David Vélez was born in 1982 in Medellín, Colombia’s second largest city. In the 90s, when he was just 9 years old, he and his family moved to Costa Rica to escape drug cartels violence.

David’s father had eleven brothers and sisters, each of whom ran their own business. This instilled in him an early interest in entrepreneurship and becoming his own boss. When he arrived in Costa Rica, David used his savings to buy a cow, which he then turned into a herd. As a teenager, he went to Germany to study mathematics. On his return, he sold his cow herd and used the money to study engineering at the prestigious Stanford University in the USA. 
After graduating in 2005, David began his career on financial markets as an analyst at Goldman Sachs. He continued his career as an analyst at Morgan Stanley until 2007.

In 2010, he embarked on an MBA at Stanford.

A year later, Sequoia Capitals, the venture capital firm, hired him to head up investments in Sao Paulo. But  idea that changed his life came to him after opening an account in a Brazilian bank. The bureaucracy, time spent, law level of service and, above all, big amount of fees charged, made him realize that a new model was needed within the banking sector. 
In 2013, he teamed up with Cristina Junqueira (formerly at Itau Bank) and American Edward Wible to launch Nubank, an online bank that would eliminate all the bureaucracy and high fees of traditional banks. Thanks to his personal finances and the help of friends and colleagues at Sequoia, he managed to raise $1 million to get his company off the ground. More than one person doubted his project. Many considered his ideal impossible, as he was up against banking sector, one of the most powerful on earth. The context was favorable, however, as a corruption scandal shook the country.
Nubank is starting to offer bank cards, a traditional product which, in the normal banking environment, can take up to 2 months to obtain. With Nubank, experience takes just a few minutes. David Vélez’s company now offers a rewards program, bank accounts and consumer credit services. First objective was to reach 1M users in 5 years, which has been well exceeded. Much to their surprise, they achieved this in just 24 months. Company has grown rapidly, particularly among young people thanks to a digital-focused service, no management fees and interest rates below the average for the country’s region.
To develop, David Vélez has focused on four pillars. First, technology. David Vélez develops applications and innovations in-house, which is a real competitive advantage. Second, simplicity, the essence of Nubank. Everything is done to make it easy to use. The customer experience is also essential: the bank does not limit itself to office hours to respond to its customers, and it is unthinkable for David that his customers feel ignored. Finally, Colombia is ahead of the game in terms of information, so David draws inspiration from it for his business, with data science, which he uses and makes the most of.
Covid pandemic turned out to be a good thing for Nubank. Indeed, the idea of putting one’s money in an online bank could have been a disincentive for users. However, the pandemic forced them to change their habits, as all banks were closed.

In December 2021, the company was floated on Wall Street and raised $2.5M, becoming the world’s largest independent digital bank.

Today, Nubank has over 48M users with a single branch: Nubank app on smartphone. Nu Bank is now the world’s largest digital banking platform.
With a personal fortune of over $6 billion, Mr. Vélez signed the « Giving Pledge » and promised to donate the bulk of his immense fortune to help solve social problems.