Brazil is a target market for many US startups and you will find many popular US websites that have entered Brazil organically. The biggest social networks in Brazil are mostly from the US such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. LiveMocha (US) has a strong presence in Brazil which I don’t believe was the original plan but Brazilian’s loved the service. Groupon (US) entered organically via their international partner Rocket Internet (German). Lieferando (German) entered recently in …
4 articles Tag Foreign startups
Top 5 mistakes that foreign startups make when entering Brazil
There are many foreign startups that have entered Brazil in recent months, attracted by the high number of Internet users and the opportunity to grow. I have noticed they tend to make the same mistakes. Here are a few to avoid: 1) Underestimating the cost of doing business; talent is extremely expensive, cost of quality services is very high, high rent etc. 2) Underestimating the bureaucracy involved with opening the company; things take longer and …
Being a Country manager in Brazil
I worked as a country manager for a European startup in Brazil for the last 6 months. After the first 4 months, the startup was acquired and the strategy to entry Brazil was pushed back for cash-flow reasons. However, I can give you an idea what it is like to be a Country Manager. As a Country Manager, you typically don’t report to investors. This means that you are a startup executive, not an entrepreneur. …
Innovating in Brazil versus cloning a known model
There are a few notable examples of foreign internet entrepreneurs who are innovating in Brazil including Baby.com.br and Vostu.com. Baby was started by a couple of MBAs from Harvard and Wharton who couldn’t find diapers in Rio de Janeiro on a trip in 2010. They pitched the idea to Ron Conway and Monashees and are on the way to building an interesting business. Vostu also started as an idea at Harvard University that achieved early success with games …
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