Nearshoring Carrier Sales Reps to Mexico

In this week’s episode of The FreightCaviar Podcast, we sit down with Danny Frisco, CEO & Co-Founder at Rapido Solutions Group and former Carrier Sales Manager at Coyote. He shares valuable insights on the challenges and opportunities of starting a business in Mexico, the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing, and Rapido's future growth plans.

Career Journey

Danny launched his career in 2010 at Coyote after graduating from university. In 2017, he transitioned to BlueGrace Logistics, before becoming the CEO and Co-Founder of Rapido Solutions Group in 2019. 

Coyote

After earning his finance degree from the University of Iowa, Danny decided to try his luck in sales, applying for a position at Coyote in 2010. Right away, he realized this wasn’t just any ordinary brokerage. 

“First day I went in, I was in a training class. I think it was 12 people. They were all around my age and all recent college grads. Right off the bat we were like, ‘OK, this is different than I expected. Maybe I'll give it a longer chance than I thought I was.’ I was just going to go in for like a year or two, get some sales experience, and then go back into finance but I stayed there for seven years. I had a lot of fun and worked my way up into management after a couple of years at Carrier Sales.”

The Key to Success

In Danny’s opinion, Coyote’s success came from an emphasis on community, the ‘no excuses’ model, and the company’s ability to attract good talent.

“We were all in our early 20s. I felt like I was making an impact on the industry. I know it sounds a little cliche, but at the time there was such good culture built around, ‘We're in this together, we're growing the company together, we're all young, no one's preaching that we know what we're doing at the end of the day, but we're gonna work our butt off and just get it done and live up to this ‘no excuses’ model.’  And I think that's why Coyote was so successful. A lot of their people have gone on to do successful things. They just really honed in good talent.”

Transition to BlueGrace Logistics

After almost 7 years at Coyote, Danny decided to take a new direction and began working at BlueGrace Logistics in 2017. 

Two years later, Danny decided it was time to start his own venture and parted ways with the company to launch Rapido alongside Roberto Icaza, who was based in Mexico and had previously worked with Danny's wife at Coyote. Recognizing the importance of having a trusted partner on the ground to manage operations, a month later, Danny flew out to meet him. At the end of the day, Danny knew Roberto was the ideal candidate for the role of Co-Founder.

Challenges of Starting a Business in Mexico

Starting a company in a foreign country is never easy. Danny walked us through the difficult process of obtaining an LLC, and the differences between starting a business in Mexico compared to the U.S.

“When starting a business in the U.S you go on to get an LLC, and it takes like 10 minutes. It's $150, and then you get your EIN number, and you're good to go. You have a business now. It's easy. 24 hours for the EIN to register, right? In Mexico, that process took two to three months. I mean, it's thousands of dollars. You need to get lawyers involved. You need to write up bylaws for the company. There has to be certain ownership percentages based on if you're a foreigner or not.”

Outsourcing

Danny also explained the pros and cons of outsourcing, as well as the realities of the workforce in the U.S. today.

“Pros for us- number one, I think people do drive with cost savings. I don't love us striving with that, but I do believe that clients see the benefit. So that's usually the number one aspect of looking into outsourcing. I think recruiting-wise the type of talent you can get for these roles has increased over time to make it that you could get better talent than you could for some of these positions in the U.S. I think the reality of the workforce now in the U.S. is a lot of the jobs that we staff for, like a carrier sales role or a tracking role, they're not as desirable now.”

Future Growth Plans 

While Danny couldn’t reveal much yet, he did mention that one of the future goals for the company is not only expansion to other cities in Mexico but also to other countries.

“I'll keep it a little close to the chest right now but I'm traveling to three countries in October. We've already done some travel into other countries and we've got a short list that we like right now. We’re working with some consultants and telling them, ‘Hey, we want these five to ten things, find the best location for us."

Danny’s journey from a college graduate to a CEO and Co-founder of a rapidly expanding company highlights the importance of adaptability, hard work, and vision. His experience at Coyote, BlueGrace Logistics, and now Rapido Solutions Group, demonstrates how a combination of community-focused culture and a ‘no excuses’ approach can lead to remarkable success. As Danny looks to the future, his ambition and strategic thinking promise continued growth, not just within Mexico, but on a global scale.

Listen to the entire interview on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or watch it on our YouTube Channel.