The thesis
Financial infrastructure is being rebuilt from three directions at once: real-time payment rails, programmable money and AI that can underwrite, reconcile and advise. Each lowers the cost of building a financial product. Together, they reset what a small team can launch.
We know this ground. Joaquim co-founded a fintech consultancy that grew from 4 to 120 people in nine months, co-founded TrustSwap, a platform for escrow and capital formation, and was Chief of Staff at Secure Digital Markets as the team grew from 9 to 40. He is also a mentor, advisor and LP at Holt Xchange, and a mentor at Form Fintech Cadence.
The most interesting companies serve people the incumbents overlook: global freelancers, remote-first companies, small businesses and communities that banks never built for.
Themes
Cross-border payments, multi-currency treasury and embedded finance for global businesses.
Tools for raising, managing and trading capital, for issuers, investors and intermediaries.
Underwriting, reconciliation, compliance and advice automated with AI.
Products for the people and businesses traditional banks overlook.
Studio companies here
A fintech platform for escrow and capital formation that reached a $400M+ market cap, with users in 75+ countries.
20164→120 in 9 monthsA fintech consultancy scaled from 4 to 120 people in nine months with zero outside funding.
20209→40A licensed fintech platform. Grew the team from 9 to 40 and built HR and marketing from scratch.
What we look for
How the studio helps
Every service below comes from a role Joaquim has actually held. We picked the ones founders in this sector ask for most.
Fundraising readiness, investor mapping and warm introductions to angels, funds and family offices. Plus help structuring the round.
Experience · Backed 70+ companies as a founding partner of GDA Capital, including 2 seed-to-unicorn outcomes. Alpaca Network raised $1.2M in 2 weeks. LP at Holt Xchange.
Partnerships, corporate development and positioning: the relationships that open markets and doors.
Experience · Founding Partner of GDA Capital. Mentor and advisor at Techstars, Founder Institute, Outlier Ventures and FounderFuel.
Hiring plans, recruiting pipelines, onboarding and the HR foundations you need before you need them.
Experience · Scaled a fintech consultancy he co-founded from 4 to 120 employees in 9 months. Built the HR function at Secure Digital Markets as it grew from 9 to 40.
AI agents for prospecting, outreach, qualification and follow-up, wired into a clean CRM. Your pipeline keeps moving while the team sleeps.
Experience · Builds and runs AI lead-generation and outreach agents across his own companies.
Positioning, brand, messaging and a plan tied to revenue, from the first campaign to a full marketing function.
Experience · Led an 8-figure brand launch at L’Oréal Canada. CMO at TrustSwap. Youngest person ever on the Canadian Marketing Association’s Martech Council.
Leading your team through growth, reorganizations and new systems, including the human side of adopting AI.
Experience · COO through hypergrowth at a fintech consultancy he co-founded. Installed HR and marketing systems as Chief of Staff at Secure Digital Markets.
OKRs, meeting cadence, board reporting and the internal systems that give you your time back.
Experience · Chief of Staff at Secure Digital Markets (team of 9 to 40). Co-founder and COO of a fintech consultancy.
Regulated businesses scale differently. We have built teams and systems inside a regulated financial platform, and we know the capital and partner networks that follow.
Other sectors
Profitable, community-anchored businesses that we help grow with patient capital and modern tools.
02Robots and autonomous systems moving from the lab into the field, and the software that runs them.
03AI-driven discovery, lab automation and the platforms that make biology faster and cheaper to engineer.
04Automating the physical economy with AI, software and machines: manufacturing, logistics, construction and agriculture.
05The space economy after the launch revolution: data, communications, in-orbit services and the software that ties them together.
06Payments, settlement, real-world assets on digital rails, and the market infrastructure and compliance that institutions rely on.
07AI agents, applied AI and agentic autonomous organizations (AAOs): companies where humans and AI agents share the work under one rulebook.
Work with the studio
Tell us what you’re building and what you need. We read every application, and every founder gets an answer.
