🇺🇸 🇦🇷 Expand Your Tech Startup 💻 | Argentina to Miami (Part 1) 💥 🎙 The Nearshore Cafe Podcast

Welcome to the Nearshore Cafe Podcast, home to the most interesting stories and people doing business in Latin America. Welcome everyone to the Nearshore Cafe Podcast, where we talk with business leaders doing business in LATAM. I'm your host, Brian Samson. Our podcast today is sponsored by Plug Technologies. That's plugg.tech. Plug provides software engineers all over Latin America for growing US companies. I am really excited about our guest today, Juan Barrero. Juan, welcome to the show. It's so nice to have you.

Hey, Brian. Nice to meet you. Nice to see you. Very happy to be here in the show. And I really enjoy listening to the previous podcast too. So Congrats on what you're building here.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Well, Juan, this one's special for me because you are from Argentina. I spent a lot of time in Argentina, and I think we're going to have a lot of fun talking about it. But not all of our guests have been there, and there's nothing like hearing from a native on what it's like. So Can you first just give a sense for like where it is in the world, geography, climate, stuff like that?

Great. Yeah, I love talking about my country. Like when I was 17, the first, I came here for a senior year to the United States as an exchange student and my first speech You know, in the United States they teach you how to pitch, and the first pitch that I did is about my country. So that's remind me to what I'm— I have to tell today. But Argentina is the— it's a country in South America, um, is the 8th largest country in the world, which is very, very, very long country where we— you have like all type of, um, nature, like mountains for skiing, for hiking, lakes, sea, beaches, waterfalls, glaciers, wineries. You have all these kind of different weathers, all these kind of different atmospheres. So you have the Pampas. I'm from the Pampas, where like the agribusiness and the cows and the meat from Argentina comes from. So Argentina also has 40 million population, um, is a democratic country of course. And what else? It has 23 provinces, which I've been in 22 of them. So I'm pretty much about it, very passionate about my country, and I love my country. I left my country more for like professional challenges and business challenges more than because I, I wasn't happy there. So I still like, with my wife, thinking about going back one day. We don't know, but, um, we consider that always because we love our country and we still like have our family also there. So, uh, well, yeah, Argentina is a I don't know, it's a Latin country with a mix of also European. 40% of our Argentinians come from Spain, 30% come from Italy. And so we have that mix of food, quality of life, and things that like the Spanish people normally had. And then we have this crazy attitude and yelling about Italians and Hey, what you want? You know, it's just like— so Argentina is like— it has a lot of immigrants also. It's the third largest Jewish community in the world, like, also. So yeah, it's like a very fun country, like, with a lot of culture, with a lot of, um, different things to do. So, well, I love Argentina and I I'm not from Buenos Aires originally, but as a person that I've been in the most important cities in the world, Buenos Aires for me is top 3. So yeah, I love, I love my country even, and I love Buenos Aires even I'm not originally from there.

Yeah, I remember when I was setting up a business there, we were working with an attorney and he said God is everywhere, but his office is in Buenos Aires.

Yeah, I think that was— sorry, Buenos Aires has a one-third of the population and it is the most international airport. So everybody, like, if you want to be connected to the world, it's always Buenos Aires. Cordoba is the second largest city, important city, but still Buenos Aires is like the main cities. Like, doesn't happen the same in Brazil. It doesn't happen probably the same in Mexico because Mexico has more like Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Brazil has Rio, São Paulo, Brazil, like other cities. And in Argentina, Buenos Aires is very, very the main city.

Yeah, it really is a mega city. I think there's like 14 million people in the surrounding area, something like that. And How would, like, you know, it's called the Paris of South America. It also kind of feels like New York sometimes. Like, how would you describe it? And what is it most, most, what other city in the world is it most like to you?

Well, the social life is a city that never sleeps, I think. But the social life, theaters, cinemas, restaurants, bars, like, all that thing of like, it's amazing how many restaurants, how many theaters, how many cinemas, and how many activities for socialize, for, for everything. Is, is kind of the identity of Buenos Aires that a lot of things happening all the time. So that I think it feels like a little bit like New York. And it has like this Recoleta neighborhood with more French style, like that's why you call it the Paris of of South America. But for me, it's that as a foreign— because I was a foreigner in Buenos Aires— the, the— what I like is the climate is never gets too cold and never gets too hot. Of course, in January a little bit, in our summer gets a little bit more, um, more hot, but but it's still like the weather is perfect, the, the nightlife, the, the restaurant, the food. And, and it has the connection to the world. I've been always like a person who, who's seen the world, so for me has that, like a lot of tourist people coming even. It's really far for it for everyone because it's a— I think Ushuaia is the southern city in the world. One of the, the cities in, in Argentina. So Argentina is really south, so it's really far away from every— from— for European, for American, for Asian, from African, from— for everyone. So it comes— it has a lot of tourists, it has a lot of things to do, you know. You, you never, you never end. Like, is what— sometimes it's the same like when you go to Paris or you go to New York. You never end, end like knowing the full city, you know. You never know, you never know everything. So I don't know everything in Buenos Aires, probably. So that's, yeah, I think, yeah, that's my vision about Buenos Aires.

That's a great, great way to tell it. Um, well, it's particularly interesting because you come from an agricultural province, and Argentina is known throughout the world as, and at least in my opinion, the best beef in the world. Um, could you, you share a little more about, um, uh, what that looks like and, and maybe why the meat is so good?

I think the, the culture of how we, um, first of all, the grass and the, and the, um, the, the tradition that we have of cattle and breeding and all these industry about the, the cattle industry. I think it gives like a, a sense of, um, a sense and, and a real knowledge about how to breed the cattle. And, and also Argentine beef is also, um, more on the grass, and I'm very famous about how we cook it. You know, we don't— we take Like, we leave the meat in the, in the fire for 2, 3, 4 hours, and we leave it there. Not just— we don't cook it. Like, we just leave it down in the, like, above the fire there, and, and we don't cook it. And that's probably the most special things that probably people get surprised because the time we spend— and for us, the time we spend being like doing the asados is more like the cultural thing that we really love. Like, you know, just Okay, I'm gonna do an asado, it's gonna be my time, you know, like it's gonna be my time for me, like it's gonna be the time that I can spend with a friend drinking something while we— while the meat is cooking, right? So it is also like a very important cultural, the asados. Actually, I'm— I organize in Miami a dinner every month that is called Parrilla con Amigos, like barbecue, barbecue with friends, and we cook it like that, 2, 3, 4 hours normally, depends. But sometimes we've been 4 hours, sometimes we— because we didn't have that much time, 2 hours. But I, I invite people for this Parrilla con Amigos to try the Argentine way of cooking the, the beef, and the people love it. And I think people love about Argentina, go to see that how we do it. And, and the best way, like, people ask me, hey, where, where I should go and eat the best beef in, in Buenos Aires or in Argentina? And I always try to, when people comes that and I really know them, and try to do myself a barbecue for them and asado for them, because it, it's, this is different, like going to a restaurant or going to Parrilla. Versus doing it at home, right? So the experience of about joining like a group of friends, a group of people that is going to go for an asado, and one brings the salad or other ones brings the wine, and people are starting to come to the house. And then you ended up like with a long after dinner, like talking and So the culture about doing it at work is always different. And I've done it many times for foreign people who say, hey, I want to try. And I don't want them to don't experience that part because I think it's the one which is pretty different.

Yeah, I really want to echo what you're saying, Juan, about just the time together. Right. And for me, my experience, there was a lot of Sunday asados when I was there, and you kind of spend the whole day together. And it's not like the States. The States is very like rush. You're in, you have the meal, and you're out. So there's this anticipation with the fire. It takes some hours to get going, but you're you're present, you're not on your phone the whole time. You're talking with each other, you're laughing, you're building connection, community, which I think is a huge part of the culture there. But even when you go to a restaurant, it's really designed for a long experience. Maybe you finish the meal in an hour, but you're there for another 3. You know, your phone is not out, you're drinking wine, you're talking. Can you maybe just talk a little more about the importance of that and just that cultural element that makes Argentina so unique?

Yeah, that is one thing that probably I really like about Miami is that I still have sometimes that part of the Latin American culture that I think is more like friendship, family. And as you mentioned, like, we don't have like any starting hour. Like, like, if you ask in a WhatsApp group, hey, we are going like to do a barbecue with friends, and you ask what time I should go, because you don't have a time, you don't have a— like, you normally people here, it will send like, first of all, we will do it in the same day, we decided in the same day, and we'll probably a lot of people join. And here in the United States, you have to set up 2 weeks in advance, at least if you're going to invite someone, and with a starting hour and an ending hour. And that's a big difference there. And I don't miss that much. One of the things that I like about Miami is that I still have a little bit of that sometimes with a mix of the US, with the part of the US that I really like too. Um, but, um, yeah, for us, um, the friendship, the family is really important. I think Latinos in general, but, um, the culture also, this Italian, the familia is really important. And every Sunday we go to, for example, to our parents or like to, to eat a barbecue, and we all come with our like depending when, in which stage of the family you are. But if you already have kids, like all the, all your brothers and sisters comes with their kids, everyone meets in, in the house of the grandparents. And so it is that culture, like people sometimes don't want to leave the country because they, they say, I don't want to miss this in my life. And it's so important because it's like at the end For me, that I'm always been living abroad, like, uh, at the age of 17 I left my hometown. I never came back because I was living in a small hometown. For me, it's more like a natural, like, living abroad or living in another city. So I don't miss that that much. But I still, like, I'm in Miami, I still build that family kind of. So I'm very intentional about building that family because In Miami, I, I still meet Sundays with friends that I like try to build a relationship like family with them. For me, it's really important having that connection about just staying sitting in and laying my body in the couch of, of them, you know. Like, if I, if I'm like, like I'm not having like a real connection with them, I can, I can lay off in, in the, in the couch of their house, you know, right? Like, I want to fall asleep after a siesta after they— I eat a good beef and a good glass of wine, right? So yeah, for us, that connection is, is really important, and you build it that way. You build it that way. If you're like running, you don't have time to build it. You don't have time to, to talk. And that's one of the things that I do with the dinners in Miami, is just I don't let people talk about work and who they are because in, in their companies, um, I'm asking them always to introduce themselves about who, who they are in the personal way. So they love that. Yeah, real connection. Because you're not like, hey, I sold 3 companies, so I have this investor, or I, I'm, I'm an investor, or like, you don't know everyone is in the same level. Right? And that happens when you are in the Sundays or in those barbecues. Everyone is in the same level. No one is— so that's also making that momentum is really important. So you can still do that in the US, but you have to be very intentional. Like I do that.

That's great. Yeah, great answer. Um, before we, we jump off of food, um, I wanted to ask you, um, about your favorite, um, steakhouses. Both in Miami, because I think coming from an Argentine, that's a big recommendation. So your favorite steakhouses in Miami, and then also when you return to Buenos Aires, uh, ones that you might recommend for others to check out.

Okay, for Buenos Aires, I think Don Julio is the best one. Um, it's very popular, but they are really good. And even like if you want to buy their meat to cook it in, in your house, you can buy it also. So, and they have like this amazing presentation. You can— you still— you think like when you're buying a beef, you think you're buying it like a Burberry box of something, like a very luxury thing, which is— and it's not like— if you go to Argentina, it's not that expensive. Like if you like, I don't know, probably you can do a barbecue buying the, the for, I don't know, for 8 people buying the barbecue in Don Julio, and you still spend $100 only. So for 8 people, yeah, it's not that— it's not that expensive at all. And it comes like in a box, like if you like buying like a, I don't know, a luxury leather or any brand, luxury brand, right? I don't want to mention anyone, but, um, but Don Julio is really good. And, and here in Miami, I like, um, What I like is a lot is Fiorito because it has more like— probably it's not the my favorite beef, but the atmosphere. Like, every time I want to feel Argentina, I go to Fiorito because in theory, like, in Fiorito, like, the night before Argentina was playing the, the World Cup, I went with friends to Fiorito because we were so excited about what is going to happen in the next day, that we wanted to keep feeling the Argentinian. And even we— there were— there was a drum there, like, and we still, like, I got a drum and we still, like, I started to sing songs and we feel at home, you know. Just— and that's why I like Fiorito, because it makes me feel a little bit like home. It's more like a bodegón. I don't know how to translate that, like a bodegón. Bodegón is more like an old I don't know, you know what I mean. I don't know, probably you, you can help me to translate what is more like a bodegón. It's like an old, um, restaurant, right? Like an old-fashioned restaurant. I don't know how to— okay, it's more like a very casual place. And, and so I like Fiorito, which is, it's good. But Miami, like, has a lot of La Cabrera also, which is good, and which is in both sides. In Miami. And Miami brings a lot of brands from Argentina. So a lot of Argentinians, we are really always— as, as the market is so small, we are always thinking how to export what we do and what, what we have learned. So I think a lot of brands from Argentina are based in Miami. So you have La Cabrera, which is really good.