Why did MAYA invest in Stay?
Born out of its Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) program, MAYA Capital led Stay’s pre-seed round and continues to support its mission to revolutionize how companies offer long-term incentives in Brazil, starting with private pensions.
The problem in a nutshell:
Private pensions still need to be made easier to invest in, and they need a seamless user experience. As a consequence, in Brazil, more than 90% of the population over 25 years old does not save for retirement. The <6% of the population who invest in private pensions are limited to outdated products from incumbents who control the sector and have little incentive to innovate. The lack of modern and flexible options has left the majority of companies — over 85% — unwilling to provide private pension plans to their employees.
A flexible and practical solution:
Stay aims to revolutionize the way companies think about long-term incentives by offering a personal private pension account to its clients’s employees. They partnered with Zurich to offer secure and reliable products that automatically function as long-term retirement savings accounts with competitive yields.
But Stay is not just another private pension provider. It gives companies the power to configure vesting periods, contribution matches, and general business rules, while also creating different cohorts based on factors like seniority, responsibilities, and employment duration. Beyond just receiving ad hoc contributions, employees can also contribute to their retirement plan, with the option to receive a monthly matching amount from their employer, if applicable. To ensure seamless communication, Stay engages with customers via WhatsApp, the platform preferred by over 80% of Brazilians.
Strong team with an unique vision:
During the EIR process, we had the privilege of working directly with an exceptionally complementary and skilled team of co-founders. Stay’s CEO, Tsai Chi-yu, is a brilliant mind recognized by nearly everyone we’ve spoken to as one of the smartest individuals they’ve encountered. With a distinct, product-oriented mindset, Tsai has made a lasting impact on the companies he’s been a part of. At Uber, he spearheaded rider engagement initiatives, while at 99, he led marketplace and pricing efforts — contributions that continue to be vital to those companies’ ongoing success.
Leading the charge alongside Tsai are Caio Elias and Nicolas Frajhof. Caio, Stay’s CTO, is a well-rounded software engineer who graduated at Unicamp with both technical and managerial proficiency — he has many years of experience building complex products and leading engineering teams. Nicolas, the company’s COO, brings a unique combination of experiences to the table, having worked in Finance & Commercial at AB InBev and Finance & Strategy at Nubank, gaining deep insights into financial products.
MAYA’s investment in Tsai, Nicolas, and Caio reflects our confidence that this is the team meant to build the future of private pensions in Brazil. If your company aims to engage talent and learn more about long-term incentive plans, or if you’re a strong talent looking for a place to thrive, please join us at Stay.
