Module 1 Know your customer and market 4 hAnalyse
Every sound business in online / ai investment management begins with one clear customer and one clear problem. In São Paulo and the wider state, demand is real but crowded, so a small, well-described customer group wins before a broad one.
- In online / ai investment management: Know the saver: goal, time, and how much loss they can bear, before any suggestion.
- Write the customer in one sentence: a saver with a goal. Add the place, the moment of need and what they use today.
- List five rivals or substitutes within reach. For each, record price, strength, weakness and how people reach it.
- Interview at least eight real customers with open questions. Record exact words, not your summary.
- Count the market in units: how many clients could one area buy in a month? Use two public sources and your own count, then take the lower figure.
- Choose one first segment and say why the others wait.
Worked example. Weak: 'Everyone needs an online investment guidance service.' Strong: 'Our first customer is a saver with a goal within 8 km of the centre, who today pays R$ 105 per client and complains about delay. We target 180 clients a month by month three.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: ten customers are interviewed for online / ai investment management. Seven say price, two say speed, one says trust. Question: which first message do you write, and which interview record backs it? Model answer: lead with the client price and speed promise, keep trust proof as the second line, and cite the seven price answers by date.
Activity. Write the one-sentence customer, a five-row rival table and eight interview records. Share them with a peer for a challenge round.
Standard to meet. Define a specific customer, build a rival table with prices, and trace every claim to an interview or a source.
Module 2 Rules, registration and data duties in Brazil 4 hUnderstand
Brazil asks every trader to be visible and accountable. Know which register, tax regime and sector rules apply before the first sale, and check each against the current official text.
- In online / ai investment management: Investment advice and portfolio management are regulated by the securities regulator (CVM); confirm the licence needed before offering.
- Choose a legal form: micro-entrepreneur (MEI) only if your activity appears on the official MEI list, or a company registered with a CNPJ. Regulated activities need their sector authorisation first. Check the current limits and lists on the official portal.
- Learn the tax regime that fits your size and write down which taxes you will collect and pay, and when.
- Find the sector rules for online / ai investment management: licences, inspections, professional registers. List each with the office that issues it and the renewal date.
- Personal data of customers falls under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD). Collect only what you need, say why, keep it safe, and name who answers questions.
- Consumer law gives buyers clear rights on information, returns and complaints. Put your terms in plain Portuguese.
Worked example. Checklist for a new online / ai investment management trader: 1) legal form (CNPJ, or MEI only if your activity is on the official list); 2) city operating licence; 3) sector licence or register; 4) tax set-up; 5) privacy notice; 6) written terms. Each has an owner and a date.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a neighbour says registration can wait until the first R$ 475 of sales. Question: what do you do? Model answer: do not delay; write the compliance table first, confirm the register, tax and sector licence with the official office, and start only where the table shows no open blocker.
Activity. Build your own six-line compliance table for your first location. Mark what is done, what is pending and who confirms it.
Standard to meet. Cite an official source for every line, assume nothing, and date every pending item. Local law always wins over this course.
Module 3 Design the offer 4 hCreate
An offer states what the customer gets, how well, by when and at what price. For an online investment guidance service, the offer must make the quality visible and the next step easy.
- In online / ai investment management: Present risk and cost in plain terms; no promises of returns.
- Describe the core offer in three lines: what is delivered (an online investment guidance service), the standard it meets, and the time it takes.
- Add one proof for each promise: a sample, a test result, a guarantee or a customer record.
- Price from cost upward and from customer value downward, then pick a price inside both.
- Write a simple one-page terms sheet: what is included, what is extra, how to cancel.
- Create two options at most, so choice stays easy.
Worked example. Offer: 'An online investment guidance service, delivered within agreed time, checked against a written standard, price R$ 95 per client. Proof: a dated record the customer can check and sign. Changes or cancellation by written agreement before work begins.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a customer asks for a discount from R$ 95 to R$ 85 per client. Question: decide with numbers. Model answer: contribution falls from R$ 70 to R$ 60 per client; offer an extra of value (for example faster service) before cutting price, and accept only if the lower contribution still clears break-even.
Longer notes. Teach how investing tools work and never sell a result. Describe your learner: an adult who has a payslip, a savings goal and no idea how an automated advice screen reaches its suggestion. Plan four lessons: read a statement line by line, compare fees on two sample products, see how spreading risk works with a toy example, spot a scam message. Say plainly what you cannot do: you do not pick products and you do not hold anyone's money. Read the securities regulator's current guidance on investor education before publishing. Prepare a checklist, a worksheet and a glossary.
Extra worked example. You sell a monthly reporting subscription for people who follow a model portfolio. The price is R$ 95 per client, and data, support and hosting cost R$ 25 per client, so contribution is R$ 70, 73,7 percent of the price. With 300 clients revenue is R$ 28.500, variable cost R$ 7.500 and contribution R$ 21.000. After fixed cost of R$ 20.000, profit is R$ 1.000, a margin of 3,5 percent. Break-even is R$ 20.000 / R$ 70 = 285,71, so 286 clients. The service teaches; it does not recommend.
Activity. Write the offer card, the proof list and the terms sheet. Test them with three customers and note every point where they hesitated.
Standard to meet. Check that promise, proof and price are consistent, fit the terms on one page, and record three customer reactions.
Module 4 Run the work step by step 5 hApply
Good operations make results repeatable. For online / ai investment management, write each step so a new person could follow it on their first day, and measure each step.
- In online / ai investment management: Keep a record of each client profile, advice, consent and review date.
- Map the process from first contact to paid and closed. Typical stages: enquiry, quote, preparation, delivery of the client, check, payment, follow-up.
- Name the key resource at each stage: a documented risk profile. Note what happens if it is missing.
- Write a one-page standard procedure per stage: who, what, tool, time, record.
- Choose three measures: speed, quality (errors per 100) and customer rating. Review them every week.
- Fix the cause of a defect, not the symptom. Ask 'why' five times and record the answer.
Worked example. Stage record: 'Prepare. Owner: lead. Time: 30 min. Tool: checklist. Record: signed sheet. Defect found on 1 of 75 clients last week; cause: missing check on a documented risk profile; fix: add check at start, review next Friday.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: of 300 clients last month, 18 had a defect traced to a documented risk profile. Question: what is the defect rate and what is your first action? Model answer: about 6 defects per 100; stop the cause (add a check at the start), correct affected customers, log the cause, and re-measure next week.
Activity. Draw the process map and write procedures for the two riskiest stages. Run each once and time it.
Standard to meet. Write procedures a stranger can follow, record weekly numbers for each measure, and trace one defect to a root cause.
Module 5 Safety, quality and risk 4 hEvaluate
The most serious risk in this field is advice that ignores the client's limits. A calm, written risk routine protects people first and the business second.
- In online / ai investment management: Test models on past data and on bad periods; log every model change.
- List ten things that could go wrong. Score each for how likely (1 to 5) and how serious (1 to 5). Multiply and sort.
- For the top five, choose a control: remove the hazard, replace it, guard it, train people, or use protective gear, in that order of preference.
- Write who does what in an emergency, and rehearse it once a quarter.
- Keep an incident and near-miss log. Near-misses are free lessons.
- Check that insurance and legal duties match the risk you actually carry.
Worked example. Risk row: 'Hazard: advice that ignores the client's limits. Likelihood 3, severity 5, score 15. Control: written check before each client, trained staff, log sheet. Owner: site lead. Review monthly.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a near-miss occurs: advice that ignores the client's limits nearly happened but no one was hurt. Question: what do you do in the next 24 hours? Model answer: make safe, record the event, ask the five whys, add or tighten one control, brief the team, and set a review date; near-misses count as lessons, not blame.
Activity. Build a ten-row risk register and a one-page emergency plan. Run a ten-minute drill with a peer and note two improvements.
Standard to meet. Rank controls by preference for the top risks, run the drill, and start the log. Where a regulation applies, follow the official rule.
Module 6 People, skills and service 4 hApply
People deliver the promise. Define roles, train to a standard and give feedback in the open.
- In online / ai investment management: Train staff to explain, not sell; compliance review of all client messages.
- Write a role card for each person: purpose, five tasks, the standard for each, and who to ask for help.
- Train by showing, doing with support, then doing alone with a check. Record sign-off per task.
- Set service rules for answering customers: reply times, tone, how to apologise and fix.
- Hold a ten-minute team check each day: yesterday's problem, today's plan, one risk.
- Build a growth path: what a new person can do in week 1, month 3 and month 12.
Worked example. Training record: 'Task: process a complaint. Shown 2 May; done with support 4 May; done alone 8 May, checked: apology, fix, follow-up call. Signed by lead.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a new hire completes training but a customer complaint shows a skipped step. Question: whose gap is it? Model answer: first the system: check the role card, the training sign-off and the checklist; then coach the person and fix the document so the step cannot be skipped.
Longer notes. Set a speaking rule for every tutor: explain ideas, never recommend a product. Ask each tutor to teach risk twice, once with a jar of coins that sometimes shrinks and once with a bank statement, then record which version the learners follow. Practise the stop sentence: this question needs a licensed professional, here is how to find one. Write a list of fraud warning signs, such as pressure to decide today, and drill it with role play. Name a reviewer who reads every slide before use and marks any wording that sounds like a promise. Quiz learners with five questions after each session.
Extra worked example. These are worked-example figures, not market data. A reviewer checks 40 client reports for wording that sounds like a promise. In the first pass 6 fail, 6 / 40 = 15 percent. Across 300 clients that is 45 reports at R$ 12 each, R$ 540. After a wording guide only 2 of 40 fail, 5 percent, or 15 across 300, costing R$ 180, a saving of R$ 360 a month. Training 2 reviewers for 5 hours at R$ 40 costs R$ 400, repaid in 1,11 months of fewer reworked reports.
Activity. Write two role cards and a training plan for one new hire. Role-play a hard customer conversation twice and review.
Standard to meet. Write role cards with measurable standards, show the sign-off steps in training, and write the service rules in plain words.
Module 7 Money: cost, price and break-even 5 hAnalyse
A business lives or dies on a few numbers. Know your contribution per unit, your fixed costs and the volume you need.
- In online / ai investment management: Revenue is a fee; fixed costs for data and compliance can be heavy; test the break-even.
- Contribution per client = price minus variable cost. Fixed costs are paid whether you sell or not.
- Break-even units = fixed cost divided by contribution. Plan to pass it by a safe margin.
- Make a 12-month cash plan. Cash timing matters as much as profit: customers may pay late, suppliers may want money first.
- Keep money for business and money for the owner apart.
- Test the plan: what if sales fall by a quarter, or cost rises by a tenth?
Worked example. Worked example, all figures in reais: price R$ 95, variable cost R$ 25, contribution R$ 70 per client. Fixed cost R$ 20.000 a month. Break-even = R$ 20.000 / R$ 70 = 285,71, so 286 clients a month. At 300 clients a month, profit = R$ 70 x 300 - R$ 20.000 = R$ 1.000. These are teaching figures that belong to this example only; later examples and the case study use their own figures. Use your own.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: sales fall to 225 clients a month. Question: what is the monthly result? Model answer: R$ 70 x 225 - R$ 20.000 = R$ -4.250; compare with break-even of 286 clients and decide whether to cut fixed cost or raise volume first. Teaching figures only.
Activity. Build your own table: price, variable cost, contribution, fixed cost, break-even and a downside case at 75% of sales. Show it to a peer or mentor.
Standard to meet. Calculate correctly, give every figure a source or mark it as an assumption, and show a downside case.
Module 8 Grow, measure and renew 4 hEvaluate
Growth should follow proof. Measure, learn, then add; and keep returning to the customer.
- In online / ai investment management: Grow through trust: clear reports and education before products.
- Pick one growth lever at a time: new customers, a higher repeat rate, a better price, or a new offer.
- Set one measurable target for 90 days, such as 'raise repeat customers from 20% to 30%'.
- Ask each customer how they found you, and record it. Spend more where the record shows results.
- Review monthly: numbers, defects, complaints, cash. Write three decisions each time.
- Plan the renewal of licences, equipment and skills a year ahead.
Worked example. 90-day plan: 'Lever: repeat customers. Action: follow-up call after every client. Target: repeat rate from 20% to 30%. Check: weekly count. Review date: day 45 and day 90.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: you can add 60 clients a month by one of two levers: a follow-up call to past customers or a price rise of R$ 10 to R$ 105. Question: how do you choose? Model answer: test the cheaper reversible lever first (the call), measure for 30 days, and only then try the price change, so you can tell which one worked.
Longer notes. Count learning, not gains. At the end of each course record starters, finishers, learners who pass the closing quiz and learners who can explain a fee in their own words to a neighbor. Divide finishers by starters, then read the quiz item that most people missed and rewrite that lesson. Send past learners an updated example every quarter and invite them to a refresher. Treat complaints as a lesson map. Never show past returns or promised gains as proof of quality. Before any past result appears in an ad, read the current advertising rules for financial topics.
Extra worked example. In a worked example, not market data, you start the month with 300 clients and 15 cancel, so churn is 15 / 300 = 5 percent. Each client is worth R$ 70 of contribution, so the loss is 15 x R$ 70 = R$ 1.050 a month. A clearer lesson on risk cuts churn to 3 percent, 9 clients, keeping 6 more worth R$ 420 a month. At 285 clients profit is R$ -50, one client below break-even; with the 6 kept, 291 clients give R$ 370.
Activity. Write a 90-day plan with one target, three actions and a review date. Present it in five minutes and take questions.
Standard to meet. Set a measurable, dated target, break the actions down small enough to start this week, and put the review date in the calendar.
