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 Blend 00:32 Mortgage rates in Mexico are extremely high 01:05 Introduction 01:35 Joe's background in the co-living business 04:00 What "Arrenda" is and how it works 07:48 Collateral assignment is not common in the USA 09:20 Finding potential clients in LatAm 12:05 How "Arrenda" started and Joe's life in Mexico 15:34 Plans to expand the business further 16:40 Job profiles considered to work at "Arrenda" 19:35 Ways to attract funds and venture investors 20:53 Introducing the business and dealing with investors 24:12 Bitrefill 25:03 What "Latitud" is and how it helps enterpreneurs 27:35 Latitud's private equity and profit shares conditions 29:18 Mexico's startup ecosystem and the experience on being a CEO 31:12 A week in the life of a CEO living in Ciudad de Mexico 33:08 The startup scene in Mexico and its origins 35:19 On Joe's friendship with Ryan Croft 36:28 Fun stories about living in Mexico 37:37 Some people just can't say "NO" and give excuses instead 41:00 Moving beyond rent payments so fast and why 45:28 Underwriting new projects and what's coming next 47:32 Doing business with celebrities: would that work? 48:58 Language Blend 49:38 Being a traditional business instead of digital-only 51:22 Possibility of working with more traditional assets 54:52 Business idea: helping foreigners buy a property 57:03 Angel investing in Mexico and Colombia 59:32 How the "angel investing" started 01:03:22 Being an angel investor in LatAm is cheaper than in the US 01:05:27 More concentrated enterpreneurial ecosystem: US or LatAm? 01:08:14 Top 3 LatAm countries for startups 01:10:10 Guadalajara's status as a business and tech city 01:12:00 Getting more involved with LatAm's startup ecosystem 01:12:40 Current status of investing in business in Mexico in 2023 01:15:48 Arrenda's portfolio in Mexico 01:17:30 Leasing contracts in Mexico and their particularities 01:19:00 Bitrefill 01:19:57 The importance of standardizing contracts 01:22:06 Reviewing contracts and working with a lawyer 01:25:25 Lots of money and time invested in contracts and deals 01:27:15 Fun stories about people trying to get a loan 01:29:48 The credit score system in Mexico 01:33:20 Tips for digital nomads wanting to get a RFC in Mexico 01:37:02 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/