With no money and a loan of 400,000 reais, he bet on his aunt’s coconut recipe and today he is making millions




Eraldo quit his job as a taxi driver and ventured into a new venture when he was broke and had a newborn daughter.

Eraldo quit his job as a taxi driver and ventured into a new venture when he was broke and had a newborn daughter.

Photo: reproduction/Vó Nena

Every time someone traveled to Bahia, 41-year-old Eraldo Solha would ask the person to stop by the house of his aunt Helena, known as Nena, to bring her famous cockatoo to São Paulo, where he had lived since childhood. The taste of “the best coconut in the world” has always distinguished him. So much so that when he decided to venture into the world of entrepreneurship, he bet on his aunt’s secret recipe and, with no savings whatsoever, took loans from banks for R$ 400,000 to invest in the business.

When asked if he was afraid to take this step, he replied: “I was very convinced that it would work.” Despite his setbacks, he was right. The company, called “Vó Nena”, now has 15 outlets, including a factory store and another 14 kiosks located on four lines of the São Paulo metro. All this for eight years of existence.

If he started with debts, now he has millions in income. Before the pandemic, when Metro had only two permanent stores and three seasonal shelves, she earned about 200,000 reais a month – about 2.5 million reais a year. Current revenue is not disclosed: “I’d say we’ve increased it several times,” he says with good humor.

In the evidence to TerraEraldo tells his story and shows the ups and downs that led him to the success of “Vó Nena”. Check out:

Since I was 20, I had a strong desire to be involved in a project that would reach many people. I thought that the day I go somewhere and meet someone I’ve never met before and who was affected by my project, I’ll feel like I’ve done something relevant.

I had zero training. I had several jobs, but long jobs. I started working in an office when I was 14 years old and then came to a company where I worked for about 13 years. Then he became a taxi driver and stayed in the profession for about 5 years.

I didn’t start Vó Nena until I was about 30 years old. I bet on it because I wanted a company that made people feel good, that was my intention. And my aunt’s coconut cake was very good, it brought me back to my childhood. Through homemade candy, I could make people feel good.



Aunt Nena eventually became Grandmother Nena

Aunt Nena eventually became Grandmother Nena

Photo: personal archive/Eraldo Soglia

An empty pocket

I had no capital, I had zero to start a company. But I was still so convinced that it would work that I gathered a group of people and went to Bahia in search of Aunt Nena’s cockatoo recipe.

The problem is that my aunt never taught anyone how to cook cockatoo. She is very excited about the recipe. But I said, “Aunty, if you teach and I learn and can set up a business, I will put your name on the company.” So she agreed. But since there was already a company registered as Tia Nena, we ended up registering it as Vó Nena and it worked really well.

So at the end of 2014 I left Taxi and at the beginning of 2015 I created Vó Nena. Since I was very confident that everything would work out, I decided to borrow the money. At that time, there were a lot of loans in banks, and I took out loans from several. In total, it was about 400 thousand reais.

Almost the end

From the beginning, I already envisioned that the company would be the size it is today, but I thought it would get there in a couple of years. Only not. I thought I would pay off all the loans quickly, but it was very difficult. Six months have passed since the creation of the company, and the money has run out. I had nothing to do.

I already had several employees and there was no way to get back in the taxi. My sister and three other friends were working with me at that time. So I didn’t have much of an opportunity, I got them together and said we have about two months to make the business profitable:

“That’s the thing, we ran out of money. There is no more money. I can’t borrow more because I can’t even pay the first installments of the loan. So the chances of things going wrong are huge, but if you stay with me, I’ll make you partners. We have to believe that it will work, and we have to do it.” And then we move forward.



Eraldo and his sister Jordana, also a partner in the company, taste products at a restaurant in São Paulo during the first months of Vó Nena

Eraldo and his sister Jordana, also a partner in the company, taste products at a restaurant in São Paulo during the first months of Vó Nena

Photo: personal archive/Eraldo Soglia

Excitement in the capital

From the beginning, I wanted to create a store company to then get a franchise, but if I had started with stores, it would not have worked because the brand was not known yet. So I decided to distribute my cockade to several partners so that they can sell it to their customers.

It was so crazy I wanted to cry. I’m sorry.

I would first go to the company, to Ipiranga. In the morning I would get the coconuts that were ready the day before and visit as many customers as I could. Bakeries used to open until 1 p.m., so you had to be very early to talk to the owner, who usually only comes in the morning.

From 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, I went to Banbanierki, which is usually busy. I asked if I could give them my cockade to try and leave some in case anyone wanted to buy it. Some owners agreed, and eventually the coconut was sold over the counter. Then, in the afternoon, I did the same in the canteens.

It was like that every day, from seven in the morning until about seven in the evening.

I’m excited because you reminded me that when I’m done, I usually eat something at the last diner I visited. I just stood there and reflected on how the day had gone, wondering if I had done the right thing.

My life was peaceful, you know? I thought about it a lot. My daughter Bia was just born, she was a few months old. And I thought, did I do the right thing?



At the end of 2014, he had a daughter, then he left his job as a taxi driver and started his own business.

At the end of 2014, he had a daughter, then he left his job as a taxi driver and started his own business.

Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/@eraldosoglia

Get back on track

Things went well, I started paying off loans, and then, a year and a half later, I opened my first store. I wanted it to be in a place that attracted a lot of people, and I tried to negotiate with the metro.

At that time, commercial locations were not discussed without bidding. So I tried it through the seasonal business process. These are temporary stands, lasting three months, with products related to the season. But they didn’t have a seasonal Yunin Fest. I made an offer and they accepted.

It was always a huge struggle to get permission. I spent about two years on this model. Until the administrators of line 4 saw our products on one of these shelves and asked: “Would you like to open a store here?”. And so in 2020, we opened our long-term contract stores. But at that moment came the pandemic.

It was very difficult, but we got together again. I went online to sell and we got a lot of support from partners and suppliers. At first I was desperate, I didn’t have the courage to tell people that I didn’t have the money to pay them. But they gave us time and support.



Currently, more than half a million people pass by Vó Nena stores

Currently, more than half a million people pass by Vó Nena stores

Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/@docesvonena

Full safe

Now every day more than half a million people pass by our stores and more than 4 thousand people consume our products. This recipe changes the lives of many people. In addition to 15 retail outlets, we have products from more than 600 partners.

Before the pandemic, we had two permanent stores and three stands in a seasonal format. During this period, I should have earned about 200,000 reais a month – that’s about 2.5 million reais a year. I will not reveal the current revenue, but I would say that we have multiplied those millions several times.

Today we have 6 partners and 60 employees. We produce more than 100 reais of different products. Cockatoo, dulce de leche, Easter eggs, panettone…. The average cost per customer is R $ 22. But I have products from 3.99 R $ to more than 100 R $.

Opening each store takes an average of 80,000 reais. I have managed to pay off all the original debts, but I am already paying off new loans that I took out in order to grow the company, which was necessary. Now the task is to open franchises.



Eraldo attended the Sebrae Entrepreneurs' Fair this Wednesday, 18. At the time the report was at the event, his stand was one of the busiest in the sector

Eraldo attended the Sebrae Entrepreneurs’ Fair this Wednesday, 18. At the time the report was at the event, his stand was one of the busiest in the sector

Photo: Beatriz Araujo/Terra

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