How does a 22-year-old from a small town in Brazil go from factory work to building and scaling a fintech company to over 100 people—and getting it acquired by one of Brazil's largest enterprises?

In this powerful conversation, Mike Allan shares his unfiltered journey: starting with zero tech background, landing an innovation grant that forced him to incorporate his first company, pivoting from hardware to banking-as-a-service infrastructure, navigating explosive growth, and leading through the chaos of 50–100+ employees.

Key lessons for leaders of teams under 100:

- How alignment shifts from casual chats to structured processes and SOPs

- The real challenges of leading older/more experienced people as a young founder

- Why being a constant example (hustle, long hours, getting hands dirty) builds unbreakable culture

- When to promote internally vs. hire externally—and the hidden costs of getting it wrong

- Focusing energy on your highest-leverage strengths (like a veteran soccer player choosing their ground)

Whether you're a first-time leader, founder scaling your first hires, middle manager dealing with org politics, or department head in any sector—this episode is packed with practical, hard-won insights on reducing bottlenecks, building trust, and leading through growth without losing the early-day energy.

Timestamps:

0:00 – Intro & Mike’s unexpected origin story

3:00 – From factory line to innovation grant: How the company was born

7:00 – Pivoting to payments infrastructure & massive Brazil fintech growth

11:00 – Scaling pain points: Alignment at 10 vs. 50 vs. 100 people

15:00 – Being the example: Hustle culture in scrappy startups

19:00 – Hiring mistakes: Promote vs. hire, and why internal often wins in niche markets

24:00 – Leading older teams as a young founder: Gaining respect & handling pushback

29:00 – What Mike would do differently next time (his new stealth startup)

34:00 – Final advice for young leaders: Don’t obsess over approval—be the standard

Connect with Anugreh:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anugrehsapra/

Instagram: @anugreh

Email for guest ideas: [email protected]

Drop a comment: What’s the biggest scaling lesson you’ve learned so far? 👇

#Leadership #SmallTeamLeadership #FounderJourney #ScalingBusiness #Fintech #LeadershipLessons #TeamsUnder100 #YoungFounder

In this breakdown episode, I distill my conversation with leadership consultant Cameron McDonald into three practical lessons for teams under 100.

We cover how to define leadership in a way you can actually use, why training values matter just as much as training tasks, and how simple one-liners shape culture more than long documents ever will.

If you lead a small team and want clarity, consistency, and language that sticks—this one’s for you.

Free Gift (Job Profile Template): https://cameronlmcdonald.com/future-fit-job-profile

How do you create and protect culture as your team grows?

In this episode of Leadership Liftoff, I’m joined by Cam McDonald, leadership coach and former leader of a 100-person staff at a Leadership College, to talk about what founders need to know as they move from doing everything themselves to leading people.

We unpack what leadership really is, why culture can’t just live on a wall, and how small, everyday actions shape the health of your team.

Cam shares a simple, practical framework for building culture along with concrete examples founders can apply right away.

If you’re leading a team under 100 and figuring out how to scale without losing who you are, this episode is for you.

Free Gift (Job Profile Template): https://cameronlmcdonald.com/future-fit-job-profile

In this breakdown episode of Leadership Liftoff, we'll talk about three leadership lessons for teams under 100 drawn from a recent conversation with Luiz, one of the co-founders of the GigU App.

This episode explores how rituals shape culture, why fun makes leadership stick, and how empathy creates responsibility inside growing teams.

If you’re leading a small, scaling team and want leadership lessons you can actually use, this breakdown is for you.

As teams grow, many founders and leaders unknowingly become the bottleneck—every decision, hire, and conversation flows through them.

In this episode, Luiz Neves, co-founder of GigU, will share:

• Why founders and leaders often become the biggest constraint to scale
• How to move from “everyone follows the ball” to clear ownership and trust
• What empowered leadership actually looks like in teams under 100
• The hidden costs of urgency-driven hiring decisions
• How to build culture that keeps people aligned without constant oversight

Welcome to Episode Zero of Leadership Lift Off. If you're finding this podcast and want to know what it's about, start here.