Businessman and entrepreneur Tiago Godoi has made a name for himself in the world of finance and technology by exploring the uses of generative AI in both industries. Godoi came from humble beginnings but has carved out a space for himself in the cutthroat tech industry with many years of hard work and a genuine passion for business, technology, and innovation.
A serial entrepreneur, Godoi has launched several successful applications and businesses in addition to working for some of the world’s most prestigious banks, consulting firms, and telecom companies. And the wealth of knowledge and experience he has accumulated makes him an important and exciting figure in the tech and finance industries.
Early Life and Education
Godoi grew up in Brazil, where he dreamed of becoming a renowned engineer from an early age. He was always fascinated by the way things worked and recalls reading manuals to fix combustion engines when he was just twelve. He discovered software development in his mid-teens and quickly learned that he had a passion and natural acumen for the subject.
At the time, Godoi’s family was experiencing tough times financially, so he started selling his first software projects to market research companies. This experience led him to the realization that, with the right education, he could turn his passion and natural affinity toward technology into a prosperous career.
He began his higher education at Universidade de São Paulo, the highest-ranked university in Brazil, and graduated with a degree in business administration before going on to earn a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, one of the top business schools in the United States.
Career Beginnings
Godoi landed a position at one of the world’s most prestigious strategic consulting companies, McKinsey & Co., directly out of business school. McKinsey & Co.’s interview process was notoriously challenging at the time, and Business Insider named it the most difficult job interview to navigate in 2012. Successfully completing this interview and being hired by such a prestigious company was a real turning point for Godoi, and the moment he realized he could truly achieve his dream of becoming a top innovator in his industry.
Godoi spent four years at McKinsey & Co., where he gained invaluable experience consulting for some of the world’s largest banks, airlines, and telecommunication companies, and also won first place in the company’s global innovation competition with an initiative that helped city planners allocate resources using big data.
Godoi left McKinsey & Co. to pursue a position at an even more well-known company, Meta, where he served as the head of sales strategy for large corporations. He later became the head of Mercado Pago, the digital wallet for the third-largest digital bank in Brazil, which boasts 48 million customers.
After successfully navigating these intense positions and with years of experience under his belt, Godoi felt that it was time to strike out on his own. He still dreamed of being an entrepreneur and starting his own business, so he used his years of accumulated knowledge to begin his time as a business owner and innovator.
Entrepreneurship and Success
Godoi has since gone on to start several successful companies, including SportToGo, an innovative solution that provides commuters who ride bicycles with automated shower cabins. The business received a massive amount of mainstream media attention and put Godoi on the world’s radar as an inventive entrepreneur.
Godoi also launched Saxperto in 2020, which offered money withdrawal through a network of small retail stores for digital wallet customers. After being accelerated by the Brazilian Central Bank program called LIFT, the concept was adopted in partnership with the QR code money transfer platform PIX, which is now called Saque PIX. The technology is still used today.
Godoi is most proud of his current venture, U-Get, a smart vending machine manufacturer that uses patented technology with IoT, computer vision, and a facial recognition platform. Godoi was very hands-on with U-Get, guiding the project from conception to prototype, implementation, and growth. He and his team pitched the project to Coca-Cola, and the company loved it and started a successful pilot in Brazil in 2021. U-Get created 40 job opportunities, has filed patents in the United States and Brazil, and has had over 33,000 customers (across six states in Brazil).
Godoi’s Future Plans
U-Get is still going strong and represents a huge personal triumph for Godoi. Throughout his illustrious career as a serial entrepreneur, Godoi has also acted as a consultant to the telecom industry by helping businesses apply generative AI to transcribe calls and generate business insights and content creation. Godoi is passionate about encouraging the use of generative AI and seeks to do so in his consulting work and through his technological innovations. He sees himself continuing to grow U-Get while advocating for the best implementation of AI in the telecommunication industry.
Tiago Godoi represents a new type of businessman. He understands the fundamentals of several different industries, allowing him to combine technology, finance, marketing, and telecommunications in his innovations. Godoi has already made a significant impact on the tech and finance industries, and the future promises many more exciting inventions to come.
