Skip to content
David Vélez

Co-founder and chief executive of Nubank

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here
Now I try to protect one hour in the morning and one in the afternoon where I turn off Slack, and I don't check email. I might read, or write in a journal, or just go for a walk. It's become one of the most important parts of my day. It's when I'm most creative, and when I hit on ideas that can take the company in new directions.

questionnaire, Sequoia Capital, 15 August 2018 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 23 →
Václav Havel President of Czechoslovakia 1989–1992; President of the Czech Republic 1993–2003; playwright and dissident
The kind of hope I often think about (especially in situations that are particularly hopeless, such as prison) I understand above all as a state of mind, not a state of the world. Either we have hope within us, or we don't.
Recorded Karel Hvížďala, Interviews conducted 1985–1986, published in English 1990, Václav Havel Library Foundation (havelcenter.org), 1986 source ↗
Simone Biles United States artistic gymnast
Yes. Today has been really stressful. We had a workout this morning. It went okay. And then just that five and a half hour wait or something. I was just shaking, could barely nap. I've just never felt like this going into a competition before. And I tried to go out here and have fun. And warm up in the back went a little bit better. But then once I came out here, I was like, "No, mental is not there. So I just need to let the girls do it and focus on myself."
Recorded Post-competition press conference, Ariake Gymnastics Centre, Tokyo Olympics, Rev, 27 July 2021 source ↗
Chris Hoy British track cyclist, 1994–2013
The real problem is that the pain actually gets worse. You have created massive acidosis in your muscles so there is a huge quantity of hydrogen ions and the pH in your blood changes. For 15 minutes you lie there thinking, "God, this is really bad. I'm going to die. It has never been this bad before." And every time you think exactly the same thing. You have to lie to yourself by saying you're not doing a second set. Then, without moving for 15 minutes, almost to the second, I would roll over and think, "OK, I think I can do a second set now." During those sessions I have never felt more alive or so close to death.
Recorded Cyclist, 1 January 2018 source ↗
Jeanette Winterson Novelist and essayist
Never stop when you are stuck. You may not be able to solve the problem, but turn aside and write something else. Do not stop altogether.
Recorded The Guardian Review, 20 February 2010 source ↗

More from David Vélez

View profile →
Question Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them? Values & belief
Vicky, qué pregunta más difícil (risas). Voy a hablarle de los casos que nos han inspirado, como Charles Feeney, cofundador de los Duty Free Shop en los aeropuertos. Él hizo eso en los años ochenta. Se volvió uno de los hombres más ricos del mundo cuando vendió su compañía e inmediatamente se dedicó a la filantropía y gastó todo su dinero en metas sociales.
Recorded Vicky Dávila, interview, Semana, 1 October 2022 source ↗
Question What is the worst job you have ever had? Craft & work
Los diferentes trabajos en los que he estado, después de mi graduación, han sido de 100 y 120 horas a la semana, especialmente empezando con Nubank. Básicamente vivía en el lugar de trabajo. Empezamos la compañía en una casa de dos pisos. Mi cofundador vivía en el segundo piso. Yo básicamente dormía en el primer piso, o pasaba muchas noches en el primer piso. No salimos de esa casa por seis o 12 meses porque trabajábamos como locos.
Recorded Vicky Dávila, interview, Semana, 1 October 2022 source ↗

More on daily life

Also answered this

Winston Churchill, Ellie Simmonds, Simone Biles, Brian Eno, Neil Gaiman, Václav Havel

Search the directory for somebody in particular.

Explore further

Report this answer