Joe Merullo on Building a New Rental Experience in LatAm | My Latin Life Podcast #86 🌴

Joe Merullo is the CEO of Arrenda, a fintech company that provides digital financial services to the real estate market in Latin America, enabling landlords in LatAm to advance up to a year of future lease receivables in 24 hours or less. Arrenda is building a better rental experience for landlords & tenants across the globe.00:00 Language Blend00:32 Mortgage rates in Mexico are extremely high01:05 Introduction01:35 Joe's background in the co-living business04:00 What "Arrenda" is and how it works07:48 Collateral assignment is not common in the USA09:20 Finding potential clients in LatAm12:05 How "Arrenda" started and Joe's life in Mexico15:34 Plans to expand the business further16:40 Job profiles considered to work at "Arrenda"19:35 Ways to attract funds and venture investors20:53 Introducing the business and dealing with investors24:12 Bitrefill25:03 What "Latitud" is and how it helps enterpreneurs27:35 Latitud's private equity and profit shares conditions29:18 Mexico's startup ecosystem and the experience on being a CEO31:12 A week in the life of a CEO living in Ciudad de Mexico33:08 The startup scene in Mexico and its origins35:19 On Joe's friendship with Ryan Croft36:28 Fun stories about living in Mexico37:37 Some people just can't say "NO" and give excuses instead41:00 Moving beyond rent payments so fast and why45:28 Underwriting new projects and what's coming next47:32 Doing business with celebrities: would that work?48:58 Language Blend49:38 Being a traditional business instead of digital-only51:22 Possibility of working with more traditional assets54:52 Business idea: helping foreigners buy a property57:03 Angel investing in Mexico and Colombia59:32 How the "angel investing" started01:03:22 Being an angel investor in LatAm is cheaper than in the US01:05:27 More concentrated enterpreneurial ecosystem: US or LatAm?01:08:14 Top 3 LatAm countries for startups01:10:10 Guadalajara's status as a business and tech city01:12:00 Getting more involved with LatAm's startup ecosystem01:12:40 Current status of investing in business in Mexico in 202301:15:48 Arrenda's portfolio in Mexico01:17:30 Leasing contracts in Mexico and their particularities01:19:00 Bitrefill01:19:57 The importance of standardizing contracts01:22:06 Reviewing contracts and working with a lawyer01:25:25 Lots of money and time invested in contracts and deals01:27:15 Fun stories about people trying to get a loan01:29:48 The credit score system in Mexico01:33:20 Tips for digital nomads wanting to get a RFC in Mexico01:37:02 Conclusion🌴 Follow Joe Merullo:Website: https://arrenda.mx/Twitter: @merullojoe🌴 Follow My Latin Life: City Guides: https://mylatinlife.com/city-guides/ FREE Telegram Group: https://t.me/+u18h0doDhxRiY2Fh Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyLatinLife Set up a Base in LatAm: https://calendly.com/MyLatinLife Episode sponsored by Language Blend: https://www.languageblend.com/Support the show