Enter Mexico with a partner who has run businesses there.

This is the experience of Iñaqui de la Peña, founder of 2122. These are his previous roles, not 2122 client engagements.

• Dostavista, later Borzo. First employee in Mexico; built the local team and operation over roughly six years while working with headquarters and fellow country managers. Read the experience ↗
• PowWater × Rotoplas. Co-founder and Mexico Country Manager of the joint venture between PowWater and Rotoplas, as its operator in Mexico. Helped bring it to signature and defined how the business would work. The launch did not proceed after the U.S. partner decided against committing capital. Read the experience ↗
• iVoy. CRO, later CEO. Led the commercial side, a restructuring, the sale of two businesses, and the closing of the company. Read the experience ↗

Earlier work selling products through major Mexican retailers and in telecom also informs how we approach commercial entry. We are open to any sector.

• A company outside Mexico considering whether and how to enter the market.
• A founder or executive asked to “open Mexico” without a local team yet.
• An investor or headquarters that needs someone accountable on the ground.

You may be weighing a first step, such as a pilot, a partnership, or a local entity, and want a clear view of the decisions ahead before committing.

Most are avoidable when decisions are made early and in the right order. Two we see often:

Leaving the structure and the banking for later.

During Borzo’s setup in Mexico, opening bank accounts proved more difficult than expected. Iñaqui would now align the entity structure, local responsibilities, and banking requirements earlier, with the relevant specialists involved from the start. Read: opening a business bank account in Mexico ↗

Assuming you already know the market.

Mexico is its own market. We have seen it in traditional logistics, in sales cycles that are far longer than in other markets, and in operating models that are never plug and play. Everything changes, so we start by testing the assumptions.

Read all the mistakes and risks ↗

• Validate the opportunity. We test the market and the business model against how customers, competitors, and partners behave in Mexico, and define what has to be true for the entry to work.
• Develop commercial relationships. We help identify and approach the customers, distributors, or partners the business will depend on.
• Coordinate the setup. We connect entity formation, accounting, and administrative setup to one operating plan, working with legal, tax, and accounting specialists whose qualifications match the services required.
• Plan the team. Before you hire, we study what you are looking for, what budget you have, and what that profile costs in Mexico. That study is separate from any search. If you want us to run the search, we do it and screen candidates ourselves, so you do not need a separate headhunting firm. Our group has more than fourteen years of experience in talent roles within major global financial institutions and international executive search firms.
• Plan the financial strategy for the first 90 days. With your tax and legal specialists, we work out how the first team members are paid before the Mexican entity exists and how early costs are recorded, within Mexican rules and your group’s reporting standards, such as IFRS. The aim is a structure as tax-efficient as the rules allow, without placing an unnecessary tax burden on an early employee.
• Build the company’s credit history. We help the company reach local credit lines supported by international funds or grants, subject to lender approval, even as a new entity with no credit history, so it can start building one from the first months.
• Start operating. Depending on the agreement, we advise your team or take operating responsibility under a defined mandate.

Specialists advise on and carry out their respective professional work. 2122 connects their scope, timing, and dependencies to the operating plan. We have worked with specialists ranging from small practices to large firms and help you identify the right fit.

You receive one overall proposal covering the agreed scope, responsibilities, fees, and estimated third-party costs. We identify any items that still require confirmation and agree on changes with you before adding work. Each specialist invoices you directly for their services; 2122 invoices you for its own work.

1. Conversation. We learn what you want to build and what you already know.
2. Discovery. We speak with the people who know the market, review the numbers, and test our hypotheses.
3. Plan. We agree on the route, scope, responsibilities, how success will be measured, and what completion looks like: a handover, continued advisory support, or an operating mandate.
4. Build and operate. We coordinate the setup and start the work alongside your team, adjusting as we learn.

Agreed for each engagement, for example:

• A market-entry assessment with the key decisions, options, and risks.
• A launch plan with priorities, responsibilities, and sequence.
• A decision and dependency tracker showing owners, open questions, and next actions.
• A map of the specialists and partners needed, with introductions.
• A hiring study (profiles, budget, and what they cost in Mexico) and a team plan with roles and timing.
• Regular working sessions with your leadership or headquarters.

• Iñaqui is involved in every engagement. You work directly with the person who has run businesses in Mexico, together with the team he already works with or assembles for each project. He is responsible for coordinating the plan, tracking dependencies, and bringing decisions to you.
• A plan you can read. The decisions, options, and risks in plain language, with our recommendation and the reasons behind it.
• Visibility before commitment. You can see the scope, responsibilities, costs, and unresolved items together before deciding how to proceed.
• Honest boundaries. We tell you what we do, what the specialists do, and what we cannot judge. If we do not know something, we say so, and we find someone who does and either bring them into the project or pass the question to them. If our assessment points to a different sequence, or to waiting, we explain why.
• Updates on a cadence we agree on. You know where things stand and what is waiting on whom.
• Dependencies planned early. We work with you and the relevant specialists to assess the proposed structure, local responsibilities, and banking requirements before committing to the setup, and keep open questions visible in the operating plan.

You do not need a complete Mexico plan to start the conversation. As the scope develops, we will agree on the information, people, and approvals needed for the work.

• A clear owner on your side who can make decisions or reach the people who do.
• Relevant commercial and financial information, and ownership details where they affect the work, shared at the appropriate stage.
• What success looks like for you, and what you are not willing to risk.
• Access to your headquarters, investors, or board when their approval is needed.
• Your reaction to our recommendations, including disagreement. We would rather hear it early.

• If you only need to form a company or complete legal paperwork. Law and accounting firms do that, and we work with them when the project needs it.
• If you expect guaranteed results, or an entry without local commitment.
• If no one on your side can make decisions or reach the people who do.

Fees depend on scope; we define them after an initial diagnostic. An engagement can be a defined project, ongoing advisory work, or an operating mandate.

Do we need a Mexican entity to start?

It depends on what you plan to do. This is a legal and tax question; we help you frame it and coordinate with the specialists who answer it.

Who handles the legal, tax, and accounting work?

The relevant specialists handle their professional work and invoice you directly. 2122 coordinates the overall plan and invoices you for its own services. Responsibilities are set out in the proposal.

Is this for my industry?

We are open to any sector. Our own experience is strongest in logistics and technology, retail and consumer products, telecom, and water services.

Can you run the operation?

Yes, when the scope and fit support an operating role. We agree on responsibilities, decision authority, reporting, and the decisions that remain with your leadership team before taking on the mandate.

Can you work with our existing team and advisers?

Yes. We start by understanding what is already in place and agree on where 2122 can add value, how responsibilities are divided, and which gaps need to be filled.

What does it cost, and how long does it take?

Scope, specialist requirements, and the level of operating involvement determine the cost and timeline. We first agree on the work needed to assess your situation, then present an overall proposal with fees, estimates, dependencies, and any items still to be confirmed.