BackStartups

Interview · Latin America

Crossing Borders

with Nathan Lustig

A venture investor based in the region interviewing Latin American founders and the investors backing them — the longest-running English-language show on LatAm startups.

Format Regular, roughly 30 to 45 minutesListen latamlist.com ↗

Why an angel should listen

The host is a managing partner at a firm investing across Latin America and has been running this show for years, which gives it something most regional coverage lacks: continuity. You can hear how the same ecosystems were described five years ago and how they are described now.

For an angel considering the region it answers the questions that matter structurally rather than anecdotally — where companies incorporate, why so many run a US or Cayman parent, how dollar-denominated investment works against local revenue, and which markets have functioning local investor bases rather than only foreign capital.

It is in English, which is both its reach and its limitation: it is aimed at people looking at the region from outside, and the local-language ecosystem conversations happen elsewhere.

Where to begin

Start with these

  • Any episode on corporate structure — the Delaware or Cayman parent question is the first thing an outside angel must understand about the region.
  • Interviews with local fund managers rather than founders, for how capital actually flows.
  • Country-specific episodes, since Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Chile have very little in common.

In short

Good for

LatAm structureCross-border investingRegional context
Listen at latamlist.com

Crossing Borders: common questions

What should an outside angel learn first about Latin America?
Corporate structure. Most venture-backed companies in the region run a US or Cayman parent over a local operating entity, and which one you are actually investing in changes your rights, your tax position and your enforcement options.
Is an English-language show enough to understand the region?
It is enough to understand the structure, which is what an outside investor most needs. The ecosystem conversations that matter to operators happen in Portuguese and Spanish elsewhere.