Nathan Lustig

Greatest Hits Episode: Marta Forero, Driving Economic Growth in LatAm via Corporate Education with UBits, Ep 151

Category : Crossing Borders Podcast
Posted on September 10, 2021 by Nathan Lustig

You can now find the full show notes of the Crossing Borders podcast on LatamList.com’s new podcast section. I’ll still post the audio of the podcast on my blog and I’m planning to start writing more again on my blog, like I used to.

Subscribe to the LatamList Weekly newsletter to get updated on the week’s top tech news and stories from the region.

Thanks for listening to Crossing Borders all these years! If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to reach out here, or contact me on social media.

Outline of this episode:

[2:44] – What is UBits?
[3:09] – Courses the platform offers
[4:00] – How did you decide on UBits?
[5:26] – Why Marta decided to build a company
[7:18] – The benefits of a supportive dad
[9:32] – First steps in founding UBits.
[11:32] – How did you meet your co-founder?
[13:33] – On getting their first client
[15:40] – Decision to focus exclusively on online courses.
[16:52] – Toward a scalable business model
[18:22] – When did you decide to start raising money for the business?
[18:35] – Bootstrapping in Latin America.
[19:40] – Applying for Y Combinator
[23:20] -Tips for a Y Combinator interview.
[25:18] – How did you practice putting everything into 15-second responses?
[26:20] – Going to the US with a strategic plan and not feeling shame.
[29:24] – How to make the most of YC
[31:23] – Raising an investment round after Y Combinator.
[33:05] – Advice to other Latin American founders trying to raise in the US.
[35:10] – Being a female founder in Latin America.
[36:40] – How the ecosystem can improve on being more gender-inclusive.
[38:20] – Advice for women looking to raise money in the US and expand their business.
[40:46] – Marta’s top resources for entrepreneurs
[41:47] – What’s next for you and UBits?

Show notes on Latamlist.com.

Greatest Hits Episode: Matías Rivera from Fanatiz, Building Businesses and Replanting Patagonian Trees, Ep 149

Category : Crossing Borders Podcast
Posted on August 26, 2021 by Nathan Lustig

Subscribe to the LatamList Weekly newsletter to get updated on the week’s top tech news and stories from the region.

Thanks for listening to Crossing Borders all these years! If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to reach out here, or contact me on social media.

Outline of this episode:

2:10 – Nathan introduces Matias
3:24 – Why Fanatiz?
4:58 – Did you always know you would be an entrepreneur?
6:45 – Trying to get students into entrepreneurship in 2008
8:35 – Getting involved at Start-Up Chile
11:02 – The early days of SUP Chile
13:12 – For-profit conservation with Patagonia Sur
15:07 – Highlights of projects with Patagonia Sur
20:21 – Philanthropy in Latin America
22:44 – What role do tax incentives play in philanthropy?
25:05 – Angel investment as philanthropy
25:40 – The Stanford MBA
27:13 – Takeaways from time at Stanford
28:22 – How to watch soccer abroad without Fanatiz
30:12 – Matias’ marketing tips for entrepreneurs
34:18 – What’s next for Fanatiz?
35:53 – What’s next for the Latin American ecosystem?
38:14 – Advice for US investors looking at LatAm
39:04 – Advice for LatAm founders looking to raise
42:05 – Matias’ advice to his younger self

Show notes on Latamlist.com.

Benjamin Labra, Houm: Fixing Latin America’s broken real estate industry, Ep 148

Category : Crossing Borders Podcast
Posted on August 13, 2021 by Nathan Lustig

Subscribe to the LatamList Weekly newsletter to get updated on the week’s top tech news and stories from the region.

Thanks for listening to Crossing Borders all these years! If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to reach out here, or contact me on social media.

Outline of this episode:

[1:10] – About Houm
[2:28] – Pain points of the real estate industry in LatAm
[4:00] – A family of real estate developers
[5:32] – On Chilean talent
[7:33] – Jumping into tech
[8:35] – Switching from the investment side to running a startup
[10:05] – Basics of renting a property
[13:20] – Speeding up the renting process
[16:17] – A change in US investors’ perception
[18:52] – Challenges of operating remotely
[20:28] – Advice to entrepreneurs in smaller LatAm countries
[21:38] – Proptech boom in LatAm
[22:30] – Books, blogs, & podcast recommendations
[23:00] – Advice to Benjamin’s younger self

Show notes on Latamlist.com.

Nico Barawid, Casai: Providing Consistently High-Quality Hospitality in Mexico, Ep 147

Category : Crossing Borders Podcast
Posted on August 3, 2021 by Nathan Lustig

Subscribe to the LatamList Weekly newsletter to get updated on the week’s top tech news and stories from the region.

Thanks for listening to Crossing Borders all these years! If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to reach out here, or contact me on social media.

Outline of this episode:

[1:42]- Identifying the problem in the hospitality industry
[4:43]- Standardizing the variability of accomodations
[7:09]- Who is Nico Barawid?
[9:23]- What did your consulting and startup background teach you?
[11:39]- What is the best advice you have for someone starting a startup?
[13:26]- Picking your startup; what should you look for?
[15:53]- Why start Casai in Mexico?
[18:18]- Hiring local talent
[20:10]- Getting Casai off the ground
[22:43]- LatAm and US funds; how did you raise capital?
[26:30]- Growing from the first fund to pre-COVID-19
[28:40]- Surviving COVID-19 in the hospitality industry
[33:30]- What advice would you give your San Francisco self?
[38:14]- What is next for Casai?

Show notes on Latamlist.com.