Welcome to Crossing Borders with Nathan Lustig, where I interview entrepreneurs doing startups across borders and the investors who support them, with a focus on companies that have some relationship to Latin America. This is the first episode of what will be a weekly podcast.
If you liked this podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on iTunes or Stitcher and check out the first five episodes with other top entrepreneurs doing business in Latin America.
I recently wrote a column in TechCrunch called A new era in Latin American startup investing where I talked about how things have changed since I first moved to Chile in 2010 as part of the pilot round of Startup Chile.
Some of the pioneering investors and entrepreneurs have started to be successful, paving the way for the next generation of startups. Other founders who tried and failed in the early 2010s have learned their lessons and are starting second rounds of companies. The ecosystem is much more developed, including startup specific attorneys and more experienced venture investors. From the link:
Startups in Latin America are using creative solutions to address not just local but also global problems. For investors outside the region, the prospect of working with these startups can appear attractive, yet complicated. Investing in early-stage startups in Latin America can present challenges; however, despite the challenges, time and time again I’ve found it can be well worth the effort.
When I first came to Santiago, Chile in 2010 as part of the pilot round of Start-Up Chile, there was hardly any talk of startups. Most people didn’t even know what startups were. Within nine months of returning to the U.S., the company I co-founded was acquired. So I decided to go back to Chile to look for more opportunities in this emerging market.
Over the next couple of years, I taught entrepreneurship in Chile, mentored local entrepreneurs and eventually started investing in Latin American companies myself. I’ve now invested in more than 30 early-stage companies in Latin America, and I firmly believe the time to help early-stage startups in Latin America has never been better. Here’s why.
Continue reading A New Era for Startup Investing In Latin America on TechCrunch.
I wrote a guest post on VentureBeat called How to find a job in a Latin American Tech Hub aimed at highlighting the growing trend of US and European tech workers coming to Latin America to both start companies, but also to work for high potential startups like GroupRaise, PropertySimple, The Intern Group and more. I covered four main paths to working for tech companies in Latin America:
Each of these have their pros and cons, but all are great ways to get involved in the local tech scenes, travel the world and experience a new culture.
Max Coursey, the founder of Tiger Prop, an innovative real estate brokerage based in Boise, Idaho, invited me to be on his Real Estate Insiders Radio podcast. We covered a huge amount of ground about Andes Property and PropertySimple including:
Thanks again for inviting me Max, I had a great time! If you have any follow up questions about investing in Latin American real estate or PropertySimple’s real estate tool, feel free to reach out!
Listen to “Nate Lustig – Learn How To Diversify Your Assets – Invest In Latin America!” on Spreaker.