Spreadsheets and projections no longer enchant investors, allowing digital companies that master performance marketing and data to reach another level of valuation. This is exactly the path Matheus Beirão followed when founding Queima Diária, a digital health and wellness platform that has already generated over R$ 500 million in revenue without resorting to external capital.
Beirão led the company's growth with a rare approach in Brazil: a bootstrap model, where every real invested was supported by real results. "While many talked about valuation and funding rounds, we focused on CAC, LTV, and churn. We always knew how much a customer cost, how much they left, and how to keep that equation healthy for years," he says.
Predictable growth is the new ROI.
According to research by the Brazilian Association of Startups (Abstartups), approximately 64% of angel investors and early-stage funds consider the marketing model more relevant than current revenue when analyzing a business. Although Beirão has never sought external funding, he observes that the interest of large groups in digital companies is increasingly linked to the solidity of acquisition strategies.
“Investors or strategic buyers want to see traction, not promises. Having a performance marketing strategy, based on real conversion and retention data, is worth more than any growth projection,” he points out.
Cases that sell more than projections
Presenting success stories — such as campaigns that generate conversion spikes, partnerships with influencers that resulted in new audiences, or the creation of a proprietary digital ecosystem — has been crucial in sparking the interest of potential buyers.
In the case of Queima Diária, the company also developed its technological structure internally, with applications for smart TVs, payment systems, and a data and analytics center. It was this set of elements that sparked SmartFit's interest in 2020 in acquiring a significant stake in the company. “What happened was a transaction where they bought part of the company directly from me, as an individual. It wasn't an investment in the company, but rather a strategic acquisition based on the potential and differentiation of our marketing engine,” explains Beirão.
A new manual for those building from scratch.
The deal with SmartFit marked a turning point in the infoproducts sector. "It showed that it's possible to build a profitable and attractive business for large players without depending on external capital, as long as you have a self-sustaining, data-driven growth system," emphasizes Beirão, who now works as an advisor and investor in companies interested in scaling efficiently.
For entrepreneurs building businesses using the bootstrap model, the message is clear: well-executed performance marketing, combined with data and consistency, can be better for the business than any investment round.
