Fostering Binational Startups: US-Mexico Collaboration

Introduction: Highly Skilled Immigrants Within the US Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

As the backbone of modern economies, the tertiary sector thrives on innovation, advanced technologies, and the expertise of highly qualified professionals. In the U.S., highly skilled immigrants are key contributors to the knowledge economy — a vital component of the tertiary sector — through inventions, patents, and entrepreneurial endeavors in cutting-edge industries. Immigrant entrepreneurs contribute to U.S. economic development by reshaping the urban landscapes where they operate and sparking growth through high-tech sectors (Brown et al. 2018). Their contributions have been documented by researchers in many ways:

• Job creation (American Immigration Council 2022).
• Acceleration of innovation and entrepreneurship (Kerr 2020). 
• The strength of the STEM labor force (Hanson and Liu 2018). 
• Patent registry (Gaspar Olvera 2021). 
• Research and development (R&D) (Brown et al. 2018). 

This report analyzes the role of these players in relation to startups, in particular those that become binational firms with operations in Mexico and the U.S. It focuses on the role that highly skilled Latino immigrants — who have at least a bachelor’s degree, or graduate studies — play in the U.S. entrepreneurial ecosystem since, as Orozco et al. (2020) point out, this group starts businesses faster than all other demographic groups and across nearly all industries. 

In fact, entrepreneurship rates among Latinos increased during the pandemic and continued to grow in 2023 (Fairlie 2024). They often move from traditional business activities, e.g., targeting Latino markets, to position themselves as important players in the mainstream economy (Orozco 2022). For decades, it was thought that Latino immigrants started new businesses primarily out of necessity. However, Fairlie’s (2024) last report on entrepreneurial activity shows a significant shift: Latino immigrants now have the highest opportunity share among new entrepreneurs — those who start businesses by choice rather than necessity — alongside women and Asian Americans.

Fairlie and Desai (2020) found that in 2019, Latinos had the highest rate of new entrepreneurs in the U.S., starting more businesses than any other group of adult nonbusiness owners. This entrepreneurship is concentrated in neighborhoods that offer local opportunity structures where Latino immigrants can leverage their individual resources, such as their social networks and the financial capital derived from them (Fraudatario et al. 2024). These neighborhoods emerge in prosperous metro areas where bank financing is more accessible to large minority populations (Casey et al. 2023).

An Opportunity: Binational Startups

What is a Startup?

Kauffman et al. (2017) define a startup as an employer firm that is less than one year old and employs at least one person besides the owner. Although they can operate in any industry, recently startups have been associated with tech-driven businesses. It is difficult, however, to provide a general definition, since startups vary widely in their capital structure, growth, and funding behaviors. The notion of startups as firms founded by young people who drop out of school to undertake a business venture has evolved toward a company founded by an older individual (in their early 30s), who possesses work experience, has robust networks, and knows how to get things done (U.S.-Mexico Foundation 2021). Other definitions of startups do not limit them to being created within one year but emphasize their orientation toward innovation and disruption, their rapid growth potential, and their willingness to face a high level of risk and uncertainty. Saenz et al. (2021) suggested categorizing startups according to their typical revenue, age, financing needs, and other specific characteristics such as their rates of debt and equity investment. 

Diversity of Founders

Another common characteristic of startups is the diversity of their founders, including ethnic diversity. Further, some evidence points to the fact that more diverse venture capital (VC) teams yield better financial returns (Gompers and Kovvali 2018; Kirschenhofer and Lechner 2012). Diverse educational backgrounds, ways of thinking, and scopes of interest propel quality entrepreneurship through imagination, curiosity, and unconventional approaches (Tavassoli et al. 2021). 

Startup-Friendly Cities

Many U.S. startups have flourished in economically vibrant cities that demand skill-intensive services, such as downtown San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, midtown Manhattan, Austin, Boston, Denver, Dallas, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Miami, and Charlotte. This is in part due to industry density and diversity, compactness, and walkability (Casey et al. 2023), as well as these urban areas’ high numbers of college-graduate residents, high regional income, and population growth (Armington and Acs 2002). These cities provide the required resources and supportive infrastructure as well as collaborative networks for the development of entrepreneurship ecosystems. A culture that propels innovation is also a characteristic of these vibrant entrepreneurial hubs, along with strong ties between academia and industry. Some also offer low taxes without sacrificing a high quality of life and/or affordable living costs. It is also worth mentioning the Research Triangle Park region in North Carolina, which includes Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, and is renowned for its concentration of technology firms and research institutions. 

Range of Businesses

Historically, startups have been associated with highly educated individuals launching businesses in conventional industries such as health care, clean energy, outdoor recreation, e-commerce, finance, fashion, logistics, media and marketing, and advanced manufacturing. Recently they have become increasingly active in technologically cutting-edge sectors of the economy, such as biotechnology, robotics, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, software development, fintech (financial and banking technology), digital health, and cyber security (Armington and Acs 2002).

Binational Startups

U.S. cities can harness the potential of their startups by converting them into binational businesses, dedicated to creating synergies and tackling opportunities in Mexico and the U.S. Glasner (2022) looks at Latin American startup founders in Silicon Valley, many of whom then return to their native countries to launch further startups. 

Looking at Mexico in particular, the country offers several advantages to startup entrepreneurs:

• The chance to expand their market by providing multiple resources and access to cost savings — ranging from lower salaries to cheaper real estate — to adequate infrastructure, while ensuring high-quality output and opening new channels for collaboration (Grootjen 2023a).
• Access to lower employer taxes and healthcare costs in Mexico. For instance, Grootjen (2023b) reports that payroll taxes in Guadalajara are approximately 10% compared to up to 25% in California.
• Availability of capital grants, tax breaks, special economic zones (e.g. Guadalajara Technology Park), and subsidized infrastructure provided by federal and state governments (Grootjen 2023b).
• Lastly, similar time zones that provide a very practical advantage.

Startups founded by Mexican immigrant entrepreneurs in the U.S. are unique, since these individuals live in the U.S. but maintain connections with Mexico (Drori et al. 2009). This allows immigrant startups to leverage resources from both countries of residence and origin (Ljungkvist et al. 2023).

Overview of Latino Immigrant Entrepreneurs Within the US Startup Ecosystem

Several key insights have been identified by researchers regarding Latino-owned businesses:

• They continue to grow at a faster pace than white-owned businesses in terms of revenue, number of businesses, employees, and payroll (Gomez-Aguinaga et al. (2024).
• Between 2007 and 2022, their numbers grew 57% in the U.S.
• While the number of startups is decreasing among white males, entrepreneurship among Latinos is on the rise (Fairlie et al. 2016b).
• They are high-quality businesses and highly worthy of investment (Gomez-Aguinaga et al. 2024, 26).
• Over the past decade, the number of Latino business owners has surged, outpacing any other ethnic group (Jensen 2020).

These entrepreneurial endeavors are penetrating the tech industry and working within innovative areas characterized by the adoption of artificial intelligence and the use of marketing technologies.

Gomez-Aguinaga et al. (2024) report that the top three industries among Latino-owned businesses include construction; accommodation and food services; and professional, scientific, and technical services. Hartsock (2020) created a list, “Tech Companies with Latinx Founders in the U.S.,”in which the most common industries are software, consumer apps, fintech, and health care, among others.

Overview of the Mexican Startup Ecosystem

Over the last decade, Mexico has benefited from a growing pool of experienced startup entrepreneurs, leading to the emergence of firms in innovative sectors that mirror the services, goods, and solutions offered by many U.S. startups. The technological ecosystem in Mexico saw an average growth rate of 10.5% from 2002 to 2018 (Conklen 2023), with development across the country:

• Dubbed the Mexican Silicon Valley, Guadalajara hosts multinational tech firms like Oracle, Intel, Dell, Microsoft, and IBM, alongside many small and medium-sized startups.
• Queretaro, with more than 25 data centers, has become a data center hub.
• Aguascalientes has attracted major IT firms.
• Cities like Tijuana, Mexicali, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Monterrey, Saltillo, and Mérida have become R&D clusters that concentrate the research efforts of academic, private, and public institutions.
• The capital, Mexico City, plays a key role in holding the country’s leading accelerators, many high-value startups, and the majority share of venture capital (Conklen 2023).

Main industries in the Mexican startup ecosystem are aerospace, medical devices, biotechnology, nanotechnology, IT and software, creative industries, design innovation, agrifoods, business process outsourcing, e-commerce, mobile apps, and digital payments (Conklen 2023). The U.S.-Mexico Foundation (2021) found that most venture deals are concentrated in the consumer discretionary and financial services sectors, with a major focus on fintech. This organization also points out the attractive opportunity that Mexico offers regarding the digital economy since more than 90 million Mexicans are now digitally connected, fostering opportunities in the business-to-consumer (B2C) arena.

A Beneficial Collaboration

While some Mexican startups have strong connections with U.S. counterparts and maintain facilities in both countries, the intentional creation of binational startups capitalizes on the unique strengths of both Mexico and the U.S. Such collaborations enhance access to capital, mentorship, networking, knowledge sharing, spin-offs, development of capabilities, and financial credit. Innovation in startups can be enabled by transnational resource orchestration and bidirectional networking (Ljungkvist et al. 2023). The synergy is illustrated by business solutions that have worked well in the U.S. and are currently being applied in Mexico — U.S. firms have learned how to add value to portfolio selection in the venture capital sector and this knowledge is now being transferred to Mexican startups that still lack an accurate understanding of their investors’ long-term goals and needs. 

Under a binational startup framework, Mexico could act as a bridge from the U.S. to Latin America and address pain points faced by the middle class in the region, for example problems such as: 

• The lack of adequate technological infrastructure for digital investing.
• The regulatory environment not fully adapting to the emergence of new saving and investment alternatives. 
• Financial illiteracy preventing some members of the middle class from making informed investment decisions.

This type of approach would also provide more visibility for Mexican startups outside Mexico (U.S.-Mexico Foundation 2021).

Advantages: Mexico

In summary, Mexico offers what U.S. startups usually look for, namely infrastructure, talent, universities, R&D, more flexible unions, and entrepreneurs (U.S.-Mexico Foundation 2021). Some of these are featured below.

Availability of Engineers — One of the main advantages for U.S. startups in becoming binational is access to highly qualified engineering Mexican talent, often with industry experience. Mexico ranks third highest among OECD countries in the percentage of graduates who are engineers (OECD 2020; Ministry of Economy 2023).

Ties to Universities — Businesses and universities in Mexico are increasingly collaborating to tailor academic programs that meet the job market’s evolving needs. Working with academic faculties, companies can help shape curricula to equip students with the specific skills and knowledge required so that businesses can hire graduates who are ready to contribute effectively from day one.

Government Initiatives — In many Mexican states, government initiatives aim to foster entrepreneurial development and startup activity, including incubators and accelerators. An entrepreneurial ecosystem is being developed via forums, educational programs, and training for entrepreneurs, supported by public-private co-investment financing, angel investors, a growing venture capital community, and local family offices and networks (U.S.-Mexico Foundation 2021).

Advantages: United States

Untapped Opportunities — there are still untapped opportunities that Latino entrepreneurs can harness in the U.S., including government and corporate contracts that enable entry into broader markets, promoting growth, scalability, and economic resilience (Gomez-Aguinaga et al. 2024). This creates an important complementarity for startups willing to work on both sides of the border.

TN Visa Program — The visa provisions in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) — specifically the TN visa — simplify cross-border hiring and are more cost-effective and less legally burdensome than the H-1B visa process for engineers from other countries (U.S.-Mexico Foundation 2021). 

Examples

A few examples of startups working binationally include: 

• Universities and research centers in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua and El Paso, Texas, have long collaborated with manufacturing firms in these cities for R&D purposes.
• Guadalajara has a growing number of startups with dual headquarters in Silicon Valley (Conklen 2023).
• In the wine industry, the Mexican American Vintners Association (MAVA) links 16 Mexican family-owned wineries in Sonoma and Napa Valley (U.S.-Mexico Foundation 2021).

Emerging Sectors

Traditionally, binational startups have been concentrated in sectors such as software and IT services, IT centers, transportation and warehousing, business services, automotive components, communications, electronic components, food and beverages, and real estate (U.S.-Mexico Foundation 2021). Building on this foundation, numerous new opportunities are emerging for binational startups to address needs on both sides of the border:

• Software Development — Software development for U.S. companies, outsourcing most of the development work to Mexico through business networks, as well as web design, embedded tools, and augmented reality for the U.S. market using highly skilled software developers in Mexico.
• Digital Real Estate Platforms — Development of sustainability-oriented digital platforms in the real estate industry, with the support of IT specialists from Mexico to integrate partners and services with building and location data for the U.S. market (Vigren et al. 2022; Ljungkvist et al. 2023).
• Income Tax Industry — Immigrant entrepreneurs in the U.S. recognize the demand for bilingual and Spanish-language training within the tax sector, particularly for non-Latinos seeking to enter the Latino market. Additionally, Latino tax professionals need guidance and mentorship to help them enter the U.S. market (Orozco 2022).
• Market Research — International market research that focuses on both Latinos living in the U.S. and the adaptation of U.S. companies’ communication strategies, specifically tailored to the profile of the Mexican market.
• Solar Energy — Increasing the manufacture of solar photovoltaics and their installation along the northern deserts of Mexico could enable cross-border solar energy generation and transmission through the U.S., giving Mexican producers and consumers access to more affordable and environmentally friendly forms of electricity, while providing the U.S. with lower general material prices and the advantages derived from geographical proximity (Martinez 2017). While the new Mexican administration’s energy policies have stalled progress, the possibility remains of enhancing cross-border electrical interconnectivity by fostering cross-border solar energy production.
• R&D Environment — Mexico’s emerging R&D ecosystem offers many paths for startups to explore, through technological universities, institutes, artificial intelligence centers, technical colleges, and centers for research in applied science and technology as well as private incubators, and the state and local government initiatives fostering entrepreneurial development (U.S.-Mexico Foundation 2021).
• Other Possibilities — Binational startups can create a learning ecosystem, accelerate technology transfer, and influence policymaking.

Challenges for Binational Startups

Access to Capital

One of the highest barriers to founding and scaling Mexican immigrant startups in the U.S. is access to financial capital (Bates et al. 2018).

• Latino-owned businesses are underfunded across all sources of capital, noting that less than 1% of funds from today’s top venture capital and private equity investors wind up in the hands of Latino-owned businesses (Saenz et al. 2021).
• A recent report documents that just 1.3% of the total venture capital deployed went to U.S.-based Latino entrepreneurs in 2023, through just 101 investments (Gangas et al. 2024).
• Latino-owned businesses also face lower rates of approval and funding from banks.

However, there has recently been significant improvement: Glasner (2022) reports that in 2021 venture and technology growth investors poured an estimated $19.5 billion into Latin America, considerably outpacing prior years’ levels.

Startup Skill Set

Although Mexico is able to provide a high number of talented engineers, they frequently lack a product focus, a skill set incorporating design principles and user feedback loops. Because capital is widely available in the U.S. for new product development, these skills can be developed through binational startups (U.S.-Mexico Foundation 2021).

Multicultural Competencies

Linares (2023) highlights the importance of acquiring the necessary multicultural competencies to move successfully from a Latino arena to the mainstream American market.

• As well as gaining access to capital, binational startups must gather information on two markets with different needs, consumption behaviors, and purchasing capacities so they can simultaneously operate efficiently in both.
• Mexican entrepreneurs often lack a broader geographical mindset since they focus on local and regional business models. A binational startup could push forward their growth, particularly in a frontier-free sector such as the tech one.
• Developing a strong culture of risk-taking and collaboration in the Mexican entrepreneurial ecosystem is also a challenge.

Venture Capital and Investment Issues

The U.S.-Mexico Foundation (2021) identifies as one of the main challenges the lack of high-profile exits by Mexican startups — a startup “exit” is the process by which the founders and investors of the company realize their investment gains. Also, few large companies are locally based and able to support or nurture young businesses. Another issue is the difficulty startups have in providing stock options as well as the absence of successful IPOs, acquisitions, or breakthrough companies that serve to attract venture investors. Despite valuable initiatives to support the startup ecosystem, closer collaboration between universities, corporations, and venture capitalists is required, as well as directing venture capital activity toward later-stage investment.

Regulatory Environments

Finally, one of the most pressing challenges for the creation and sustainability of binational startups is keeping on top of the laws that apply in each country — rules that generally seek to maintain a stable legal, economic, and security environment as well as assuring the continuity of governmental policies.

Beyond Public Policy

One of the economic areas with the strongest potential in Mexico is venture capital — and, despite its growth during the last four years, VC is still one of the biggest obstacles to creating and scaling a startup. According to Fairlie and Robb (2010), startup capitalization is the strongest predictor of survival, profitability, and growth.

In the United States

In the U.S., the business and financial environment — including banks, angels, VC, institutional equity investors — can meet the capitalization needs of startups, helping to protect them from the liability of newness (Casey et al. 2023). This is particularly important for binational startups since, as reported by Saenz et al. (2021), Latino-owned businesses struggle with a “scale wall” at around $1 million in revenue. At this point, high-cost debt and a lack of equity investments make it difficult to reinvesting money to grow the business. 

Much has been discussed about discrimination toward minorities in the U.S. banking sector, but this has gradually changed as bankers find minority-owned firms appealing due to the prospect of high financial returns (Casey et al. 2023). Therefore, on the U.S. side, funding plays a key role in fostering prosperous binational startup circuits as well as providing the necessary infrastructure such as co-working spaces, incubators, and accelerators. The U.S. also plays a vital role in spurring innovation by leveraging entrepreneurial visa programs that promote the creation of binational startups.

In Mexico

Although the Mexican venture capital market is immature, it has been growing significantly since 2016 (U.S.-Mexico Foundation 2021). Moreover, Mexico offers access to an appealing market that is still underserved in terms of the satisfaction of specific needs and that has great potential because of its:

• Lower average population age than the U.S.
• Increasing purchasing power.
• Digitally wise young inhabitants.
• Growing middle class.
• Pipeline of available top talent.

While there is still some way to go in terms of building a robust startup ecosystem, a growing community of startups and accelerators is emerging with organizations like StartupMexico, 500 Startups, Wayra, and MassChallenge appearing on the scene to nurture early-stage ventures with mentoring and financing (Grootjen 2023b). Elizondo (2023) suggests that the Mexican federal government and border states establish offices in Texas — specifically in the “golden Texan triangle” of Austin, Houston, or Dallas — to promote collaboration initiatives between the regions and attract investments to northern Mexico.

Previous Cross-Border Initiatives

Cross-border programs that foster collaborative networks by organizing events and gatherings that allow the exchange of ideas are crucial pillars of the startup ecosystem. Specific initiatives coordinated between the Mexican and the U.S. governments to foster entrepreneurship and innovation include:

• 2013 saw the creation of the Mexico-U.S. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council (MUSEIC). Eventually, this initiative lost ground with the transition from one federal government to another.
• Also in 2013, the Mexican government’s innovation agency INADEM (the National Institute for the Entrepreneur), an arm of the secretariat of the economy, was created. It was subsequently closed by the López Obrador administration in 2019 (U.S.-Mexico Foundation 2021).
• In 2016 the ‘‘Venture Beyond Borders’’ program sought to create a partnership between actors in the San Diego-Tijuana region to boost entrepreneurship and startup creation on both sides of the border. This effort was mainly driven by informal coalitions and local organizations (Cappellano and Makkonen 2020).
• The Arizona Border Communities Roadmap has organized several forums to promote economic development on a binational basis.
• Binational business accelerators or incubators such as the Technology Hub in Juárez, El Paso, and New Mexico, and binational innovation summits on the U.S.-Mexico border.
• Specific forums (e.g., Mexico VC Day) have been organized to bring together complementary players in the startup ecosystem such as entrepreneurs, private equity firms, family offices, financial services firms, accelerators, and government officials (U.S.-Mexico Foundation 2021).

Most of these initiatives are concentrated in border states and the metropolitan areas of Mexico, Monterrey, and Guadalajara, since Mexico is still a highly centralized country. A more comprehensive geographical approach is needed, one that considers other states and cities that offer distinctive advantages and encompasses all the players of the startup ecosystem.

A Way Forward: Cross-Border Regional Innovation Ecosystem

Cappellano and Makkonen (2020) propose the creation of a new cross-border regional innovation ecosystem (CBRIE) as a tool for identifying the organizations involved in cross-border networks and their roles in cross-border cooperation at the U.S.-Mexico border, specifically between San Diego and Tijuana. In this approach, the cross-border efforts are centered on the universities, economic development corporations, co-working spaces, incubators, accelerators as well as other ‘‘intermediary organizations” providing services that support innovation and knowledge transfer. In contrast, governmental authorities only intervene as facilitators in creating a policy framework to support cross-border innovation links. This interesting initiative recognizes that cross-national efforts may coalesce because of specific circumstances and disperse later (Cappellano and Makkonen 2020), as happened with MUSEIC.

These authors suggest shifting the focus from governments toward nonprofit organizations (NPO) by transferring responsibility to, and ensuring continuity through, local organizations using a bottom-up approach. They envision the innovation ecosystem as a network that includes both creators of innovation and its users. Linares (2023) likewise sees these organizations — institutions, agencies, chambers, colleges — as sources of business support, mentoring, coaching, and consulting. As part of such intermediary organizations, entrepreneurial associations play a prominent role in linking the technological sectors of both countries to common, complementary, and synergistic projects. Two examples:

• The Colaborativo IT DFW was founded in 2018 to promote awareness and business growth of the Latino IT products and services industry in Dallas.
• Techqueria, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization serving the largest global community of Latino professionals in tech.

To foster binational startups, these organizations would need to establish parallel chapters in Mexico.

This approach gives the innovation ecosystem agility, dynamism, and a self-governed structure. It can be used to connect the producers or startups in the U.S., with the users, industrial or end consumers in Mexico, or the other way around, through NPOs as intermediaries. Under such an ecosystem, binational startups could enhance access to funding sources and qualified talent, develop co-working spaces and joint research, participate in mentorship programs, create synergies for lobbying the government, pitch competitions, and harness face-to-face cross-border contacts (Cappellano and Makkonen 2020). Ultimately, the goal must be to create synergies that allow participants to lead in the activity where they perform best.

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September 13th, 2024 | News