Crossing Borders With Nathan Lustig

When I first got to Chile in 2010, it took me five years to understand all the nuances of how business was conducted. There are several important cultural differences between LatAm and the US that foreign entrepreneurs should pay attention to if they want to be successful. There are also very important differences across Latin American countries that should also be accounted for. Here is a distilled list of what I’ve learned about doing business across borders. Adapting to a local culture If you're planning to do business in Latin America, start by learning Spanish. If you plan to do business in Brazil, learn Portuguese. Knowing the local language eliminates one excuse a client or business partner might have to not do business with you. When launching a startup in Latin America, it is also critical to adapt the business to the local market. Even if the idea is successful in the United States, an exact clone in LatAm will often fail. The companies that have learned to be successful at this figured out how to a