climbers & scalers
Federico Eisner
This is the story of Mercado Libre told in first person by its protagonists, using their own professional AI cloned voices, with full authorizations. Escaladores combines two words when translating from Spanish to English – climbers and scalers. Climbers, because they climbed mountains of difficulties and prejudices and mountain ranges of impossibilities. And scalers, because they managed to scale their initial idea. climbers & scalers is the story of people who think they can. Reaching the summit is not only touching the top, but also enjoying competing in the most challenging league with the best in the world.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 15, 2025 • 15min
S1:E18 Stelleo Tolda: Preparing for Amazon's arrival in Brazil
Stelleo knew that one day Amazon would arrive, and sure enough, in 2012 they finally came to Brazil. Stelleo and the team had prepared. They studied every case of Amazon’s market entries around the world and learned that to really be competitive, they would have to deeply localize their business model for Brazil. And that’s where Mercado Libre had its advantage, because their internal mantra was: Brazil First.
Producer & Host: Federico Eisner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/feisner/
Sep 15, 2025 • 19min
S1:E17 Stelleo Tolda: From the American dream to an early return to Brazil
Two passions live within Stelleo: math and the humanities. It’s no coincidence that he’s a mechanical engineer and the son of a music store owner. With his logical, mathematical mindset, he decided to shift the course of his career toward the financial world. But his intuition would take him somewhere very different.
Producer & Host: Federico Eisner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/feisner/
Sep 15, 2025 • 29min
S1:E16 Nico Szekasy: The IPO as an alternative to the sale that wasn't
From earning less than the corner pizza shop to having a giant like eBay want to be your partner. From having that giant as your partner and wanting to buy you out, to becoming much bigger than that giant through the independence of your IPO. From helping change the way people buy and sell, and the way they pay and get paid, to helping create the next generation of Mercado Libres in Latin America.
Producer & Host: Federico Eisner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/feisner/
Sep 15, 2025 • 23min
S1:E15 Nico Szekasy: Surviving the nuclear winter
Nico Szekasy left his corporate life to become an entrepreneur in a start-up that earned less than the corner pizza shop. And the minute he stepped in, he helped change Mercado Libre’s course so it could survive the nuclear winter.
Producer & Host: Federico Eisner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/feisner/
Sep 15, 2025 • 27min
S1.E14 Ozzie Gimenez and Pau Arregui: Opportunities, when seized, are multiplied
Mercado Libre transformed the way we buy and sell. Mercado Pago transformed the way we pay, get paid, and invest our money. Many believe that such a colossal transformation can’t be repeated. Ozzie and Paula don’t think so. On the contrary, they believe the transformation is only just beginning.
Producer & Host: Federico Eisner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/feisner/
Sep 15, 2025 • 22min
S1.E13 Ozzie Gimenez and Pau Arregui: Breaking down walls with technology
Mercado Libre wasn’t going to survive if it couldn’t solve online payments. And solving online payments meant nothing less than solving fraud. When there are only a few transactions, it’s simple. But when there are millions, you have to think beyond common sense—until you get to neural networks.
Producer & Host: Federico Eisner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/feisner/
Sep 15, 2025 • 31min
S1.E12 Ozzie Gimenez and Pau Arregui: A new start-up within a start-up
Buying groceries, getting a haircut, a book, a cooking class, or shopping on Mercado Libre. Whatever you want can be paid for with nothing but your phone. Mercado Pago is a revolution in simplicity. But getting here was anything but easy. And Ozzie Giménez and Paula Arregui tell us how they made it possible.
Producer & Host: Federico Eisner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/feisner/
Sep 15, 2025 • 25min
S1:E11 Nico Berman: The call to Google during a break at university
Nico Berman had a position at a major company, where he was earning an excellent salary. But one day he decided to quit that job to join a company whose offices were in a basement, with no windows and no bathrooms. The salary? Seventy percent less. Why did he go? Because he saw a billboard on the street. One of the first things he did? Call Google during a break at university.
Producer & Host: Federico Eisner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/feisner/
Sep 15, 2025 • 19min
S1:E10 Nico Berman: Willing to invest everything he saved to be able to learn
Nico Berman was the eighth person to join Mercado Libre. He didn’t study at Stanford, but at the University of Buenos Aires. There’s a saying that it doesn’t matter where you come from, but where you want to go. And where did Nico come from? From being one of the best salespeople at Mercado Libre. And how far did he get? All the way to vice president, in charge of all marketing and advertising. Today, he is a partner at Kaszek Ventures with Hernán Kazah and Nico Szekasy.
Producer & Host: Federico Eisner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/feisner/
Sep 15, 2025 • 25min
S1:E9 Pedro Arnt and Karen Bruck: One step at a time goes a long way
Karen Bruck shares how she managed to convince Mercado Libre that she could lead a team of more than three hundred people when she had only been managing a team of two. Something that still amazes her is the extraordinary talent of the Mercado Libre team. Pedro adds to her story, sharing the challenges that lie ahead.
Producer & Host: Federico Eisner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/feisner/
