Launching My Startup in Mexico: Visas, Nearshoring, and Finding My Rhythm

When I landed in Mexico City in early spring, the jacarandas were still blowing purple confetti onto the sidewalks, and my phone buzzed with a WhatsApp message from a potential U.S. client: “Could you hop on a call in an hour?” I took the call from a coffee shop in Roma Norte, ordered a café de olla, and realized this was exactly why I came—close enough to the U.S. to be convenient, but firmly rooted in Latin America, where I felt at home.

Why Mexico, Why Now

I’m an Argentine founder building a product for logistics teams that shuttle goods across the U.S.–Mexico border. Nearshoring isn’t just a buzzword here; it’s on every board slide and in every casual conversation. Suppliers I used to call in Shenzhen now have cousins in Monterrey. My sales calls with U.S. ops managers no longer require 3 a.m. alarms—Mexico’s time zones sync beautifully with North America. And the talent pool in Mexico is sharp: engineers from Guadalajara and Mexico City, operations managers in Monterrey who’ve lived the border story, designers in Mérida who’ve worked for global clients.

I had visited a few times before, but moving hit differently. Spring in Mexico City is sunny and dry, the air smelling like orange blossoms and street-side salsas. Evenings were still cool enough for a light jacket; by May the afternoons turned warm and, lately, the first thunderstorms are rolling through—big, cinematic clouds that break the heat and send everyone running for awnings.

The Visa Maze (And What Actually Worked)

There isn’t a “startup visa” here in the way some countries brand it, but there are workable paths:

• Temporary Resident Visa via economic solvency (showing income or savings)
• Temporary Resident Visa as an investor (tying your residency to a Mexican company)

I considered both. The solvency route was straightforward but felt detached from the business I was actually building. I wanted something aligned with the company, so I went the investor route with a local lawyer’s help.

Here’s how it played out for me:

• Before leaving Argentina, we drafted my company’s incorporation documents so I could show intent and capital for the investor application at the Mexican consulate in Buenos Aires. Requirements vary a lot by consulate—seriously, call and confirm what they want—but I brought a business plan, proof of funds, and letters of interest from potential clients.
• The interview was friendly and in Spanish. The officer asked why Mexico, where I’d base the company, and my hiring plan. I focused on nearshoring advantages and the teams I had already been interviewing in Guadalajara.
• I received the entry visa sticker and had 30 days after arriving in Mexico to exchange it for the actual temporary resident card (INM process). This part tested my patience: online appointments that opened at 8:30 a.m. and filled instantly, a couple of return visits for fingerprints and photos, and lots of PDFs printed twice. It took about six weeks end to end.

If you’re considering this path, my biggest tip is to hire a local immigration facilitator. Mine didn’t make the line any shorter, but they made sure I had the right forms, fee receipts, and Spanish phrasing the officers expect.

Incorporating and Getting Legit

I incorporated a S.A.P.I. de C.V., Mexico’s flexible, startup-friendly vehicle. You’ll need:

• A Notario Público to formalize the company (not “just” a notary—these folks are gatekeepers).
• Two shareholders (we used a simple split initially).
• A tax ID (RFC) for the company and, eventually, for yourself.
• An accountant (contador) who knows startups, invoicing rules, and payroll.

Every founder I met told me the same thing and they were right: get a good contador. Mexico lives and breathes invoices—facturas. At coffee shops and pharmacies, people ask, “¿Con factura o ticket?” Keep your RFC on hand. The digital tax system is sophisticated; the advantage is it makes business transparent and reimbursable. The challenge is getting your e-signature, setting up payroll, and mapping expense categories under SAT’s taxonomy. Our monthly accounting is a recurring line item and worth every peso.

Opening a corporate bank account required my residency card, RFC, company documents, and a proof of address (comprobante de domicilio). The bank also wanted to meet me in person and understand the flow of funds. Once we were in, transfers via SPEI felt modern and instant. Paying contractors is as simple as knowing their CLABE.

Finding Home Base

I started in Roma Norte because I needed walkability and coffee, and Roma delivers both in excess. My rent for a one-bedroom with lots of light is in the “startup stretch” zone: not cheap, not impossible. In Mexico City’s central neighborhoods (Roma, Condesa, Juárez), expect a one-bedroom anywhere from 18,000 to 35,000 MXN/month depending on building and amenities. In Guadalajara’s Americana or Providencia, I saw decent apartments for less.

The rental process had a curveball: many landlords ask for a fiador (a local guarantor). As a newcomer, I didn’t have one. Alternatives were a higher deposit, a rental insurance policy, or going through an agency. I ended up paying an extra month and providing references. Facebook groups and sites like Inmuebles24 worked; so did walking the streets and popping into open houses.

Day-to-Day: The Rhythm That Found Me

• Workspace: I tried two coworking spaces before committing. A hot desk ran me roughly 2,500–4,500 MXN/month. The internet is plenty for video calls; I regularly get 100–300 Mbps at cafes too.
• Getting around: The Metro is fast, the Metrobús is useful, and Uber/DiDi are my go-tos late at night. Traffic is real—plan buffer time for meetings across town. Sundays, I ride a shared bike during the ciclovía when major streets open to cyclists and joggers.
• Food: I ruined a shirt eating tacos al pastor on my first night and took it as a sign the city had accepted me. Street food is excellent; I stick to busy stalls and watch how they handle water and toppings. I’ve fallen for aguas frescas, chilaquiles, and the occasional torta ahogada on trips to Guadalajara.
• Health: I opted for private health insurance for peace of mind. Walk-in clinics are affordable—think a fraction of U.S. prices. Friends enrolled in the public system (IMSS) and are fine with it, but they cautioned me about wait times. For day-to-day, private clinics and dentists have been quick and good.

Business Culture: Warm, Polite, and WhatsApp-Forward

As an Argentine, I arrived with “vos,” and Mexico greeted me with “tú” and “usted.” I caught myself using “che” in meetings and then switched to “oye” like everyone else. The biggest cultural lessons:

• Relationships first. Meetings start with genuine conversation. People ask about your family, your weekend, your impressions of the city. Don’t rush it.
• Politeness matters. “Con permiso,” “mucho gusto,” and “mande” go a long way.
• WhatsApp is the operating system. Deals, reminders, calendar links, voice notes—everything hits WhatsApp, including late-evening pings.
• Time is flexible, but startups move fast. Corporate Mexico may run on layers; the tech scene doesn’t. It’s common to set ambitious timelines, then iterate with good humor.
• “Ahorita” is context-dependent. Does it mean right now or sometime today? Watch the cues.

On the formality side, invoicing and compliance are serious. We learned to request supplier facturas right away and to double-check names and postal codes; a small mismatch can invalidate a deduction. My accountant taught me to ask, “¿Me puedes emitir la factura con CFDI 4.0?” and I felt like I’d unlocked a new level of game play.

Nearshoring in Practice

My first U.S. client wanted a pilot with a warehouse in Texas and a supplier in Nuevo León. Because I’m in Mexico, I visited the supplier with our operations lead in Monterrey, took photos, and sent updates in real time. It changed the tone—suddenly we weren’t a distant vendor but a partner who could show up.

Hiring has been my biggest advantage. I found extraordinary engineers in Guadalajara who care about product craft, and an ops manager in Mexico City who’s fluent in both SAT paperwork and warehouse floor reality. Salary ranges are competitive for Mexico and sustainable for a bootstrapped runway. The overlap with U.S. hours keeps standups sane. And when clients ask, “How fast can you be onsite?” the answer is often “tomorrow morning.”

Community: How I Found My People

I showed up to everything at first—Startup Grind events, a 500 LatAm info session, a product meetup in Condesa, an Endeavor panel in Polanco. I met a mentor at a Platzi community night who introduced me to my first designer. My WhatsApp now looks like a candy store of groups: founders in CDMX, a logistics Slack with port nerds, a coffee crawl chat.

Some of my favorite memories are simple: an impromptu picnic in Chapultepec under late-blooming jacarandas, a Wednesday lucha libre night at Arena México with new friends yelling ourselves hoarse, Mother’s Day on May 10 where the whole city seemed to pause for family lunches.

Costs I Wish I’d Known Upfront

• Legal and incorporation: budget for a Notario and filings.
• Accounting: a monthly retainer, plus payroll setup if you hire.
• Coworking: roughly 2,500–4,500 MXN/month for a hot desk in central neighborhoods.
• SIM and internet: mobile plans are affordable; home fiber is reliable and not expensive by global standards.
• Flights: quick and frequent to the U.S., especially to Texas and California, which supports nearshore relationships.

The Emotional Curve

I won’t pretend it was all smooth. The INM office lines made me question my life choices. One bank turned me away twice, then approved me on the third try with the same documents. The first May heatwave in the city had me hiding in air-conditioned cafes until a late-afternoon storm cooled everything down.

And yet—there’s this steady feeling that I belong in the momentum. A client renewing, an engineer shipping a clever fix before lunch, a landlord texting me “bienvenido a casa” after we signed. Small wins that multiplied into confidence.

Practical Advice If You’re Considering It

• Choose your visa path early and confirm requirements with your consulate. They differ. If tying residency to your company, start paperwork before you fly.
• Hire a local immigration facilitator and a great accountant. They’re not optional if you value your time.
• Bring printed copies of everything for appointments. And screenshots. And PDFs on a USB.
• If you don’t have a fiador, negotiate: extra deposit or rental insurance can work.
• Learn the basics of facturas, RFC, and SPEI. Ask for invoices at the point of sale.
• Join meetups in your first week. People are generous with intros, and WhatsApp groups are where the action is.
• Embrace the season. Spring is perfect for walking the city; plan meetings in cafes with open windows and be ready to duck a 6 p.m. rainstorm.

Closing

Spring gave me an on-ramp—clear skies, long evenings, the city at its friendliest. Now that the rains are starting, the purple blossoms have mostly fallen, but my calendar is blooming in other ways: demos, dinners, and the slow, steady build of a company that couldn’t have happened anywhere else quite like this.

If Mexico is on your mind, come with a plan and an openness to learn the local way. The systems can be bureaucratic, but the people, the talent, and the proximity make the effort worth it. And if you find yourself under a jacaranda at dusk with a spiraling to-do list and a perfect taco, know you’re doing it right.

Best wishes from Mexico City,