The Nearshore Cafe

Mario Oliveros Figueroa has spent his career doing one thing: building sales teams across Latin America. Today he's the Global Director of Latin America at Niyamo, one of the largest payroll services companies in the region. In this conversation, we get into the "sales triangle" of Mexico's three business cities, how sales talent differs from Colombia to Argentina to Brazil, th...

The H1B conversation is loud, political, and often full of half-truths, so we wanted a clean, practical breakdown from someone who has lived it from the staffing side. We sit down with Robert Richard, Chief Digital Officer at Tier 4 Group and the creator behind the H1B Guy, to talk about what is actually happening inside high-skilled immigration and the labor market right now. We unpack how H1B hi...

Victor Fernandes is a data platform engineer from Fortaleza, Brazil — and his path to get there is unlike anything I've heard before. Seven and a half years automating power plants and steel factories, then a single phone call in 2021 that pulled him into the data world. We talk about what it's like building for U.S. teams from Northeast Brazil, the cultural shock of his first American s...

In this episode of the Nearshore Cafe Podcast, Brian Samson sits down with Jen from Expatsi to explore what it really looks like to leave the U.S. and build a life abroad. From growing up in Alabama to relocating to Mérida, Mexico, Jen shares how she and her husband “nearshored themselves” by leveraging remote work, lowering their cost of living, and building a business that now helps others move...

What does it take to grow an IT staffing firm to $28M in revenue while competing against giants like Tech Systems? For Doug Firestone, the answer was found in the jungles of Costa Rica.  In this episode, Doug shares his transition from a Pennsylvania-based founder to a nearshoring pioneer. We explore the logistical and cultural "must-haves" for setting up shop in Latin America, from choo...

How do you handle a land deal with a duffel bag of cash? Brendan Quirk, Founder of LACPA , joins Brian Samson to share the wild, "boots-on-the-ground" reality of doing business in Latin America for over two decades. What started as a backpacking trip to Patagonia turned into a 20-year career as a financial leader and international consultant. From his early days as a CPA in Mendoza durin...

In this episode of the Nearshore Cafe Podcast , hosted by Brian Samson , we sit down with Oleg Baranov, Founder & CEO of FlameTree AI , to break down how AI agents actually work in real-world business environments. Oleg shares why AI should be treated like a junior team member—not a finished product—and how continuous training, iteration, and feedback are essential to unlocking real value. The...

In this short clip from The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , Brian Samson discusses why Venezuela may become one of the most exciting high-risk, high-reward talent markets in Latin America . He explains what the country looked like before the recent political shift, what Venezuelans are experiencing today, and why companies looking to hire globally should keep an eye on the country’s evolving talent lands...

In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , Brian Samson speaks with Joe Helleny , Founder & CEO of CourtMoney, about building a 24-hour nearshore call center in Central America. Joe shares how his background in ATMs, online payments, and government software led him to outsource customer support — first in the U.S., then nearshore in Nicaragua. He discusses the challenges of English profic...

In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , host Brian Samson sits down with entrepreneur and expat founder Chad Smalley to explore what it really takes to build and scale businesses in Panama and Colombia . Chad shares how his journey began in Panama in 2007, where he built and scaled a Spanish-language CRM serving nearly the entire real estate market. From there, the conversation moves into...

In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , host Brian Samson is joined by JP Trouillot , Deal Advisory Partner and Regional Advisory Leader for the Americas at KPMG , and Alan Riddell , Head of Deal Advisory for Brazil and South America at KPMG Brazil . Together, they explore the evolving M&A landscape in Latin America and why investor confidence is rising heading into 2026 . Drawing from...

Welcome to The Nearshore Cafe Podcast, hosted by Brian Samson and sponsored by 💻 Plugg Technologies (plugg.tech), a nearshore talent partner connecting U.S. companies with English-speaking software engineers and digital talent across Latin America. In this episode, Brian sits down with Marvin Martinez, CEO and Founder of Bandsaw AI, to break down how businesses are practically implementing AI tod...

In this final episode of 2025, Brian Samson sits down with Ruben Santana , President of Plugg Technologies , to break down how nearshore hiring evolved this year—and what U.S. companies should expect in 2026. They discuss why companies are moving away from traditional offshoring toward nearshore teams in Latin America, focusing on time zone alignment, project delivery speed, English fluency, and l...

 Thinking about nearshoring? Wondering how it compares to outsourcing, offshoring, or onshoring? In this value-packed episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , host Brian Samson — CEO of Plugg Technologies — answers the 7 most frequently asked questions about nearshoring in 2025 . From cost savings of 40–70% , to real-time collaboration with Latin American developers , Brian explains how nearshoring...

How fast can companies build high-performing nearshore teams? In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , host Brian Samson , Founder of Plugg Technologies , explains how U.S. companies can go from zero to fully onboarded nearshore talent in as little as 14 days . Brian breaks down why nearshoring in Latin America outperforms traditional offshoring, focusing on time zone alignment, communicati...

In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , host Brian Samson sits down with Ricky Michel , founder of Ualett , to talk about building a fintech company from the Dominican Republic —and why the gig worker and rideshare driver economy is still underserved by traditional banks. Ricky shares how Ualettwas founded in 2018 , how the team designed a mobile-first, low-friction liquidity experience by...

In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , host Brian Samson sits down with Ximena “Xime” Aleman , Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Prometeo , one of Latin America’s leading fintech infrastructure companies. Xime shares her unlikely journey from journalism to fintech entrepreneurship, and how her storytelling background became a strategic advantage in building a company that now connects 1,000+ fin...

In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , host Brian Samson sits down with Agustín Guerra , CEO & Co-Founder of Vangwe , to explore one of the fastest-growing sectors in the region: Latin America’s fintech and wealthtech ecosystem . Agustín shares his global journey from Montevideo to China, Germany, Poland, London, and the Netherlands , and how living across continents shaped his perspe...

Global hiring is shifting — fast. In 2025, U.S. companies are moving away from India and Asia, turning instead to Latin America for tech talent, loyalty, and time-zone alignment. In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , host Brian Samson , Founder of Plugg Technologies , talks with Evan Greenberg , Director of Client Solutions at Plugg, about what’s really driving this transformation. They...

Host Brian Samson , founder of Plugg Technologies , breaks down the Trump administration’s proposed $100K H-1B visa fee and how it’s reshaping the global tech talent market. He explains why this massive policy shift could reduce opportunities for engineers in India and China—and accelerate the nearshoring movement across Latin America . Brian dives into the geopolitical motivations , trade tension...

Host Brian Samson talks with Denis Champagne , a Fractional CRO and Strength Coach , about how leadership, culture, and adaptability drive nearshore success across Latin America. Denis shares his journey from growing up bilingual in Canada to discovering the depth and resilience of Latin American culture through language, travel, and business. Together, they explore how empathy, communication, and...

🎙️ The Nearshore Cafe Podcast | Hosted by Brian Samson In this episode, Brian Samson — founder of Plugg Technologies and host of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast — shares a powerful success story from a booming Series A tech startup based in Atlanta. With over $50 million raised , this company had the resources to hire from anywhere in the world. But instead of battling the fierce 2022 Silicon Valley ta...

In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , host Brian Samson (founder of Plugg Technologies ) dives deep with Fernando Soto , a senior Business Analyst working remotely from Guadalajara, Mexico . From humble roots in Tijuana to leading global tech projects, Fernando reveals the real story of life as a nearshore tech professional. 📉 Laid off after 16 years at HP. 🚀 Reinvented his career thro...

What happens when a Series B startup in San Francisco realizes they’re paying over $200K per year for a remote engineer —and getting no extra value from being in the Bay Area? They go nearshore.  And they win. Big. In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , host Brian Samson (Founder of Plugg Technologies ) shares the true story of how one founder turned to LATAM developers to scale faster, c...

In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast , host Brian Samson , founder of Plugg Technologies , chats with Amir Reiter , CEO of CloudTask , about how Medellín, Colombia has become a hidden gem for building high-performing global sales teams. From building his first team in an Airbnb to scaling a $6M+ revenue operation with over 265 contractors, Amir shares how CloudTask evolved from a service...