“To be an entrepreneur you need to reside outside of your comfort zone.”

 

As my boss was reciting these words during my first week working here in Mexico I was sitting there thinking. Thinking about how I had just moved halfway across the globe to a country whose language I don’t speak, where I have to build a network from scratch, all while I’m filling a super exciting but challenging role. As I mentioned this to Rai he burst out laughing. “Good! Let’s make sure it stays that way.”

 

For several years I have started feeling the need of moving to Latin America, and the first time that I visited Mexico, I instantly fell in love. Primarily with the incredibly kind people and the food, but I also cannot deny that the weather played a role given that I had just survived another Berlin winter. Initially that resulted in my opening of a pop-up taco stand in a park. But as I came to read more and more about the country, it became more than simply a vacation destination.

 

What captivated me

 

Mexico has a strategic location: you can have a great impact in the rest of Latin America as well as in USA and Canada. The statistics were exciting. Roughly half the population is 25 or younger. Less than half the population has a smartphone, but the share has been quickly rising. And ecommerce makes up only 2% of the annual retail sales. I started looking for jobs in what I knew was an economy where new tech players were going to play an ever stronger role.

 

Around August of last year, I was put in touch with Raimundo (CEO and Founder at InnoHub). We talked about many things, but what really captivated me was his vision for building startups in Mexico. He gave me a deeper insight into the workings of the Mexican economy, particularly on the finance side. Simultaneously he sold me on the challenges faced by small and medium sized enterprises (PyMEs) in Mexico.

 

I wanted to start from scratch in a place where I could use what I learned in my previous work experience. Over the multiple calls I had with him, Melina (our HR manager) and our board, Rai sold me on the incredible potential that lay ahead. And so, without having signed a contract, a visa in hand or any other concrete assurances of an impending job on arrival here I quit my job at FinLeap. As a German, this was in itself already quite a step.

 

Also, one of the most gratifying things is that there are many people with great talent stemming from some of the most successful companies in Latin America such as Uber and Linio.

 

Some facts

 

Besides the fact that Mexico is still a country that has security issues and that there is a lot of corruption, there is a growing breed of entrepreneurs out to change all of that. The younger generations are demanding better conditions, better education, better government, etc. That generates a great impact in the industry and Guadalajara, dubbed the Mexico’s “Silicon Valley” due to its tech prowess, is a great example of this.

 

Often in Mexico there is less competition than in Europe. There is no need to be super innovative as certain services are taken for granted in Germany that need to be established here, particularly when it comes to serving the middle class or PyMEs.

 

For example, 75% of PyMEs do not survive their second year of operations, primarily for lack of liquidity. As financing in the form of involuntary, interest-free pay extensions to clients is rampant, a problem which Avanttia is trying to tackle, and banks have trouble evaluating a PyME’s creditworthiness in a timely fashion, which LendInc is building a solution for, I felt like I could use my experience in FinTech company building on an entirely different level.

 

The rest of the world sees Mexico like a nice (albeit dangerous) place to visit, but living and building companies here is much more interesting than just visiting the country. Mexico is not just great food and warm weather; the Mexican entrepreneurs, the opportunities and the market in here represent a huge challenge that anyone would want to experience.

 

Written by: David Koch
Head of Product & New Ventures

 

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About InnoHub México

 

We are a Venture Builder that develops and invests in technology companies to digitally transform companies in Mexico and Latin America. We have designed, developed, invested and scaled 5 companies in 2 years. Our investors and strategic alliances give us access to more than 1 million SMEs in Mexico and we are building the largest digital entrepreneurship platform that constantly seeks new talent and promotes sustainable economic development in the region.