Episode 286: The Value of LATAM Human Capital with Brian Samson Founder and CEO, Nearshore (LATAM); Oahu, HI, USA

As the complexity and demands of technology continue to rise in our business lives, CEOs need to explore all available avenues of how to identify and attract top talent. This is where nearshoring comes in. Nearshoring is a valuable vehicle to augment existing teams, support rapid scaling, or bring new knowledge into an organization quickly.   To learn more about nearshoring we turned to Brian Samson, an entrepreneur who has lived and established multiple companies in Latin America. Because of this he holds unparalleled insight into leveraging untapped talent pools of highly educated individuals in Central and South America. Brian holds a passion for helping businesses thrive by introducing great talent to great companies but along the way we also learned he is a caring human who will always be found rooting for the Chicago Cubs.   Here are highlights of our conversation:   -      Nearshore Defined: Moving jobs or tasks within the same time zone, as opposed to offshoring which involves moving across an ocean. The benefit of nearshoring is finding highly skilled talent regardless of the location that speaks English and works the same business day as the US.   -      Challenging Latin America Misconceptions: The discussion focused on myth busting some perceptions of Latin America, particularly Mexico, based on media portrayals and personal experiences.   -      Fostering Children: Brian shared his personal experience of becoming a foster family after hearing about the challenges faced by children in the foster care system. He punctuated the need for more good homes for the 440,000 children in the foster care system in the US, adding that less than 3% ever make it to college.   Brian Samson is a seasoned entrepreneur with a nine-year track record as the founder and CEO in the Nearshore (LATAM) industry. Having lived in Argentina and established multiple companies throughout Latin America that serve the U.S. market, Brian has an unparalleled insight into leveraging untapped talent pools. His journey includes raising $2 million as a founder, scaling his company to 80 team members, and achieving three successful exits. He has held significant roles such as Department Head at Lending Club during its pre-IPO phase, which IPO'd with a $10 billion valuation, and was part of the executive team at Sosh before its acquisition by Postmates and eventually Uber. Brian holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson and leads as a General Partner at Hang10X Capital, making numerous investments in promising ventures. Away from his professional endeavors, Brian's personal life is equally fulfilling. He and his wife are licensed foster parents and have adopted a baby girl from foster care, now raising two toddlers along with a Boston Terrier puppy in their Oahu home. A Chicago native and a staunch Cubs fan, Brian enjoys the island life, which includes the beautiful weather and vibrant community. With a passion that wakes him every day since 2015, Brian is committed to connecting exceptional talent across the Americas with hyper-growth companies in the U.S.   Connect with Brian: Website: www.plugg.tech LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briansamson/   Connect with Allison: Feedspot has named Disruptive CEO Nation as one of the Top 25 CEO Podcasts on the web, and it is ranked the number 6 CEO podcast to listen to in 2025! https://podcasts.feedspot.com/ceo_podcasts/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonsummerschicago/  Website: https://www.disruptiveceonation.com/  X: @DisruptiveCEO     #CEO #brand #startup #startupstory #founder #business #businesspodcast #podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices