Policy can’t fix your culture
If people only work because they’re forced to, you’ve already lost
Hey there,
I’ll be honest. When it comes to channels and marketing, often we’re experimenting. Some things work, some things don’t, and most of the time we’re still figuring it out.
What I do know is this: the newsletter community we’ve built here is strong. Open rates are above 60% on average, which I know is a vanity metric, but still, it’s something to be proud of. The more challenging part has been growth. The goal is to get more people to see this, to read it, and hopefully to take something valuable away.
That’s the real reason I write this every week. It’s not about numbers. It’s about reaching as many people as we can to improve hiring and career opportunities across Latin America.
So here’s my ask: if you’ve gotten value from this newsletter, share it. Forward it to someone who’d appreciate it. Invite a colleague to subscribe. And let me know what’s landing for you, or what you’d like to see more of. I put a lot of time into this, and I want to keep making it better.
Let’s get into it.
🌐 News Shortlist
1. Australia’s right to disconnect: law or culture?
Recap: On August 26, Australia extended its right to disconnect laws to small businesses (under 15 employees), covering 5.4 million workers. Employees now have the legal right to ignore unreasonable after-hours work messages or calls, with fines up to $18,000 if employers retaliate. Casual workers also gained the right to request conversion to permanent contracts.
At first glance, this sounds like a nightmare for startups and small businesses. You want your team to be bought in, engaged, and sometimes even available outside the 9-to-5 when things break or opportunities come up. But the real problem isn’t the law. It’s culture.
If your people are motivated, feel ownership, and are growing in their roles, you don’t need to legislate their engagement. They’ll care enough to pick up the phone when it matters. The fact that governments need to enforce this shows how many companies are failing at the basics: building environments where people actually like their work.
Of course, workers need boundaries, rest, and protection. No one should be on call 24/7. But if your company culture is so fragile that you’re relying on guilt or constant pings to keep things moving, the problem isn’t the Fair Work Commission. It’s your leadership.
Advice:
Don’t run a business that needs laws like this to protect your people. Build one where they want to show up, stay late when it counts, and disconnect without fear when it doesn’t.
2. The tech job market reality check
Recap: A new wave of data shows just how hard it is right now for young people in tech. Unemployment for recent computer science grads is 6.1%, and for computer engineering it’s 7.5% — more than double other majors. Promotion rates in tech have also slowed faster than in any other industry. After the 2022 boom, hiring collapsed in 2023, layoffs flooded the market with experienced talent, and AI tools started swallowing up the entry-level work that used to go to new grads.
This is the first time in a long time that the “learn to code, land a great job” promise isn’t holding up. Some grads are applying to thousands of jobs and ending up with interviews at Chipotle. Others are blasting resumes into ATS black holes only to be auto-rejected by the same AI tools that took their jobs.
The bigger point: the tech labor market has reset. We’re not going back to 2021, when a half-decent GitHub repo could land you six offers. Companies over-hired, then over-corrected, and now they’re realizing AI can cover a lot of grunt work. That means fewer openings, slower promotions, and a more brutal fight to stand out.
But don’t confuse this with the end of opportunity. Microsoft just put $4B into reskilling because they know demand isn’t disappearing, it’s shifting. The truth is, even in the middle of this so-called freeze, our clients have never stopped hiring for the roles that actually move the needle (DevOps, infrastructure, AI developers). Those jobs are still in demand because someone has to build, scale, and ship the systems everyone else is talking about.
Advice:
If you’re a founder, don’t take “tech is dead” at face value. There’s strong talent on the market right now; they’re just buried under bad headlines and broken application funnels. If you build a straightforward process, give people a fair shot, and invest in training, you’ll find people who are hungry to prove themselves and ready to deliver.
3. Latin America’s funding week: not just apps, but infrastructure
Recap: Latin America saw a wave of deals this week. Chile’s AgendaPro raised $35M to expand its appointment-booking SaaS. Colombia’s Rappi closed $100M in debt, its largest yet. Brazil’s Asaas raised $18.5M to scale SMB payments and prep for a possible IPO. Mexico’s Digitt brought in $10M Series A to help consumers pay off credit card debt. São Paulo’s Iniciador raised $6M to expand Pix infrastructure. Miami-based Kira (founded by Latin America entrepreneurs) raised $6.7M in seed to build stablecoin rails. And Brazil’s AlphaGo raised $2M pre-seed for AI-powered marketing automation.
If you’ve been watching Latin America for a while, you’ll notice something important here: this isn’t just consumer apps raising money. Investors are backing the plumbing of the digital economy. Payment rails. Receivables platforms. Scheduling and SaaS tools. Marketing automation.
This is what maturity looks like. Rappi can still raise big checks, sure. But the real story is that investors are betting on the boring, foundational stuff. The infrastructure that allows everyone else to build. That’s how you know an ecosystem is entering its next phase.
The numbers may not look like 2021’s mega-rounds, but don’t miss the signal. Latin America isn’t running out of momentum. It’s diversifying. And the talent building these companies? It’s world-class. You don’t build Pix-level infrastructure or scale SaaS across five countries without serious execution.
Advice:
If you’re a founder outside Latin America, pay attention. These aren’t just “emerging market” plays anymore. They’re competitors, partners, and blueprints. And if you’re hiring, remember: the same engineers building these infrastructures are available to you, often for the cost of an average US hire. Let’s talk.
🔎 Remote Jobs Shortlist
These are the new openings my clients have this week.
Even if you’re not hiring, it’s worth seeing what roles great companies are opening and what that says about where things are headed. Check out the full list here.
1. AI Engineer
This healthtech startup is building the first “AI Doctor” in Latin America, and they just raised capital to do it. They’re looking for engineers who can turn messy requests into production-ready features fast.
You’ll design backend microservices in Python, build AI agents with LangChain or LangGraph, and ship end-to-end features with crazy speed. One day it’s prompt engineering for medically accurate outputs, the next it’s standing up a React or Flutter front-end so patients can actually use them.
It’s high-autonomy, high-ownership work, side by side with the CEO and a small team. Perfect for someone who loves the chaos of 0→1 and wants their code to actually save lives.
💵 $5,500 - $6,000 USD/month
📍Brazil or Colombia Remote
2. QA Lead
This startup is rebuilding syndicated lending infrastructure using blockchain. Now they need someone to own quality from the ground up.
As their first QA hire, you’ll set strategy, build automation frameworks, and be the point person across engineering teams. You won’t be managing people yet, but you will be shaping the way mission-critical financial systems are tested and trusted.
It’s hands-on, deeply technical, and highly visible. You’ll work directly with the CTO and principal architect, making decisions that affect billions in future transactions.
💵 $5,500 - $6,000 USD/month
📍Latin America Remote
3. Customer Success & Enrollment Specialist
This education business need someone to run back-office operations so the classes run smoothly.
You’ll guide clients through enrollment, answer questions across phone, email, and text, and follow up with leads. You’ll also keep the CRM clean and accurate, making sure every detail is tracked.
If you’re detail-oriented, love talking to people, and can juggle multiple channels without dropping the ball, this is a chance to be the backbone of a mission-driven business.
💵$1,500 - $1,800 USD/month
📍Latin America Remote
That’s it for this week.
Keep this in mind:
The ecosystem, the market, and even the laws will shift. The only thing you can control is how you show up. Thanks for reading.
Until next time,
Joseph Burns
CEO & Founder, Lupa