Rufino Arribas, Yape | Building a Team, Viral Marketing, and Growing to 10M Users [Ep. 88]

The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.

When a company manages to make its brand part of its users’ language, you know it is something special.

That is the case with Yape, which in 5 years has become the largest virtual wallet in Peru, with more than 10 M users and almost 100 M transactions per month, and has gotten many Peruvians to say “yapear” as a synonym for transferring money.

Yape is a corporate startup, born inside BCP, the largest bank in Peru. Today we spoke with its Director, Rufino Arribas.

We talked about the origin of Yape and its go-to-market strategy, virality, offline marketing, and how they reached 10 M users in so little time. Finally, we talked about Yape’s ambitious SuperApp vision.

Yape is a great example of intrapreneurship. If you are part of a corporate that is looking to innovate and digitize its services, this interview is for you.

Youtube Timestamps*

[1:30] - The Origin of Yape and the Team

How did Rufino get into the fascinating world of startups?
What was the progression of Rufinio’s career at BCP, and what were those inflection points that led him to get involved in Yape?
What capabilities does Rufino believe the BCP executives saw in him to lead Yape?
In traditional startups, the main reason for failure is problems between the founders. How was Yape’s “founding” team formed, and what characteristics did they look for in them?
What is the difference between Yape’s culture and BCP’s culture?

[12:08] - Yape’s Growth and Virality

They launched Yape in 2018 and, by early 2020, they already had 2 million users. What was their go-to-market strategy (Go to Market) and the marketing channels they used?
When you take a taxi in Peru, you often come across a Yape QR on the back of the seat. Offline marketing is a strategy little used by startups. What is necessary, according to Rufino, for an offline marketing strategy to be successful?
What was Rufino’s strategy for growing in regions in the interior of the country that have lower population density, and how did it differ from Lima?
Today people in Peru say “yapear” or “yapeame” as a synonym for transferring money. How did they arrive at the name Yape, and how does Rufino explain its success in generating brand recall?
What is Yape’s vision for the future, and how do you communicate a financial product without it seeming like a bank?

[27:06] - Super App Vision

Becoming a superapp is a complex model, and other companies such as Rappi have tried it without much success. What have they learned from the experiences of other superapps, and what gives them the confidence to bet on this model?
How do they evaluate and prioritize the development of new features, and avoid falling into being “everything and nothing at the same time”?
What is Yape’s plan for monetization after having had so much growth?
Few corporates have succeeded in launching their startups, despite the availability of resources. What were the most serious mistakes and, therefore, the lessons from Yape’s success that you believe other intrapreneurs or corporates should keep in mind?

[39:09] - Tweet Round

Recommended book by Rufino
Changes Rufino would like to see in the Latin American startup ecosystem
Founder Rufino recommends interviewing

Episode Mentions

You can find Rufino on LinkedIn

Recommended book: Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow by Matthew Skeleton