In the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence, where change happens faster than humans can keep up, Camila Zancanella is breaking new ground. As the co-founder and CEO of Domu, she lives with one mantra: numbers don’t lie.
With her sharp focus on data and results, her startup has successfully revolutionized communication for large companies such as Chubb, Interesse, and Telefonica, utilizing generative AI to automate calls and communication in the financial sector.
“I’m highly focused and organized. I plan everything, from my day, my week, even the next five years, including personal milestones like having kids. This focus lets me achieve a lot quickly, which is critical in business management,” she explains. And it is this precision has fueled Domu’s meteoric rise, generating multi-million-dollar revenues with a lean team of just six.
A hands-on approach to data drives this highly-regarded expert’s leadership: “I review metrics daily for all our clients to ensure we’re outperforming other agencies,” Camila says.
“To me, it’s straightforward; if a client isn’t seeing at least five times their investment, then what’s the point of us being here?”
At Domu, this no-nonsense approach creates a company culture where every move is focused on hitting a clear goal. Success in Domu is right there in the numbers: a figure on a dashboard, a percentage increase, a dollar earned back. This is the kind of clarity that big clients like Fortune 500 insurers and banks look for, which is the reason why Domu is trusted in the industry: “They can see exactly how much we’re bringing in, how much it costs, and what their ROI is,” Camila says. “That kind of transparency? It builds trust in a way you just don’t find anywhere else.”
Camila’s journey began in São Carlos, a medium-sized city in São Paulo state, Brazil, known for its innovative spirit and excellent universities. Growing up in a tech-savvy household, her mother was a computer science professor, and her father, an entrepreneur, founded and sold two successful startups. These early influences shaped Camila’s ambition to follow in her father’s entrepreneurial footsteps: “I did a summer internship at my dad’s company, which sparked my desire to build something of my own,” she recalls. “My parents’ hard work made me believe that with effort, I could achieve anything.”
Her passion for technology and entrepreneurship led to an international upbringing. As a child, she lived in Germany and France due to her mother’s academic work. This broadened her perspective and fueled her ambition to lead on a global scale: “I was inspired to become a global leader, not just stay in one place,” she explains.
Before founding Domu, Camila’s entrepreneurial journey spanned a variety of roles. She is a co-founder and angel investor at B2 Founders, where she has helped create over 20 startups, with a focus on empowering Latin American entrepreneurs. Her experience also extends to strategic roles such as her time at Rappi, Latin America’s “SuperApp,” where she contributed to its rapid growth in the region.
Her leadership at Rappi, where the company is now valued at USD 5.3 billion, showcased her ability to scale high-growth companies across various industries. It was also during this time that she began earning recognition from academic and entrepreneurial communities. Her paper “The Effect of Product Conspicuousness and Social Risk on Negative Emotions: The Ethical Dilemma of Consuming Counterfeits” was accepted at the 2019 Association for Consumer Research (ACR) Conference, an organization revered for its contributions to consumer behavior research. Earlier, she presented her work on “Emotional Variables and Their Influence on the Purchase Behavior of Counterfeits” at the 26th International Symposium of the University of São Paulo.
Andrés Bilbao, co-founder of Rappi and Camila’s mentor since 2020, has long recognized her potential. He says: “From the moment I met Camila, I could see her amazing leadership and creative thinking at Rappi. She made a huge impact on the company’s product and helped increase its value. Watching her go from a strategic analyst to a key investment partner and now a successful entrepreneur is incredible but expected.”
Camila’s expertise is grounded in solid education, with a Master in Management from the prestigious HEC Paris and a Bachelor in Business Administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas. She also brings hands-on experience from Y Combinator, where her startup, Domu, was selected for the highly competitive Summer 2024 batch. As one of the world’s top startup accelerators, Y Combinator has backed over 5,000 companies. With only the top 1% of founders selected to receive its funding and mentorship, acceptance into the program is a strong signal of a startup’s potential.
What truly sets Camila apart as a business management expert is her exceptional ability to turn data into actionable insights. Domu’s AI goes beyond simply automating calls, it personalizes them by analyzing customer profiles to tailor payment plans and communication channels. This data-driven customization addresses a significant challenge for businesses- rigid, ineffective strategies: “We’re not just calling to ask for money,” she explains. “We understand the underlying problem and adapt our strategy to solve it.”
For clients like Atlas, a rapidly growing U.S. firm, Domu’s ability to scale collections alongside their 20% weekly growth, without needing to triple call center staff, showcases this agility: “Our AI agents never tire,” Camila adds. “They’re your best agent, every time, because we train them with data to continuously optimize results.”
With her wealth of experience and impressive credentials, it’s no surprise that colleagues and partners highly praise her. Nicolás Diaz, President and Co-Founder of one of Domu’s partner companies, shares his appreciation: “Camila led some incredible AI integrations for major clients.. Thanks to her work, one company we work with now consistently processes $50 million in monthly payments and has reduced non-payment rates by 6%. Her data-driven approach is what keeps clients happy.”
Camila is also excellent at building strong relationships with her clients. She checks in with them every week to see how things are going, what can be improved, and how the results are shaping up: “I want them to be the happiest clients in the world,” she says.
This proactive, data-driven approach helps clients like Chubb and HDI see Domu not just as a service provider, but as a trusted partner in their success. When a campaign doesn’t perform well, Camila is quick to take action: “If something goes wrong, I’m on it, saying, ‘We’re going to solve this,’” she explains. Thanks to her hands-on approach, Camila has maintained strong client relationships for the past two years—something that’s rare in the tech industry.
Camila’s vision goes beyond Domu’s current achievements. She foresees AI revolutionizing call centers within five years, automating routine tasks and allowing humans to focus on more complex work: “We’re building something that’ll change an industry that’s been stagnant for 40 years,” she predicts. “And we’ll measure every step of that change.” With consistent top-tier performance and service, her team’s innovative work has not gone unnoticed. Domu was named one of the ten finalists in the State Farm Startup Pitch competition at ITC Vegas.
With a resume that includes roles at Rappi, a $5.3 billion “SuperApp,” board membership at Makers Fellowship, and angel investing with B2 Founders, a group dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs by investing in, building, and launching over 20 startups in Latin America, Camila’s influence already stretches across Latin America’s startup ecosystem. However, it is her metrics-driven mindset, where every decision is based on data and every outcome serves as proof, that truly establishes her as a luminary in business management.
For this highly-regarded AI expert, the numbers tell the story. Whether it’s in scholarly research published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research or a dashboard showing client ROI, the numbers guide every decision. For Camila, the foundation is with the data: “If we’re not delivering ROI, we’re not doing our job,” she says. Now, with Domu leading the charge in transforming financial communications, Camila is committed to shaping the future of AI in business, demonstrating that a data-driven, focused approach can yield extraordinary results in even the most challenging industries.
Camila’s journey shows what happens when drive meets data. With Domu leading the way, she’s setting a new bar for leadership with purpose, precision, and honesty. As she puts it: “I love helping people; I’m a giver. It’s been key to my career because people remember when you support them, and that builds trust and opportunities.” With every decision anchored in real outcomes, Camila’s approach stands out amidst the AI hype.
