Colombia entry, tested against Latin America
Get a candid assessment from an operator who helped scale an international business past 300 people across six countries, then built a 100-person operation in Colombia. Understand when Colombia wins, when another Latin American market may fit better, and what it will actually take to launch.
Who this is for
You sell complex, high-value services and need local sales, marketing, client delivery, or relationship coverage to develop the region.
You need: a credible market entry, senior local leadership, and an office that can win trust with clients.
You need high-quality talent that can work closely with US teams and clients without carrying a full US salary structure.
You need: the right roles, realistic compensation, strong English capability, and operating discipline across borders.
You want to combine sales, marketing, operations, People, finance, and administrative support in one scalable location.
You need: a coherent organization, not disconnected hires managed by separate vendors.
Independent by design
Investment-promotion agencies are useful sources for market data, incentives, introductions, and ecosystem access. Their mandate is to attract investment. They are not responsible for deciding whether Colombia fits your industry, clients, operating model, leadership capacity, or risk tolerance.
Build LATAM Office starts with fit. The advice comes from firsthand experience building locally, then working issue by issue with Colombian People, tax, accounting, insurance, legal, and operational specialists.
We examine what happens after the announcement:
If Colombia is not the right fit, the recommendation should say so.
The brief
Define the target clients, services, revenue logic, functions, leadership needs, timeline, and investment guardrails.
Score the relevant cities on commercial reach, talent depth, language, cost, travel, stability, and management load.
Test assumptions with current sources and qualified local specialists across employment, entity, tax, payroll, data, and workspace.
Translate the decision into roles, hiring sequence, governance, vendor choices, milestones, and a first 90-day rhythm.
Proposed pricing
A tailored assessment of whether Colombia fits your business model and objectives.
USD 1,500
Turn a positive Colombia decision into a detailed office design.
USD 3,500
Turn the selected location into an executable office plan.
USD 8,500
The operator behind the work
Maxime has spent 13 years building and leading cross-border commercial and operating teams across China, Japan, Vietnam, and Colombia. He has sold high-value services to investment and consulting firms, built sales and marketing functions, and developed operations, People, and administrative teams. He helped scale an international business beyond 300 people across six countries. He currently leads its US business and runs the Bogotá 100-person operation in Colombia.
His experience sits where commercial ambition meets local execution: client expectations, talent quality, management culture, compensation, operating discipline, and headquarters integration. Engagements are led in English or French. Local Spanish-speaking specialists handle regulated legal, tax, payroll, insurance, and employment work.
Firsthand operating experience
The decision began with direct research across Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina, and Chile. Max interviewed senior People leaders, investment-promotion organizations, and local market-support specialists to compare talent, salary, culture, regulation, and implementation conditions.
Colombia became the selected operating base. Max then helped turn that decision into sales, marketing, operations, People, and administrative capability, building the Colombia operation to 100 people inside an international business of more than 300 across six countries.
Publication review required. This case describes Maxime’s personal operating experience. Metrics and wording require employer clearance. No client names, confidential comparisons, internal materials, or proprietary data will be disclosed.
One integrated launch team
Experienced People leaders help test organization design, compensation, benefits, hiring sequence, management practices, and the employee proposition.
Qualified legal, accounting, tax, payroll, insurance, and workspace partners handle regulated advice and local execution.
Max coordinates the roadmap, decisions, dependencies, risks, and weekly steering so every specialist works from the same brief.
Partner identities, qualifications, scopes, and permission to display them must be confirmed before publication. Specialist fees are quoted separately unless the final contracting model states otherwise.
Questions
No. The work starts with the operating model and role design. If a search is required, Max can help run the decision process or coordinate a licensed specialist. Build LATAM Office does not employ or supply workers.
No. The sprint identifies decisions and coordinates qualified counsel, payroll, employer-of-record, accounting, or immigration providers when needed.
A founder, managing partner, or operations leader at a 20 to 500 person professional-services firm planning an initial Bogotá team of roughly 3 to 20 people. Headcount is a working assumption, not a requirement.
We test the business case, timing, sponsor, first roles, and known constraints. If the work is not a fit, Max will say so.
Start with the decision
A short fit call. No CV upload. No candidate database.