Victoria Marco on Argentina’s Entrepreneurial Spirit, Disney & the Latin American Startup Boom

Brian: Welcome to the Near Shore Cafe Podcast, home to the most interesting stories and people doing business in Latin America. Welcome to the Near Shore Cafe Podcast, I’m Brian Sampson, your host. Today, we have a very special guest, Vicky Marco. But before we connect with Vicky, just a quick shout-out to our sponsor, Plug Technologies. That’s P.L.U.G.G. dot Tech. Plug provides software developers all over Latin America to US companies. Vicky, welcome! So nice to have you on the show today.

Vicky: Hi, Brian! Thank you. Nice to be here. I’m so excited.

Brian: Hey Vicky, I loved how well-traveled you are, and I think that’s a great place to start. So, just to set some foundation, where are you from originally, and then where have you migrated over this past year?

Vicky: Yes, so I’m from Argentina. I’ve lived in Buenos Aires my whole life. But during the past months, pretty much, I’ve been working fully remote since 2018, and I’ve always liked to travel, so I can travel. I mean, I can work wherever, and I’ve been taking advantage of that since this year. So, I’m from Argentina. I’m currently in Mexico. I came from Brazil, and just to add up, I work for a company that is based in Colombia. So that makes it like… I don’t think.

Brian: Amazing, amazing. And you said Buenos Aires, like the city of Buenos Aires, is where you’re from?

Vicky: Yeah, exactly. I’m from there.

Brian: Okay, excellent. Now, much of our listening audience knows Buenos Aires and Argentina. But for those that don’t, maybe what are some things that someone who’s never been to Argentina before, and Buenos Aires in specific, what should they know? Like, what are the couple things that you’d want them to know?

Vicky: That’s a good question. I think, I mean, it’s an amazing city. I love Argentina, I love Buenos Aires. It’s great. You have great food, great wine, great people. You know, people are fun and everybody loves to have a good time, and they’re really welcoming. It’s a really open culture. But mostly, we’re well known for our wine and our asados. Asado is like a barbecue, I guess, but I don’t know, I guess the meat is really good. I don’t eat that much meat, so I wouldn’t know, but everyone is obsessed around Argentinian meat, so I guess we have to give them some credit. And yeah, I mean, that’s it. It’s really nice. It has a really good cultural offer. You know, you can always see bands and art, so it’s a really interesting place to be. And yeah, mostly, I guess, culture and food. We also have Tango, which is really famous, which is this dance that’s from Buenos Aires. It’s not from the rest of Argentina. In the rest of Argentina, what they dance, the traditional dances, are called Folklore, and they’ve got nothing to do with Tango. And I like them much more.

Brian: Okay, great. As a tourist in Buenos Aires, you know, we would always see the Tango shows in the plazas, especially in San Telmo, in La Boca, you know, around there. And it’s, you know, I, of course, am obsessed with the meat in Argentina, but an interesting piece that maybe not everybody thinks about is not only the Spanish culture and the steak, but the Italian side of that. And there were some amazing Italian restaurants and pastas and so forth. Maybe you can share a little about that.

Vicky: Yes, well, Argentina has a very European footprint, if that makes sense, especially Buenos Aires. So if you’ve been in Europe, Argentina might ring a bell, because Buenos Aires is very similar to some European cities in the architecture and, of course, the food. Yeah, so it’s really in the DNA of our culture, because during the end of the Second World War, we had a lot of immigration from Spain and Italy, mostly. So it’s pretty recent, you know? Many people, people my age, have direct Italian, well, as I’d say, grandparents. So it has a really, really strong Italian thing about it. So yes, Italian food is a big thing, like pizza and pasta. Yeah, it’s huge.

Brian: Now, pizza in Buenos Aires especially is quite unique. I guess I could say Argentines love their cheese.

Vicky: I think, I mean, what we do is we enhance whatever comes, you know? So we have, you know, you have empanadas, which are like these kind of stuffed things. They are all over the world, but in Argentina, they are huge, you know? You get your pizza, and then it’s like one kilo of mozzarella cheese, which is nowhere else in the world. But I mean, that’s literally, you know, we had this episode on Netflix where they showed you, like, on a very traditional Argentinian pizza, which is called La Meseta, it’s really small. But yeah, one of them has a whole kilo of mozzarella cheese inside, and that is regular. So yes, that’s what we do.

Brian: And as you mentioned, the Italian ancestors and the heritage, I once heard someone describe the Spanish of Argentina as Spanish spoken like an Italian, with big, as you mentioned, big food, big hands, big expressions.

Vicky: You know, we do that. And we’re very effusive. And you know, if anyone has seen images of the last World Cup, it was crazy. It was crazy! And yes, I know, I think if you’ve heard Italian and you hear Argentinian, the cadence is kind of similar, you know? So yes, it’s got a very, very strong Italian thing going on.

Brian: Now, did you see the World Cup from Argentina? Were you in Brazil at that time?

Vicky: Yes. No, no, no, I was in Argentina. It was absolutely crazy. They estimated that maybe four or five million people were on the streets those days just in Buenos Aires, which is, I don’t know, the city is absolutely not prepared for that. It just worked because everyone was so festive about it that it just worked. But it had all the key ingredients to be a catastrophe, you know? It could have been mayhem, but it worked out somehow.

Brian: I remember seeing drone footage of the large Avenue 9 de Julio and the Obelisco, and there must have been like two million people just on this road or something. It was insane!

Vicky: Yes, it was absolutely crazy! And there was like no police, no, no nothing. Like there were no bathrooms. It was crazy. It was pretty crazy, but it turned out well. Yes, that’s a fun fact about Argentina. I think we have, well, I don’t know now, but at least when I was smaller, 9 de Julio was, I think, the widest avenue in the world. You need like two or three stop intervals to get one way. It is crazy!

Brian: Yeah, you need to plan that into your trip as you’re walking, as you’re crossing the avenue. And you started your marketing career from Argentina before you started to migrate?

Vicky: Yes, yes. I mean, I’ve worked from Argentina since I got my degree, actually. That’s a fun story. I hadn’t told you this before, but when I graduated from school, I went for a trip with a friend of mine, and I was sending resumes as we went, you know, from hostel to hostel. I would connect to the internet, you know, you had to dial in, and it was a thing. So I borrowed the computers and I would send CVs, and I got my first work while I was at Accenture here. But I got the interview while I was in Costa Rica, I think. So yes, that’s how it started. That was my first job. Yeah, but ever since, I’ve been working based in Buenos Aires. And yes, I’ve worked, I was in an office until 2018. Then, in 2019, I left, and I thought it was going to be like something that I would go back to. I didn’t know, I didn’t know how my life was out of being in an office, so I thought it was a good in-between thing, you know, like it’ll pass, but for now, I think I’m okay. I just had this old chair, and I just bought a table, and I got my desk. So it was very rustic. And yeah, I never went back. It’s been five years, and I don’t think I’m ever going back to an office ever again. But yes, before, I was in Buenos Aires, even though I didn’t go to the office. But I mean, I worked from Buenos Aires for a Colombian company for a year and a half, more or less. And before that, I worked for the Argentinian companies from Buenos Aires, but no, no offices for me.

Brian: Yeah, you know, one of those companies that I wanted to ask you about is the famous Disney. And I’ll be honest, I just took my little kids to Disneyland last year, and many people know about Tokyo Disney and Disney Paris and stuff, but I had no idea about Disney’s presence in Argentina. Can you give a little background on what Disney is doing there? And recognizing you’re not there anymore, you’re not a spokesperson for Disney, but I would just love to hear about what was Disney doing there, what was your experience, what was your role, like how did that connect to Disney US?

Vicky: Yeah, yeah, sure. The thing is with Disney, everyone knows a lot about the parks, you know? So parks are in Tokyo and then in Florida and Paris. But then they have offices, just offices, all over the world, right? So they have presence in different offices. In Argentina, we had the Latin America headquarters and the Argentinian office, right? So we had two offices in one. And what we did was, yeah, we ran campaigns for, yeah, I mean, campaigns and everything, but we managed businesses that were not related with parks, right? Parks are only in those places. But then you have presence, for example, you have live shows, and you have TV shows. And in Argentina, a lot, a lot of local TV shows were produced. I don’t know if you have kids, but yeah, it was not a big thing maybe in the US, but it was big in Europe. Violetta, which was our first huge hit as Latin Americans. And yeah, that was a production that we did from Latin America. I mean, co-produced with Disney EMEA things, but it was produced here, right? And so yeah, that’s what we did. I mean, I worked specifically for the TV line of business, but then there were other, yeah, live events, and then movies, or what they call theatrical, theater, I don’t remember anymore. But yes, so you do those launches and co-marketing deals and everything about creative and about local productions. We did everything. And of course, there’s the consumer products, which is huge. And those, yes, are also locally produced. It’s not that they come from abroad, right? So there’s a lot of business units, and it’s just that parks, which is what we all think about when we think about Disney, those are not in Latin America. Yeah.

Brian: Yeah, yeah. Now, when we think about consumer products, you know, I think our house is loaded with this stuff, right? Like we’ve got Mickey dolls and Mickey t-shirts and Minnie and all this. Does that translate directly to the Argentina market? Is it localized at all? You know, how does the buyer market look at those?

Vicky: No, actually, it’s very, very standard. Like Disney, yeah, that’s why they have such strong brand equity, and that’s because they’ve managed to have this huge consistency over every market and over time, you know? You see a Disney product, and it’s perfect anywhere in the world. So they’re, I mean, Disney is not cheap at all. It’s not. But then it’s always perfect, you know? So they deliver high quality standard, and that’s what you expect as a consumer. That’s why maybe if there is another brand and they have this sloppy behavior, you’ll look the other way. But if it’s Disney, then you won’t, because you really expect it to be perfect. So yeah, it’s good. It’s good, though. Yeah.

Brian: That’s amazing. That’s amazing. And your focus was entirely on the marketing side when you were at Disney?

Vicky: Yeah, I’ve always worked in marketing, yes. So yeah, I did marketing for the TV lineup business, and I was specialized in local productions. Local productions are those TV series or shows that were locally produced, of course. And it was a big challenge, you know, because normally things will come from abroad, right? From the US or from Europe, and you just localize. Yeah, you translate them and you make small adjustments for kids to be able to watch them in Spanish, right? Or in Portuguese, because we also had Brazil in our scope of work. But then, when you do a local production, you just have to do everything yourself, which is great, you know? You have to, yeah, you have to create this brand and see how you will be doing the go-to-market and how everything needs to coincide, you know? The series launch, the music, the MP3, the live show, the TV show, the sticker albums, everything needs to be perfectly coordinated. And of course, you wouldn’t guess, but in order to have consumer products on your shelves at the same time as you have the show on air, that needs to be produced years ahead. So you maybe don’t even have the main character yet, but you need to be defining stuff. So it’s super challenging. Yeah, it’s huge. You need to do the whole puzzle and just wait for the last piece to come and to, you know, just press play and everything starts going on.

Brian: Wow, super exciting! That’s some serious pressure too. So I know you’re used to driving into that. And then your career, if I’m reading it right, migrated a little more into like a tech type of world. You’re welcome to talk about the companies specifically or broadly, but we’d just love to hear a little more about what you were working on the last couple of years.

Vicky: Yeah, when I left Disney, I’ve always been really curious, and I’ve always read a lot, you know? I read a lot of blogs, and I like to take courses and really be up-to-date with everything market-wise, marketing-wise, I’m sorry. But yes, when I left Disney, I started working kind of by chance in Tech, and I really fell in love with it. I started to see that maybe what I was doing, which was a lot of branding and advertising, it was great, but then it was very difficult to defend, you know? It sometimes goes into these gray areas where it’s just like what you like, what you don’t like, and it’s difficult to measure. But then, when I started doing performance campaigns for small clients or whatever, because that’s where I started, I didn’t start directly on startups. I started doing performance marketing for small clients, and that was really, really defendable, you know? You had this budget, and you had your channel, and we only charged for whatever marginal gains we were giving them. So it was crystal clear, and I kind of fell in love with that. And I also fell in love with startups and, you know, going into the startup world and the VCs. And I had to, yeah, I had to relearn everything because I was used to these huge projects, you know, with years ahead of planning. And then I started hearing about MVP, and like, if you launch something you’re not ashamed of, then it’s late. And it’s like, why? I came from Disney, you know? Quality was what I was used to doing. So how am I going to launch something that I’m not comfortable with? It was crazy for me. And no P&Ls and no… it was just everything was just testing, and let’s see what comes back. So it’s huge. And you know, MVPs. So yeah, I had to relearn everything, and it was really challenging. But then I kind of got the taste of it, and everything was so fast. And you know, I was used to seeing impact maybe in the long term, but here in a startup, you change something today, and maybe tomorrow or the day after, you immediately see results. So it’s huge, you know? It’s also a lot of pressure because then you’ve got no one to blame, and no one to share the guilt with. So when it’s good, you get all the applause, and when it’s bad, you get all of the hits. But I found that really, really nice and empowering. It was good. And so yes, that’s why I’ve been working in Tech ever since. Also, I started, you know, getting into startups, and I was like, there must be some kind of marketing that is related to growing startups, you know? This is huge. I hadn’t heard about it, but startups existed before I discovered them. So yes, that’s how I got into Growth Marketing with some papers and small courses. And yeah, then I got into this really nice course that is called Growth Rockstars, and then I got into Reforge. So that’s how I’ve been training myself, you know, to be up-to-date because everything changes so fast. You need to be always learning.

Brian: As we talk about the tech scene and the startup scene in Latin America, I’m really interested in your perspective. And especially, if we could give our audience a little bit more background, most of our audience knows about Mercado Libre and Globant, and some of the major tech powerhouses. And they know Mulesoft and Medallia, some other companies that have moved down there. But how about the burgeoning, up-and-coming startup scene? Maybe you could describe co-working and how these startups are formed, and VC, and the whole ecosystem. What are you seeing over the last couple of years?

Vicky: I think this is the era. Everyone is, I mean, more and more people are getting a grip on what a startup is and what venture capital is. And I’ve seen more people chasing their own startups and doing their own things, you know, and trying to get funded for stuff. And that’s, I mean, ten years ago, I think that was unimaginable, at least for me, or I hadn’t seen a lot of it around me. But now, I say I work at a startup, and everyone knows what we’re talking about, right? And so I think that’s that’s really growing fast in Latin America. And I think there are these hubs where you’ve got a lot of things going on. Colombia is one of them. I think, you know, we’ve seen Rappi, which was the first one. But then there’s a huge startup hub going on in Colombia, like Medellin. I haven’t been there yet, but I worked at a Colombian startup. Also, yes, Argentina. Argentina has always had this DNA of entrepreneurship. But yes, I don’t think it’s growing. Yeah, I mean, Fintech is huge. We have Mercado Libre, of course, and Mercado Pago, which are huge. And this is crazy, when I was in Brazil a couple of months ago, and I was talking with this guy who was absolutely certain that Mercado Libre was from Brazil, you know? So that is crazy. And even in Brazil, it’s huge. And so yes, Brazil also has this startup scene, which is really bubbling up. I’ve been in a co-working in Brazil, and there were a lot of, of course, not Brazilians, but a lot of people from Colombia usually. And everyone, yeah, I was working on different startups, and everyone has had their projects. Yeah, I was sitting side by side with this guy who saw I was working at Allegra, and as soon as I stopped a call, he started pitching me on his project, which was nice and fun. But yes, what I think what we’re seeing is that there is a lot of movement, and people in Colombia, in Argentina, in Brazil, and Mexico too, yes, they’re, especially Mexico and Colombia, are huge markets. So I think what we’re seeing, and what we’ll probably see in the next years as a trend, is that we will see more and more Latin American startups, which is just great, and really, it’s a really exciting moment. Yeah.

Brian: Absolutely. When I think about startup centers, in places that are really thriving or they’re trying to thrive, and some of the criteria that I think about a lot, of course, you need capital. You need funding in these markets, you need talent, you need energy. And then you also need knowledge and experience that’s kind of recycled over and over and over again. Like you have an exit, and then you become a mentor, right? Or you work at this company, it goes really well, and then you go to another company, and you pass that knowledge down, right? So when you think about that, like capital, talent, energy, and experience and knowledge, where does Argentina rate really high on, and where is there maybe some room for improvement?

Vicky: We’ve got really formed people, really educated people, especially because university, college, or school, yes, is free in Argentina. So it’s public, and everyone can get a degree. So I think the media is a really educated people, which is awesome, right? But yeah, I think there is a lot of talent. And also, we’ve got this thing going on where, you know, the market is so unstable. I guess everyone is a specialist in doing everything as best as they can and having the workaround, and they’re very creative finding solutions. That’s why Argentinian people are very creative. That’s why they always win those prizes in advertising. And yes, we have really good advertising. And I think that translates, that creativity translates into or cascades into whatever we do, right? Because we need to be, we always know how the market is doing, you know, because it’s really unstable. And that doesn’t happen if you live in a regular economy. But we always know about inflation rates and how the dollar is pricing on different kinds of dollars. And so it’s kind of crazy. It’s a crazy economy. And I guess that makes us a really valued, valuable talent, right? So I think we lack, or we’re kind of behind in funding, right? And of course, I don’t think there is this huge tradition of entrepreneurship and those kinds of, you know, we did this huge company and then we, I don’t know, made an IPO, and now I’m a mentor. Those are small cases, right? Well, you’ve got Mercado Libre, of course. We had Globant, which is huge. Those are huge examples, but it’s not that regular. So we’re starting to see those cases, but we haven’t gotten a lot going on. So I think, yes, we will be seeing more of that now that the market is open. On Argentinians, it’s not a thing from Argentina, but I guess it’s all about LatAm, and you know about this, but frontiers are kind of diluting, right? So now talent can work from wherever for wherever, and that gives us access to different kinds of experiences. And maybe hopefully, we’ll see more of that, you know, having had this huge experience and now turning the other way around and giving that back. That is, I think we’ll see that in the next years, hopefully.

Brian: That’s an excellent perspective and great segue into a topic I wanted to get your thoughts on. As there’s more awareness, I think, going on than ever before in the States about Latin America. And of course, anytime you mention Latin America and talent, Argentina comes up. So there’s a lot of curiosity, I’d say, amongst people that I know, business people. For those that maybe, let’s talk about marketing because that’s your domain, for US companies that are looking to Argentina, maybe for nearshoring opportunities, to get work done out of Argentina for a US company or US brand, what advice would you have for them to find the right people and have a successful engagement?

Vicky: I think we have this kind of way, you know, that we’re, we tend to be kind of fun. Maybe we’re not that structured, you know, and so that may come off as kind of unprofessional. But I think everyone deserves a chance, you know? I mean, it’s happened to me. I’ve been rejected a job because she laughs too much. Like, actually, that has happened to me. No, no, she’s going to get bored. She doesn’t seem very professional because she’s always laughing. And I mean, I have a great sense of humor. That doesn’t make me unprofessional. But whatever. So I guess that can happen.

Brian: So maybe what I’m hearing is like, recognize that passion and energy will be, there’s a lot of extraversion and, you know, fun energy, passion. And don’t be turned off by that. Like, embrace it. You know, go into it.

Vicky: Kind of direct, you know, especially when you compare Argentinian, kind of the Argentinian way, with the rest of Latin America. We are very, very straightforward, and that may come as, you know, it may be, yeah, kind of breathtaking, you know? It’s hard for some people because we have no problem regarding feedback. So we’re, yes, we’re very, very direct. And so I think, I mean, from my perspective, that is a really good advantage, right? Because it, you know, it cuts right through. You’ll get a yes or no. You won’t get something around. You know, some cultures are more indirect, Japan being the most indirect. You’ll never get a yes or no, or maybe you’ll never get a no. Argentinians would just say, “No, that’s not going to happen.” And it may come off as rude. But then, as the way I see it, it’s just like, you are reducing, like, it’s time effective, right? And I am very like that. So I mean, I’ve had, I’ve come across those challenges where it’s like, “I think Vicky, you’re being very straightforward.” And, you know, it sounds kind of bad, or kind of military. But then, I don’t know, I just think it’s effective. And I think that is something that has to do with the Argentinian way, and that may come as a disadvantage. But I really think that if you know that it’s not personal, it’s just the way we are, then it’s good, you know? And it’s quick and it’s fast, and then you’ll just go grab a beer and everything will be fine. I mean, work is work, right? So yes, I think that’s a good tip.

Brian: Good, good. Thank you. I just have a few more fun questions here, Vicky. You’ve obviously traveled quite a bit outside of Argentina. If you could think about the best purchase you’ve made outside of the country, and we’ll say within a budget of fifty or so, so zero to fifty, what would you say is the best purchase?

Vicky: Yeah, during that trip, during the trip where I told you I was in Costa Rica, sending my CV for my first job interviews, I bought this dress in Panama, which was, I don’t know, maybe twelve dollars. I still have that dress. I still use it, and it’s perfect, and I love it. That has had the better return on investment. It was amazing. I love it for me. Like, it’s faded. It’s dead.

Brian: Excellent. Obviously, your English is not your first language, but you’re very fluent in it. Do you have a favorite English word?

Vicky: I don’t know. I think, I mean, I do have some words in Spanish which I think sound funny. But then a word in English, I think, like the word “flake.” Kind of like, I don’t know why, but I just think it’s cute and it always sounds good, you know? Like, I don’t know, I just love the word, the sound of it. I just think it’s cute. I love it.

Brian: Excellent. Well, Vicky, it has been just a great pleasure having you on the show. I learned a lot. I learned a lot about Disney and perspectives and startup and marketing life. So thank you for your time. Let me just give a shout-out to our sponsor here, Plug Technologies. That’s P.L.U.G.G. dot Tech. Plug provides software developers all over Latin America for US companies. Vicky, thanks again, and hopefully we’ll see you soon.

Vicky: Thank you, Brian. It was great. I had a lot of fun, so thanks for having me.

Brian: All right. We’ll see you all soon on the next show. Thank you. Thanks for joining us at the Near Shore Cafe Podcast. Tune in next week for a new episode featuring another special guest with exciting stories.

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