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Kruzer.ai is an all-in-one, modular e-commerce software platform designed to simplify complex retail operations. It connects all your front-end sales channels directly with your back-office systems.

I landed back in Denmark the day before yesterday after spending a couple of intense weeks in Brazil.

Officially, we went there to host two events. One alongside Fórum ECBR.

The other, a curated breakfast bringing together venture capital firms, private equity investors, family offices, founders and senior advisors from our ecosystem.

If you'd asked me six months ago what success looked like, I probably would have spoken about attendance. Today, I think very differently. The events were simply the excuse.

The real work happened in the conversations before and after.

Something has changed.

This was the first trip where I wasn't spending most of my time explaining what EVOLVE is.

Instead, people were asking how they could become part of it.

In the weeks pre Forum ECBR we were invited to collaborate with Cubbo, Pipeline Capital, Go Deep, Uappi and Bora Varejo. Each collab was slightly differently

For example, with Cubbo, a scale up from Mexico, we curated the agenda and co-created events inside of their booth. With Uappi, and Pipeline Capital we curated the agenda and enabled some of our members to participate in their podcasts, awards and panels and with Go deep, we have have amplified their content on our socials and offered our community tickets

Our side event was supported by Omnichat, Kruzer and Janis Commerce. Those conversations weren't part of a sales plan. They happened because people saw value in what we're building and wanted to participate. During the side event we were expecting about 50 guests, we had appx 120 sign ups all thorough word of mouth! We had to close down Luma as the sign ups did not stop arriving.

That is probably the biggest difference I noticed.

Momentum doesn't announce itself.

It quietly changes the direction of the conversations.

Brought to you by Janis Commerce

Janis Commerce serves as an intelligent software layer that integrates and synchronizes distributed order management (DOM), warehouse operations (WMS), and last-mile transport management (TMS) into a single SaaS toolkit. Built on a headless, microservices-driven architecture, Janis bridges the gap between digital sales channels and physical retail operations for major brands across Latin America and Europe.

While I was in Brazil, Ian Jindall, someone I have major regard for, asked me if EVOLVE would not be interested in partnering up to co-create something at Customer X. This is a solid signal that what we have envisioned two years ago is starting to take notice across other regions of the World

For the past two years, Gustavo and I have been working tirelessly to refine our operating model. It has not been a walk in the park i call tell you that, but we are not afraid to work, to test things out and most importanly, to deliver on our promises. The model is simple, but hard to replicate

Partner up with an anchor event.

Bring together local operators ( by the way they have to be advisors registered and part of evolve) who have actually built businesses in that market.

Connect them with founders, technology companies, investors and advisors before the event even starts.

Use the event as the moment where those relationships move from introductions to real conversations.

CustomerX gives us the opportunity to put that model into practice.

We'll curate meetings with customers, partners and senior operators before the event.

More importantly, they'll have access to people who understand the local market because they've spent years building inside it.

Leaders like David Williams, Bérengère Chaintreau-Fuchs, Tilda Molho and many others represent the type of experience we want companies to access when entering a new market.

The event becomes the anchor.

The real value is everything built around it.

The interesting part is that the same conversations are starting to happen elsewhere.

I've recently been contacted by Jens Wedenborg from Dansk Erhverv. We also started conversations with senior leaders from other markets who see similar opportunities for their ecosystems.

Different countries.

Different organizations.

The same underlying question.

How do we help companies enter new markets with less friction and better local context?

That's exactly the question EVOLVE exists to answer.

Brought to you by Omnichat

Omnichat is leading chat-commerce and conversational AI platform in Brazil. connecting over 30,000 sales agents with 22 million consumers through chat-based commerce. The platform, which processes over 1 billion messages, is expanding its reach by integrating autonomous AI tools for sales.

One thought stayed with me on the flight back to Denmark.

When I started EVOLVE, almost everything depended on me. If an event was happening, I was there. If a partnership was signed, I was in the room. If an introduction was made, chances are I had picked up the phone.

That's how most companies begin.

It also becomes the biggest limitation to growth.

One of the things I'm happiest about after this trip has very little to do with the events we hosted. While I was still in Brazil, our local ambassadors had already started discussing the first EVOLVE gathering in Rio de Janeiro. At the same time, the CustomerX conversations continued in the UK. Other markets also reached out asking how they could replicate what we're building.

That was probably the moment I realised we are no longer testing isolated ideas.

We're starting to test a system.

The ambition has never been to build an events business.

The ambition has always been to create a repeatable way for companies, founders, investors and senior operators to connect across markets through trusted local relationships.

Brazil doesn't need another Carlos.

The UK doesn't need another Carlos.

Every market already has exceptional people who understand the local ecosystem far better than I ever could. Our responsibility is to connect those people, give them a common operating model and create enough momentum that opportunities continue to emerge whether I'm in São Paulo, Copenhagen or somewhere in between.

Instead, we're building around the right partners, the right markets and the right conversations.

Over the coming weeks we'll start sharing the next wave of Expert Sessions, curated breakfasts, private dinners and international activations. Some will be familiar. Others will take EVOLVE into markets we haven't operated in before.

This week also marked another great Expert Session, with Patricia Amaro welcoming Denis Chamas for a conversation on leadership, AI and organizational transformation. Unfortunately, we weren't able to record the session, but I managed to get hold of the transcript and I'll be sharing the key insights with our members shortly.

When I look back at the last few weeks, one thing becomes increasingly clear.

We're no longer asking ourselves where should EVOLVE go next?

The more interesting question is becoming:

Where is the market inviting EVOLVE to go?

That's a very different place to be.

And, for the first time since starting this journey, I feel like we're beginning to see the answer.

EVOLVE is a global private network and operating layer connecting senior commerce leaders, founders, operators, advisors, investors and board members across markets.

We help companies accelerate international growth by orchestrating trusted expertise, strategic relationships and commercial execution.

Every week, experienced operators, founders, investors and advisors come together to exchange operating experience, challenge conventional thinking and identify opportunities across commerce, technology, retail, marketplaces, payments and adjacent industries. The conversations are designed to surface operational realities, market shifts and strategic patterns before they become obvious.

This is not a marketplace.

It is a managed operating layer that turns market access into structured commercial execution.

That is EVOLVE.

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