THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPS Full Survey Results 2016
Apr 15, 2017
THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
2016
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSIntroduction
What is the startup founder experience like
in Mexico? How does the local startup
ecosystem compare to its U.S. cousin?
These are critical questions, and it's
important to get input on them from the
founders driving change in Mexico's
dynamic and vibrant startup landscape.
To that end we replicated First Round
Capital's recent "State of Startups 2015"
survey to shed light on these topics. The
Mexico landscape is still young and as such
lacks a depth of data; comparison with
other ecosystems can offer a valuable
analysis. We surveyed a broad set of
founders based or working in Mexico to
gauge their sentiments and compare them
against their peers in the U.S. Hopefully
their answers can help other founders,
investors, or even dreamers thinking of
starting their company.
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
1. Do you expect it to get harder or easier to raise
venture capital in the next 12 months?
5%
12%
38%
38%
7%
Much easier
Somewhat easier
Neither harder nor easier
Somewhat harder
Much harder
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
2. How many firms did you pitch when raising your last
round of funding?
7%
14%
17%
21%
17%
14%
10%
30+
21-30
11-20
6-10
3-5
<3
Inside round
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
3. How long was your entire fundraising process for your
most recent round?
66%
5%
12%
9%
0%
9%
4+ months
4 months
3 months
2 months
1 month
< 1 month
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
4. If you intend to go public, how long do you think it will
be until your IPO?
33%
21%
26%
14%
7%
No intent
7+ years
5-7 years
3-5 years
1-2 years
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
5. Has your company ever raised a bridge round?
34%
66%
Yes
No
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
6. How do you think the M&A market for startups will
change over the next 12 months?
11%
5%
33%
37%
14%
Far fewer acquisitions
Slightly fewer acquisitions
About the same acquisitions
Slightly more acquisitions
Far more acquisitions
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
7. How many years do you think it will take for your
company to become profitable?
10%
2%
14%
57%
17%
Already profitable
5+ years
3-5 years
1-3 years
< 1 year
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
8. How many founders does your company have?
10%
52%
29%
9%
1
2
3
4+
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
9. If you have at least one co-founder, how would you
define your co-founder relationship?
34%
46%
9%
5%5%
Best friends
Collegial
Don't have one
I fired them
Strained
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
10. How large is your team today?
2%
3%
21%
45%
19%
10%
101-250 people
51-100 people
21-50 people
6-20 people
<6 people
Just founders
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
11. What is the male to female ratio of your team?
14%
34%
33%
19%
Mostly female
Close to 50/50
Mostly male
All male
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
12. Does your organization have a strategy to promote
diversity and inclusiveness?
31%
14%
45%
10%
No, no plans
No, but planned
Yes, not formal
Yes, formal policy
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
13. How important is international presence to your
business over the next year?
37%
18%
16%
12%
18%
5 (Very)
4
3
2
1 (Not)
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
14. Which platform are you the most focused on?
45%
41%
7%
2%2% 2% 2%
Mobile
Web
Desktop
Hardware
VR
Social Media
Not a tech company
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
15. How many people do you think you are going to hire in
the next 12 months?
3%
3%
12%
17%
31%
33%
75+
51-75
21-50
11-20
6-10
1-5
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
16. Approximately what percentage of your team is
engineering?
53%
28%
16%
3%
>25%
25-50%
50-75%
75-100%
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
17. How much does a mid-level employee at your
company make (salary + bonus)?
7%
19%
52%
22%
45,000-70,000 MXN/month
30,000-45,000 MXN/month
15,000-30,000 MXN/month
<15,000 MXN/month
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
18. How much equity does a mid-level employee at your
company receive?
2%
0%
4%
0%
5%
0%
7%
2%
5%
4%
14%
57%
2.21%+
2.01%-2.20%
1.81%-2.00%
1.61%-1.80%
1.41%-1.60%
1.21%-1.40%
1.01%-1.20%
0.81%-1.00%
0.61%-0.80%
0.41%-0.60%
0.21%-0.40%
0.00%-0.20%
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
19. What is your most critical hire in the next year?
5%0%
4%2%
4%0%
4%0%
4%2%
16%5%
18%7%
30%
OtherFinance JuniorFinance Senior
Operations JuniorOperations Senior
HR JuniorHR Senior
Product JuniorProduct Senior
Marketing JuniorMarketing Senior
Sales JuniorSales Senior
Engineering JuniorEngineering Senior
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
20. What is the average tenure of a non-executive
employee at your company?
2%
0%
7%
19%
21%
16%
36%
5+ years
4-5 years
3-4 years
2-3 years
1-2 years
< 1 year
Too early
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
21. How much time do employees have to exercise their
option after leaving the company?
41%
8%
18%
0%
2%
10%
10%
10%
Can't exercise
1 to 3 years
12 months
9 months
6 months
3 months
30 days
Immediately
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
22. What's your policy on employees selling secondary
shares?2%
19%
63%
16%
Free to sell anytime
Need Board approval
No policy
Other
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
23. Do you have annual performance reviews?
28%
38%
17%
17%Yes, and tied tocompensation
Yes, but not tied tocompensation
No, we do them on adifferent cycle
No
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
24. What's the hardest executive hire you've made?
6%
2%
6%
8%
17%
26%
36%
Other
HR leader
Design leader
Product leader
Marketing leader
Sales leader
Engineering leader
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
25. Who is allowed to work remotely?
26%
57%
14%
3%
A select few
Anyone can
No one can
Only engineers
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
26. What time do most people get into the office?
7%
17%
60%
16%
I don't know
10am-11am
9am-10am
Before 9am
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
27-30. Do you offer complimentary meals in the office?
Breakfast
Dinner
Lunch
Snacks
4%
0%
96%
Everyday
Most weekdays
Never
4%
9%
88%
Everyday
Most weekdays
Never
0%
4%
96%
Everyday
Most weekdays
Never
20%
25%
55%
Everyday
Most weekdays
Never
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
31. In total, how many advisors do you have on your cap
table (including options)?
40%
9%
22%
29%
None
6-10
3-5
1-2
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
32. How much equity did you give to each of your
advisors on average?
57%
5%
0%
0%
4%
0%
7%
9%
2%
5%
2%
9%
We don't offer equity to advisors
2.01%+
1.81%-2.00%
1.61%-1.80%
1.41%-1.60%
1.21%-1.40%
1.01%-1.20%
0.81%-1.00%
0.61%-0.80%
0.41%-0.60%
0.21%-0.40%
0.01%-0.20%
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSFull Survey Results
33. What's the price per month per square meter at your
office this year?
México, DF
Monterrey
Guadalajara
Queretaro
León
Somewhere else in
Mexico
Chile
Argentina
Colombia
U.S.
3%
22%
30%
46%
751-1,000 MXN
501-750 MXN
250-500 MXN
< 250 MXN
0%
50%
0%
50%
751-1,000 MXN
501-750 MXN
250-500 MXN
< 250 MXN
0%
0%
0%
100%
751-1,000 MXN
501-750 MXN
250-500 MXN
< 250 MXN
0%
0%
0%
100%
751-1,000 MXN
501-750 MXN
250-500 MXN
< 250 MXN
0%
0%
0%
100%
751-1,000 MXN
501-750 MXN
250-500 MXN
< 250 MXN
25%
0%
50%
25%
751-1,000 MXN
501-750 MXN
250-500 MXN
< 250 MXN
0%
50%
50%
0%
751-1,000 MXN
501-750 MXN
250-500 MXN
< 250 MXN
0%
0%
0%
100%
751-1,000 MXN
501-750 MXN
250-500 MXN
< 250 MXN
20%
20%
40%
20%
751-1,000 MXN
501-750 MXN
250-500 MXN
< 250 MXN
0%
0%
100%0%
751-1,000 MXN
501-750 MXN
250-500 MXN
< 250 MXN
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSAbout the Respondents
34. Where is your company headquartered?
10%
2%
2%
3%
7%
2%
3%
3%
3%
64%
USA
Colombia
Argentina
Chile
Somewhere else in Mexico
León
Queretaro
Guadalajara
Monterrey
Mexico, DF
1. Survey n=60.
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSAbout the Respondents
35. Are you CEO, Founder or both?
81%
17%
2%
Both
Founder
CEO
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSAbout the Respondents
36. Are you female or male?
9%
91%
Female
Male
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSAbout the Respondents
37. How old are you?
9%
21%
7%
34%
26%
3%
51+
41-50
36-40
31-35
26-30
21-25
37
THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSAbout the Respondents
38. Which sector best describes your company?
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
3%
3%
5%
7%
9%
10%
10%
17%
26%
Tourism
Telecom
IoT
Finance
Logistics
Consultant
Fund raising
Education
Energy
Health
Enterprise Digital
Mobility
Consumer Internet
Fintech
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSAbout the Respondents
39. How old is your company?
3%
0%
7%
17%
59%
14%
10+ yrs
7-10 yrs
5-7 yrs
3-5 yrs
1-3 yrs
<1 yr
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSAbout the Respondents
40. What was your last funding round?
11%
2%
7%
4%
20%
36%
21%
Other
Bridge round
Series C
Series B
Series A
Seed
Pre-seed
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THE STATE OF MEXICO’S STARTUPSAbout the Respondents
41. Do you have operations internationally?
38%
62%
Yes
No