Danilo Luján and Diego Tonetti were born in Bahía Blanca. But in addition to the city of origin, it unites them the entrepreneurial spirit. Danilo graduated as an Economist and Diego graduated as a Public Accountant. They lived in Buenos Aires when the pandemic confined them. And they took advantage of that environment to think about opportunities to generate their own business.
It was a phone call that Diego received the one who triggered the first idea. A non-profit entity from Bahía Blanca wanted to add him to their membership campaign. He didn’t hesitate to say yes. And from that entity They asked for your address to send a collector.
“That anecdote made us think that the collection system of that entity It was very inefficient. And we realized that practically all of them, whether they were clubs or NGOs, had the same problem. “So we saw an opportunity to generate a business that could also serve to help other people,” recalled Diego Tonetti, in a talk with Scope.
So in 2023 they created QuotaQ, an automated collection platform for the financial management of these types of non-profit organizations. Since May of this year it has been operating in Argentina and taking the first steps in Chile, Uruguay and Spain.
In the middle, they received the boost from institutions that support the development of startups, both in Argentina and in Latin America and the United States.
“When we carefully analyzed this universe of non-profit entities, we realized that there was a critical need, which is the lack of financing and efficiency in management.” due to traditional charging systems that are obsolete”, commented Danilo Luján.
“This is a sector a little forgotten, because being non-profit everyone assumes that there is no money there,” he added.
As soon as the idea started rolling, they added Rodrigo Perrote, Luciano Martín and Joan Almeida, programmers with a lot of experience in online payment methods and The team that founded CuotaQ was assembled.
To get to that point the founders They made their own investment of about 45,000 euros obtained with their savings. The money was mainly used for human capital and platform development.
“Us we take care of everything, from installing the software to day-to-day management. Everything is automated through payment gateways that are responsible for sending the member’s money to the entity’s account, issuing receipts, generating the digital card, tracking fees, among other tasks,” said Danilo.
The platform allows you to upload associate data, define services or activities, automate the sending of personalized payment links, generate payment receipts automatically, give the associate access to their account statement and send reminders to those who have not yet fulfilled their obligations. obligations.
At the moment They process about 10,000 monthly payments in Argentina with the clients they added in the last seven months since the commercial launch of the platform last May.
“Our platform not only optimizes the process and reduces errors, but also allows entities to receive funds from anywhere in the world,” explains Diego. “According to our metrics, the entities that work with us increased their income by 30% due to greater efficiency in collection and increased membership”he added.
Their current focus, as they explained, is to validate the business model in various markets to subsequently seek a financing round that will allow them to consolidate their presence in Latin America. In any case, they intend to delay this stage as much as possible so as not to dilute their participation in the company prematurely.
The innovative approach to entrepreneurship led them to be awarded with various recognitions: They were recognized as an outstanding business idea in a program at Babson College in Boston, they won first prize in the “Business Idea” category in the NAVES competition, organized by the IAE and Banco Macro; In addition to having developed strategic alliances with key players such as Mercado Pago and Santander (Getnet) and currently participating in the Santander X100 program.
Now they also added the support of United States Department of Statethrough the program Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) 2025, which promotes young leaders and entrepreneurs from Latin America and the Caribbean.
“We are going to the United States in May to June 2025 to implement and develop Cuotaq and get in touch with the largest entrepreneurial ecosystem in the world. This also enables us to develop the business throughout the region,” Danilo highlighted.
Access to the YLAI is highly competitive and grants CuotaQ leadership and entrepreneurship training, networking with other emerging leaders and high-level mentors, and access to resources and tools to scale their business.
“Being part of the YLAI means a unique opportunity to accelerate growth and validation in international markets, in addition to positioning ourselves as a reference in technological innovation at the service of non-profit organizations,” said Diego.
Regarding the costs that the implementation of this system implies for non-profit organizations, Danilo explained: “The idea is that we have a very small variable cost, associated with increased revenue. This means that we only charge a commission on the fees actually collected. We partner with the entity with the objective of achieving greater collection. “This establishes a bond in which everyone wins.”
On the other hand, both Diego and Danilo highlight that “by helping to improve the income of entities that are dedicated to improving people’s lives, we are also collaborating with society. Are aid multipliers offered by a club or an NGO. And this is something that was highly valued by us and by the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Source: Ambito
