does it take to start something as big as a bank from scratch? Social entrepreneur Cristina Junqueira did just that when she cofounded Nubank in her native Brazil, identifying the challenges people faced at traditional banks (like long lines and wait times) as an opportunity to take a different approach. It's a lesson on how listening to "customer pain" can turn into your competitive advantage -- and even disrupt a stagnant industry in need of improvement. (This conversation is hosted by TEDxSãoPaulo organizer and curator Elena Crescia.)

Learn more about Nubank

About the speakers

Cristina Junqueira

Cristina Junqueira

Social entrepreneur

See speaker profile

Cristina Junqueira has helped redefine how Brazilians access their money and participate in commerce.

Elena Crescia

Licensee and curator, TEDxSaoPaulo

Elena Crescia is the curator and organizer of TEDxJardins and TEDxSaoPaulo events and a TED Translator since 2010. She is a firm believer in the power of ideas to change lives and make the world a better place.

Clayton M. Christensen | Harper Business, 2012 | Book

How Will You Measure Your Life?

Clayton M. Christensen wrote this book right after being diagnosed with cancer. He makes a great reflection about life and how we think so much about career, but we don't take the same principles and apply them to our lives as a whole. It helped me a lot before founding Nubank, when I was reflecting on the impact I wanted to bring to the world.

Robert Iger | Random House, 2019 | Book

The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company

This book features several lessons Robert Iger learned during his time as CEO of Disney. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a big Disney fan, and I've even applied many of its values to Nubank's culture, so I highly recommend reading and getting to know some stories about the company's backstage.

About TED Institute

Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas. The culmination is an event produced, recorded, and hosted by TED, generating a growing library of valuable TED Talks that can spur innovation and transform organizations.

Read more about the TED Institute

Learn more about Nubank