Guess Who's Back, Back Again?
The market doesn’t slow down, it just changes zip codes.
Hey there,
It’s been a few weeks since the last edition. I meant to skip just one week, but then it became two, then three. I kept telling myself, “I’ll do it next week,” and before I knew it, a month had gone by.
The real reason is that we had the biggest client surge in Lupa’s history. I spent the past few weeks doing what makes us different: personally interviewing and onboarding new recruiters. On average, I did fifty interviews a week, spent hours training, and made sure every new team member met our high standards.
I’ve always believed our product is really about two things: our recruiters and the candidates they find. Everything else, like our brand, systems, and growth, depends on keeping our standards high. I’d rather move slowly than lower our expectations.
So there’s no dramatic reason for the break, just a lot of work that needed my full attention. I’m proud of where the team is now. And to everyone who reached out to ask if the newsletter was coming back, thank you. You reminded me why I started writing it.
Let’s get into it.
🌐 News Shortlist
1. Vammo’s $45M bet on the real EV revolution
Recap: Vammo, a Brazilian startup, has raised $45 million in Series B funding to grow its electric motorcycle network throughout Latin America. Ecosystem Integrity Fund led the round, joined by Qualcomm Ventures, Monashees, 2150, Construct Capital, Maniv Mobility, and Endeavor Catalyst.
This means a lot to us. Vammo has been our partner from the start, so seeing them reach this milestone is special. Jack Sarvary, who used to work at Rappi, and Billy Blaustein, who was at Tesla, saw early on that the EV revolution in Latin America would begin with motorcycles, not cars.
It’s couriers, riders, and everyday workers who really keep the region moving.
Since the beginning, we’ve helped Vammo find engineers and operators, and it’s been great to watch the team turn their vision into real infrastructure. This funding round is more than just money; it proves that world-class innovation can happen anywhere, not only in Silicon Valley.
Right now, some of the most important mobility breakthroughs are being built in Portuguese and Spanish, in cities that investors used to overlook.
Advice:
If you’re building something in Latin America, keep in mind that local challenges can become global opportunities. The world is watching now. When people look here, let them see excellence.
2. Pay transparency isn’t a risk. It’s a trust signal.
Recap: Massachusetts now requires companies with 25 or more employees to include salary ranges in every job posting. States like California, New York, Illinois, and Minnesota have similar rules. The goal is to close pay gaps and build trust. Because of this, founders should organize their pay systems earlier.
If you run a startup, you might worry about sharing pay ranges with competitors or having to explain them to your team. But this is only a concern if you rely on public job boards.
The best candidates usually aren’t checking job listings. They’re already doing great work at other companies. Most of your hires should come from actively searching for talent, not just from job postings.
Transparency laws don’t change this fact. Instead, they encourage companies to grow up faster. Pay is more than a number—it shows how much you value your people. Companies that explain this clearly will keep the talent others want.
Advice:
Don’t treat pay transparency as just another rule. Use it to market your company. Being open about pay builds trust, and trust helps you build strong teams.
3. The return-to-office isn’t a comeback. It’s a correction.
Recap: A recent survey of 1,000 business leaders found that more companies are shifting back to office work. By 2026, 30% plan to require employees on-site five days a week, up from 28% now, and just 10% will allow full-time remote work. Hybrid setups are still common, but 13% of firms say they’ll add more required office days next year. Leaders say they’re making these changes because of culture, collaboration, and high real estate costs.
This isn’t surprising. Every few years, companies remember how expensive real estate is and start calling it “culture.” But this isn’t truly a return to the office. It’s a correction. The early remote years were messy. Managers struggled to adapt, systems didn’t work well, and many leaders confused being present with being productive.
Now, companies are bringing people back to the office, hoping that having everyone in person will fix problems that leadership couldn’t solve.
But here’s the thing: for international teams, being in the office doesn’t make you better. It just makes you local. The real efficiency comes from giving great people the freedom to work where they perform best. In Latin America, that flexibility isn’t just cultural—it’s strategic.
The same budget that hires an average performer in the U.S. can get you a top performer here, working your hours, aligned with your culture, and ready to deliver.
Advice:
Before you spend more money bringing people back to the office, ask yourself if the desks were ever the real problem. Great teams don’t need to be close together; they need a clear purpose.
🔎 Remote Jobs Shortlist
These are some of the new openings my clients have this week.
You might not be hiring right now, but checking out the roles top companies are posting can give you a sense of where things are headed. Take a look at the full list here.
1. Senior Product Manager
This team is building an AI-powered platform for creators—tools to help them monetize, grow, and manage rights, all at scale.
You’ll own the most strategic areas of the product: onboarding, subscriptions, insights, APIs, and more. Think fewer feature specs, more platform architecture. You’ll define systems, not just screens, and work directly with engineers, designers, and founders to ship fast.
You should have serious product instincts, AI-native thinking, and a track record of owning SaaS growth metrics. Bonus if you understand creators or have built for them before.
💵 $5,000 – $7,000 USD/month
📍 Brazil Remote
2. Risk & Portfolio Director
This fintech runs on risk done right—and they’re looking for someone to lead it all.
You’ll own portfolio strategy across Latin America: setting risk appetite, managing provisions, running ALCO, and building advanced models with a 30+ person team. You’ll work directly with the CFO and CEO, bridging finance, product, and regulation.
This role is for someone who sees risk as a growth lever, not just a safety net. If you’ve run credit risk, built teams, and know your way around Python and CNBV, this one’s for you.
💵 $8,000 – $10,000 USD/month
📍Mexico City Hybrid
3. Senior DevOps Engineer
This trading platform moves fast—and they need someone to keep things stable as they scale globally.
You’ll own the infrastructure: cloud ops, CI/CD, monitoring, and reliability during New York market hours. It’s a fully remote team across LATAM, EMEA, and the U.S., and you’ll work closely with developers to deploy faster and smarter.
If you’ve managed Kubernetes, Terraform, and high-availability systems at scale (bonus if in fintech), and want serious ownership with great pay, this is your spot.
💵 $4,000 – $8,000 USD/month
📍LatAm Remote
That’s it for this week.
The rules are changing quickly, whether it’s about talent, regulations, or growth. The best teams stay prepared. They don’t wait for perfect conditions. Instead, they adapt, take action, and keep building.
Until next time,
Joseph Burns
CEO & Founder, Lupa