🎙️ The Nearshore Cafe Podcast | Hosted by Brian Samson

In this episode, Brian Samson — founder of Plugg Technologies and host of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast — shares a powerful success story from a booming Series A tech startup based in Atlanta. With over $50 million raised, this company had the resources to hire from anywhere in the world. But instead of battling the fierce 2022 Silicon Valley talent wars, they chose a smarter path: senior full-stack developers from Latin America.

💡 Hear how Plugg.tech connected their VP of Engineering with top-tier developers from Brazil and Argentina, skilled in React and JavaScript, who not only hit milestones but truly integrated into the team — delivering clean, high-quality code and bringing product vision to life.

✅ Topics covered:

• Scaling engineering teams post-Series A
• Why Latin America is a smart talent market
• Real-world results from nearshore hiring
• Benefits of hiring senior nearshore developers

🔗 Learn more about how Plugg.tech can help you scale with nearshore engineering talent:

👉 https://plugg.tech

📢 Subscribe for more nearshoring stories, tech hiring insights, and startup growth strategies with Brian Samson.

#NearshoreDevelopers #PluggTech #BrianSamson #TechHiring #LatinAmericaTechTalent #Nearshoring #EngineeringSuccess #StartupScaling #RemoteTeams #SeriesAFunding #TheNearshoreCafe

📢 Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS for more insights on Latin America’s growing tech scene! 🎧🔥
_________________________
🔗 Connect With Us

🔗 Stay Connected:
✅ Host: Brian Samson | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briansamson/
✅ Sponsor: Plugg Technologies | PLUGG.tech
✅ Follow The Nearshore Cafe Podcast for More Insightful Episodes!
_________________________
Our social pages:
🎵 Spotify podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6KYcgpmN77fJm6B25469B8
🌎 Website: https://www.nearshorecafepodcast.com/
🔥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-nearshore-cafe
🎙️ Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nearshore-cafe/id1775525954

In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast, host Brian Samson (founder of Plugg Technologies) dives deep with Fernando Soto, a senior Business Analyst working remotely from Guadalajara, Mexico. From humble roots in Tijuana to leading global tech projects, Fernando reveals the real story of life as a nearshore tech professional.

📉 Laid off after 16 years at HP.

🚀 Reinvented his career through remote work.

🌐 Now shaping product success for U.S. companies from Mexico.

🎯 What You’ll Learn:

• The surprising truth about growing up in Tijuana

• What a Business Analyst really does (and why it matters)

• How AI is changing BA workflows overnight

• Best practices for managing cross-border tech teams

• Why Guadalajara is a global tech hub on the rise

👥 Who This Is For:

CTOs • Product Managers • Engineering Leaders • Ops Managers • Remote Hiring Teams

If you’re building or managing remote teams—especially in Latin America—this is a must-watch.

💼 Sponsored by Plugg Technologies

Plugg connects U.S. companies with elite Latin American software professionals.

👉 https://www.plugg.tech

📲 Subscribe for Weekly Insights

🧠 Real-world tech career stories

🎙️ Nearshoring playbooks

🌍 Latin America’s top talent perspectives

🎥 youtube.com/@thenearshorecafe

⏱️ Timestamps

0:00 Meet Fernando – From Tijuana to Guadalajara

2:00 Chinese food in Tijuana? Yes, really.

6:00 Why Fernando abandoned veterinary dreams for tech

10:00 16 years at HP—and the shock of getting laid off

13:00 Building cross-border teams that actually work

20:00 The truth about remote culture, recognition & retention

28:00 How AI is transforming the Business Analyst role

31:00 Advice for hiring nearshore talent in 2025

🔗 Listen on All Platforms

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6KYcgpm…

🎙️ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast…

🌐 Website: https://www.nearshorecafepodcast.com/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-nearshore-cafe

#TheNearshoreCafePodcast #Nearshoring #RemoteTechTeams

#BusinessAnalyst #PluggTechnologies #GuadalajaraTech

#LATAMTechTalent #RemoteHiring #CrossBorderCollaboration

#AIinTech #Tijuana #GlobalTeams #RemoteWork #CBAP

📢 Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS for more insights on Latin America’s growing tech scene! 🎧🔥
_________________________
🔗 Connect With Us

🔗 Stay Connected:
✅ Host: Brian Samson | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briansamson/
✅ Sponsor: Plugg Technologies | PLUGG.tech
✅ Follow The Nearshore Cafe Podcast for More Insightful Episodes!
_________________________
Our social pages:
🎵 Spotify podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6KYcgpmN77fJm6B25469B8
🌎 Website: https://www.nearshorecafepodcast.com/
🔥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-nearshore-cafe
🎙️ Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nearshore-cafe/id1775525954

What happens when a Series B startup in San Francisco realizes they’re paying over $200K per year for a remote engineer—and getting no extra value from being in the Bay Area?

They go nearshore.
And they win. Big.

In this episode of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast, host Brian Samson (Founder of Plugg Technologies) shares the true story of how one founder turned to LATAM developers to scale faster, cut costs, and build better—without sacrificing time zone alignment, communication, or talent quality.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why hiring remotely in the U.S. no longer makes financial sense
• How this CTO hired top-tier engineers in Argentina and Mexico—in just 48 hours
• The real benefits of nearshoring over offshoring
• How cost savings + faster delivery = competitive advantage in product development
• What makes Plugg’s talent pipeline so effective for high-growth startups

If you're a founder, CTO, tech recruiter, or startup operator, this episode will reshape how you think about hiring, scaling, and building elite engineering teams.

• 🎥 Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mpMt4kEX2gk
• 🌐 Visit: https://www.nearshorecafepodcast.com/
• 💼 Learn more about Plugg Technologies: https://www.plugg.tech
• 🔗 Connect with Brian Samson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briansamson/

#Nearshoring #LATAMDevelopers #RemoteHiring #StartupEngineeringTeams #OffshoreAlternatives #ArgentinaSoftwareDevelopers #MexicoEngineeringTalent #CostEfficientHiring #PluggTechnologies #NearshoreSoftwareEngineers #ScalingStartups #RemoteTeamManagement #ProductVelocity

📢 Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS for more insights on Latin America’s growing tech scene! 🎧🔥
_________________________
🔗 Connect With Us

🔗 Stay Connected:
✅ Host: Brian Samson | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briansamson/
✅ Sponsor: Plugg Technologies | PLUGG.tech
✅ Follow The Nearshore Cafe Podcast for More Insightful Episodes!
_________________________
Our social pages:
🎵 Spotify podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6KYcgpmN77fJm6B25469B8
🌎 Website: https://www.nearshorecafepodcast.com/
🔥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-nearshore-cafe
🎙️ Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nearshore-cafe/id1775525954