Category: Crossing Borders Podcast

Ep 15 Brian Requarth, Building THE Online Portal for Real Estate in Brazil

Category : Brazil, Colombia, Crossing Borders Podcast
Posted on July 31, 2017 by Nathan Lustig

Can you imagine what it would be like to be from the US, but trying to build a successful company in Latin America? My guest on this episode did exactly that. Brian Requarth took advantage of his season in life as a young guy who’d just finished college to try his hand in the entrepreneurial world. He’d spent a little time in Latin America so he decided to integrate his experience into his business ideas.

The result many years later is VivaReal, an online portal for real estate in Brazil, one of the largest Latin American markets. On this episode you’re going to hear Brian’s story, how he’s grown personally and has learned many valuable but hard lessons as co-founder of a very successful Latin American startup that’s raised more than $74M in venture capital.
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Ep 14 Sebastian Vidal, Building a Powerful Startup Accelerator in Puerto Rico

Category : Crossing Borders Podcast, Puerto Rico
Posted on July 27, 2017 by Nathan Lustig

It’s always exciting when I get to sit down with someone like Sebastian Vidal. In his experience working as part of the Startup Chile team and now as the leader of Parallel18, a startup accelerator based in Puerto Rico he’s been part of the launch of over 1000 startups. Can you imagine the insights, connections, and lessons-learned a guy like that has? That’s what I wanted to tap into in this conversation, so be sure you take the time to listen.

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Ep 13 Jason Grullón, Building a Successful Sustainable Clothing Brand in the Dominican Republic

Category : Crossing Borders Podcast, Dominican Republic
Posted on July 25, 2017 by Nathan Lustig

The mindset of many entrepreneurs has transitioned from profit-first to responsibility first, and it’s a good thing. In a competitive space like the world of fashion, it may not seem that building a successful sustainable clothing brand is the best move – but Jason Grullón and the team at Virtu have made it happen.

In this conversation, I talk with Jason about how he transitioned from Law School into the world of fashion and how he created a company that is not only profitable but is producing quality clothing in a socially responsible way. (more…)

Ep 12 Federico Vega, Transforming Transport Logistics in Latin America

Category : Argentina, Brazil, Crossing Borders Podcast
Posted on July 21, 2017 by Nathan Lustig

Anytime you have an item that you need to send from here to there you enter the world of transport logistics. It may seem as simple as calling UPS or FedEx, but there’s a lot more that goes into it for the companies that provide the service, not to mention freight companies delivering all around the country. In Latin America, things get even more complicated.

In Brazil, for example, 40% the trucks that are on the road delivering packages and freight are not full. That’s a terrible use of the transport logistics resources that are available. When my guest today, Federico Vega, realized that, he saw an incredible opportunity to solve a problem and create a dynamic company. Through patience, perseverance, and iterations, Federico has built CargoX from the ground up – it’s the Uber for trucking in Brazil.

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