The term International Business Strategy is typically used to describe U.S. or Western companies looking to maximize profits through offshoring or outsourcing, or extending their sales into foreign markets. But Andres Barreto is doing things in the opposite direction. He’s working to encourage Latin American startups to focus on the U.S. Market and scale there, as well as encourage American companies to look to Latin America for the talented engineers and developers they need.
One of my favorite sound bytes from this conversation with Andres Barrito is the moment when he said, “Talent is everywhere but opportunity is not.” He was speaking to the fact that many Latin American software engineers are immensely talented, equal to their U.S. based counterparts but simply don’t have the opportunity to put their skills to use.
Andres believes that U.S. companies that are able to get over the cultural difference and search out team members in Latin America can not only cut costs but give worthy individuals the opportunity to improve their lives and their local economies. Andres is passionate about this topic so you’ll get a much better feel for how he views it by listening to him describe it on this episode.
Traditionally, Silicon Valley has been the place founders are advised to move in order to make a go at a tech startup. But is that the smartest decision? With the advances in technology that enable remote work and communication, being in the heart of Silicon Valley is no longer the only viable option.
Andres Barreto shares how he has seen many Latin American companies build a huge presence in the U.S. Market without making the shift to a Silicon Valley location. He also shares insights into the benefits those companies experience from staying in Latin America and the impact it has on the value they deliver to their customers.
Andres Barreto says that he’d much rather build an online marketplace to compete with Amazon than try to build a company that is attempting to be the “Amazon of Latin America.” In his mind, the key to success is to focus on building less and doing it better than the giant competitor. This not only enables the company to scale faster, it also sets it up for a very profitable acquisition down the line.
Though we talked a lot about International business strategy, Andres Barreto is really a venture capitalist, running a very successful venture capital firm, First Rock Capital. His advice to those who want to invest in ventures is to keep their perspective clear. He says as a VC partner you need to find companies where you believe the founder will do a much better job than you ever could. That’s a team you can believe in and put your money behind.
If you ever find yourself getting excited about a potential venture because you think you’re going to be able to help them out with your money and your expertise, you should walk away from the deal - because if what you’re thinking is true - the company isn’t ready.
SUBSCRIBE, RATE, AND REVIEW ON iTunes