I went on a trade mission, and you should too

As a CEO, I often find it valuable to look at opportunities that other executives and founders might choose to overlook for some reason. One of these is participating in official delegations and trade missions. A lot of younger executives and people from startups and smaller companies might find them really staid or boring or stuffy, but they actually have a lot to offer. To be honest, I used to be a skeptic, but I’ve been converted after my recent trip to Mexico with a royal Belgian delegation led by Princess Astrid. While there, I was able to get a sense of the scope and style of the Mexican and Latin American markets, as well as have some really valuable discussions with quite a few Belgian ministers like Philippe Muyters and Kris Peeters, as well as their Mexican counterparts. It was a really eye-opening experience, let me tell you about it.

Important Takeaways

Even though I had previously lived in Mexico for six months during my Master’s Program, I still didn’t know very much about the business side of Mexico, so this was very revelatory for me. The first thing to note is that Mexico is a huge market. At 129 million inhabitants, Mexico is nearly as populous as Russia. And with an economy of $1.2 Trillion USD, it’s easily in the world’s top 20. Certainly worth paying attention to. On the trip, we visited two cities, D.F. Mexico City, which is the capital and in the south, as well as Monterrey, the industrial hub, in the northern state of Nuevo Leon.

Even though Mexico graduates more engineers than the United States, the cost of human talent is still very competitive too. It made me realize how lucky we are here in Belgium

Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world, with an extended area population nearly as large as Belgium itself! Meanwhile, Monterrey, though much smaller at around 1.1 millions, is the richest, most industrialized, most developed city in the country, with a GDP per capita at European levels. Maybe not something a lot of people think about when thinking about Mexico! Even though Mexico graduates more engineers than the United States, the cost of human talent is still very competitive too. I'm talking about highly skilled engineers taking home salaries of about 10,000 Pesos per month, or about 460 Euros. It made me realize how lucky we are here in Belgium. But the economy is booming and there’s a lot of talent to be had!

Trade Missions for the Startup Mindset

Like any of my colleagues in the entrepreneurship world and startup life, I was originally very skeptical of these kinds of missions, because they seemed like something you’d do only when you worked for a big, boring corporation, and just spend a few days reciting the same boring statements to the same boring people. Startups are supposed to disrupt and be revolutionary… not go on trips with the Royal Family, who after all, usually don’t fare so well in revolutions.

But I got a lot out of this mission, and think other startups and scaleups could benefit from them, too. Being introduced to the country from people who see the Whole View, and who have the benefit of all the data and information was a kind of perspective that startup founders and entrepreneurs often don’t get, because we’re in the trenches and constantly putting out fires. On a side note: did you know that the Mexican government has committed over $600M to startups through the Instituto Nacional del Emprendedor (INADEM)?

These people want to help you do business in their country, so they will help you make the right connections in the future. This is what I mean by taking a different opportunity often overlooked by others.

Anyway, approaching these kinds of trips with the right networking mindset can help open a lot of doors for the future. These people want to help you do business in their country, so they will help you make the right connections in the future. This is what I mean by taking a different opportunity often overlooked by others.

The Benefit for Lemon

With the help of the Delegation and Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid, I was able to gain a lot of insight, as well as get a big dose of high-level exposure for Lemon, both in Mexico and with the Belgian government. Sitting at the table with the big boys helped generate a lot of credibility for me and for the company, which is something you couldn’t buy if you tried. This experience, the connections I made, and the insights I came away with were truly worth the time I put in to it!

One of the all-time most important things to success in business is to be looking for opportunities where others aren’t. That’s where the returns are greatest and the field the most open. By allowing myself to rethink my skepticism about governmental trade delegations and the place for startups within them, I was able to get access to information and people that I would never have gotten to so easily otherwise. And Lemon got exposure that helped catapult us into our next stage of life!