Not every board member works out. Some stop showing up. Others undermine decisions or create division. A few turn out to be fundamentally misaligned with the mission or incapable of handling the role. And occasionally, someone who was once valuable becomes a liability as the organization evolves. Most founders know when a board member needs […]

Most founders assemble advisory boards for the wrong reasons. They want credibility by association. They want impressive names on the website. They want to signal to investors that serious people believe in the company. And they end up with a list of people who ghost meetings, don’t respond to emails, and contribute nothing beyond their […]

If you ask ten economists what defines an emerging market, you’ll get ten slightly different answers. Low per capita income. Rapid GDP growth. Unstable institutions. Currency volatility. Weak rule of law. Transitioning economies. The list goes on. These definitions aren’t wrong, but they’re not particularly useful if you’re trying to decide whether to enter a […]

If emerging markets are countries transitioning toward developed status, frontier markets are supposedly one step behind: smaller, less liquid, riskier, but full of untapped potential. That’s the pitch, anyway. The financial industry loves frontier markets because they sound exciting. Investors get sold on “getting in early” before these markets “emerge.” Consultants position themselves as guides […]

If you’re expanding into Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, or Southeast Asia and your entire marketing plan is built around Facebook and Instagram, you’re about to waste a lot of money. Digital advertising dominates conversations in US and European markets, but it often underperforms in regions where smartphone penetration, data costs, and platform usage look completely […]

You send updates. No one responds. You schedule calls. Half the board doesn’t show up. You ask for feedback and get silence or vague encouragement that feels more like politeness than engagement. Your stakeholders haven’t formally walked away, but they’re not really present either. This pattern is common, especially in organizations operating under strain or […]

Fake invoices don’t arrive with a warning label. They show up in your inbox looking legitimate, professionally formatted, and often timed perfectly to slip past distracted finance teams. By the time you realize something’s wrong, the money is gone and the trail has gone cold. Vendor fraud is one of the quietest threats to small […]

Peru’s Congress removed President Dina Boluarte early Friday morning with 121 votes, citing “permanent moral incapacity” to address organized crime. This marks Peru’s third president since 2022. The same Congress that removed Pedro Castillo has now removed his successor. As someone who has facilitated thousands of cross-border transactions across Latin America and currently serves on […]

Every experienced leader eventually faces it: a missed signal during due diligence that later becomes a liability. Sometimes it’s a concealed relationship. Sometimes it’s a partner with undisclosed debt, a founder with political baggage, or a “compliant” supplier that turns out to be an operational risk. Whatever the oversight, what happens next determines whether the […]

When a threat surfaces—whether personal, political, or operational—team leaders on the ground often absorb the initial shock. Their instinct is to alert headquarters, seek cover, or step back entirely. But premature escalation can trigger an overreaction from donors, executives, or boards. The result is a double crisis: a rattled team and a destabilized funding or […]