#TechCEO Meet Rafaela Khouri, The Woman Behind B2B Construction Marketplace 'Sooper'

Sooper, an online marketplace, seeks to advance the construction sector in Brazil by linking suppliers on one side and retailers on the other. Earlier this year, the startup gained a significant seed round led by Canary Ventures and Kaszek Ventures after amassing a total investment of $5.7 million.

Although the company does not disclose its number of suppliers, Bloomberg noted that it has at least 15,000 construction-related materials on its marketplace. At the same time, it is also offering financial products like credit to retailers so that they can further advance the construction industry.

But even though the sector is relatively male-dominated, the person behind this startup is cofounded and headed by a woman named Rafaela Khouri.

How Khouri 'Constructed' Sooper

According to Bloomberg, Khouri has a background in private equity and startups since she worked at Quinto Andar, where she eventually met her cofounder, Hygor Burza Dupin via a founders' program held at Canary Ventures.

The program ultimately helped the two entrepreneurs in developing a business concept. With Dupin's technical expertise and Khouri's startup skills, they constructed Sooper.

This online marketplace was founded in May 2021 and started selling products in November. The business is relatively new, but it has already established two distribution centers in Sao Paulo to expand its base. Bloomberg noted that they have 40 employees, and revenue has increased 270% month over month (MoM).

Several investors, such as Globo Ventures, Ana Luiza Mclaren, Tie Lima, Gabrel Braga, Paula Silveria, and other entities, also joined in its $5.7 million seed round funding back in January.

Khouri's Business Model

The current business model of Sooper is reliant on next-day free delivery, and according to Khouri, this has been an effective way of offering credit to customers.

Khouri told Bloomberg that: "if a client goes to the store and wants a product that they don't have, the retailer is able to sell the product because they know Sooper will send it by the next day.

The business enables the retailer to borrow a loan and pay it back once they have sold their products within 90 days or at least three months.

Khouri acknowledged that working capital is a "major pain" for both suppliers and retailers. Hence, the company is offering credit up to about $30,000. The CEO and cofounder noted that this could get bigger over time.

She also added that Sooper generates money by charging a slightly higher price on each product that it sells to a retailer.

Based on Khouri's LinkedIn profile, she has a wealth of experience in developing startups. From December 2018 to September 2020, she was the head of a B2B called QuintoAndar, a tech company that provides solutions in the real estate market.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Jace Dela Cruz