Being from a 3rd world country myself, there are a few important details that are good to know:<p>Crime: Most westerners will not be ready for this. There is a much greater divide between the haves and have nots. Most people get disturbed by child beggars.<p>Kidnappings: Since we're on the subject of crime, this is a good topic. Kidnappings were a common occurrence where I'm from. It's bad enough where you can't even trust police officers at times. You or your family members will be in danger of this, and it can cost either a lot of money, a life, or even both depending on the country. Luckily where I'm from it was well known that elements in the military were carrying them out, so as long as you paid no one was harmed or touched; hence the professionalism. Sadly this isn't the case in most countries (especially in the Americas), where the kidnappers fail to think about the long term 'repeat business' that comes when you're smart enough to keep your 'customers' alive.<p>Food Cleanliness: Hygiene especially around food prep isn't all that great in the 3rd world. You definitely want to get your shots, but even that's not enough in some cases. My friend got e-coli from a 4 star hotel. Tip: don't eat street food unless you like gambling with your health.<p>Bribes: This is also a way of life. Not going with it can make business much harder.<p>I agree with others who feel the article is a bit naive sounding.
I'm currently doing a startup in Singapore and a lot of those points definitely ring true with my experiences so far (though I've only been here for about two months).<p>I would argue two points though:<p>- If you're really adventurous and willing to take the plunge, I say you can do your research, then hop on a plane within two months at the earliest. Of course it'll be tough, but it'll be tough no matter if you did it later rather than sooner.<p>- While you can build a company for less overseas, one big thing you'll miss if you decide to really take your business overseas is the nice, large, homogenous U.S. market. Of course depending on the type of startup, your target market may not be geographically locked. In Singapore, you'll hear the phrase "but Singapore's market is so small!" muttered repeatedly. You could still have a startup that primarily targets the U.S. market, but you can definitely feel a disconnect that may or may not eventually impact how your product is marketed.<p>In the end though, I think what's really great about it is the efficiency of the experience. Immersing yourself in a new culture while building a startup will probably be one of the most life experience packed times of your life where you can grow in so many different ways in such a short amount of time. Depending on your philosophy on life, there may be nothing more appealing than this.
Although I admire the courage, I'm somewhat surprised by some of the almost naive American viewpoints expressed by the writer. For instance, it's not so much "extremely difficult to fire someone in Argentina", as it is extremely easy to fire someone in the US.<p>And maybe it's just me, but I get a sense of a very patronizing attitude towards both his employees and other cultures in general. I strongly suspect the lack of loyalty he experienced isn't just a local cultural thing.
<i>...people who work 80 hours a week not because they have to – but because they want to</i><p>Ugh, what a turnoff... please keep this (mostly) American silliness from other countries!<p>Also, if someone in your company is doing it and is being condoned, it's no longer a choice for others not to put in at least a little bit over 40 hours.
I've been traveling and trying to start a few web projects for 5 months in Southeast Asia, and I'm not considering starting a real startup in a far-away, 3rd world country because:<p>- it is very lonely. How do you find like-minded people? How do you find good co-founders or team members? These things are theoretically possible, but it's already hard enough in your own country - imagine in a far-flung country where you don't know anybody.<p>- marketing to your own country is tough (because of the distance), marketing to your country of adoption is tougher. I was thinking of marketing to the US market because it's simply the biggest and wealthiest, but now I've decided to target my national market, as I have easier access to people here. Being able to meet your potential customers is important.<p>None of these things is impossible, it must be a hell of an experience, and developers are cheaper, but building a startup is already extremely hard, building a startup overseas makes it even harder.
Be very careful of Generalizations. Some have said in the comments that crime could be an issue. In some countries crime is far worse than the USA, in others crime is far lower, again in some countries some people are late for meetings, in others people are early.<p>It all depends. The only generalization that you can make is that it will be different. In the other words everywhere has advantages and disadvantages. As a start up "pilot" you have to maximise the advantages and minimise the disadvantages.
Also, hiring in third-world countries might be a problem. I'm brazillian, and unless you're in São Paulo you're likely to find that locals have a different sense of time, hurry, priorities, and civility. In certain parts of the country (Salvador, or Rio, for example), you should be ready for everything to happen at least an hour late, except when it doesn't. People will expect to be able to be late to meetings and appointments, and will miss deadlines for no reason.<p>Another limiting factor is traffic. As an american, you probably love driving, but here in Brazil (again excepting São Paulo and maybe parts of the south) long drives should be avoided if at all possible, as highways are full of potholes or randomly dangerous. Also, most of the economy (and hence good employees) will be in the big cities, and these have horrible traffic in the level of London or Manhattan for nothing close to the economic output.
<i>"You need to find out about businesses laws, labor laws, and residency visas. For example, in Argentina it’s extremely difficult to fire someone"</i><p>I would imagine stronger labour laws would be the biggest difference for an American business owner.
I think the article is a pretty interesting insight. Given that I've actually been in-between both. I split my time with my overseas team and the US team. I've learned a lot as well. Definitely more than you can put into a blog, but some of the points mentioned are priceless. I'm not so sure about making the move entirely to another country. I'm all about the cost savings, but there's something to be said for actually knowing contemporaries or talking to customers/others face to face (probably doesn't apply to everyone, but that's the main reason I'm still here).
A very interesting idea of moving abroad to take advantage of cheaper labor. But, he suggests taking 9 months of prep time (6 to move there and try it out, 1 to vacation there and think about it, 2 to do research) before even starting the company in another country.<p>In that amount of time, you could take a product to market, iterate a few times, and gain considerable traction. I wouldn't trade that for cheap labor. As an entrepreneur my most precious asset is time; I can't give up a week much less 9 months without advancing the company.