4 years ago, SendPulse, a mailing service for business development, decided to acquire a representative office in Brazil. How it happened and what features of the Brazilian realities the team faced, read in our material! March 17, 2021 0 3 min

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Work

We chose Sao Paulo to host our office. This is the largest city in Brazil and, in fact, is the center where all businesses, the best personnel and offices of large companies are concentrated. But there is also a drawback – there are high prices for everything: staff salaries, office rent, and so on.

In four years, our Brazilian branch has grown from one to 10 people. The most important thing in this case was to find the right country manager, director for the region. We found it on the second try and are very happy with it. It closes almost all questions throughout Latin America, not only in Brazil. Including hires staff at reasonable prices, and not for 10-15 thousand dollars – such a rate is required by C-level managers.

Author of the photo – Konstantin Makarov

The level of English among Brazilians is often not very high, which slows down some processes. Among the known difficulties is a very complex system with taxes and the withdrawal of earned capital.

From the point of view of efficiency or differences in mentality, we have no particular problems with colleagues. Before the pandemic, we visited them once a year. One director came to the “WebSummit” in Portugal to help work with Portuguese-speaking clients. Now we communicate online almost daily.

Impressions of Sao Paulo

I usually stay in the Itaim or Jardines areas. These are modern green safe areas in the city center, which is convenient, sometimes you can even move here on foot, although the city is colossal in size. In Sao Paulo, for example, it is considered normal to drive 2 hours one way to work, some go even longer. And traffic jams are not as terrible as they are described 🙂 On the other hand, there is a big contrast between the ultra-modern, clean and well-groomed business district, and the slums and huts along the roads.

Photo by Konstantin Makarov

Author of the photo – Konstantin Makarov

Sao Paulo is a contrasting and interesting city, but it is better to have a guide or a local who will tell you where it is safe and where not to go. I was warned to hide watches from my hands and expensive things from a conspicuous place.

The old town has very interesting architecture, but everything is very neglected. I especially liked the local business district, a kind of mini-New York. I was no less impressed by the stadium of the Corinthians football club, an impressive tour of it and, in general, the attitude towards football in Brazil. Here it is almost a separate religion.

But the historical center of the city left a terrible impression – it was chosen by drug addicts and people without a permanent place of residence. They say you shouldn't go there at night. It is also not recommended to go to the slum areas in the evening, as the car can simply be blocked and robbed.

The weather is hot and humid, which brings some discomfort. Palm trees grow, it's easy to meet a monkey in the park 🙂 There are a lot of things that contrast with our view.

If you go on vacation to Brazil, you probably would prefer some safer resort. But for the move, I would rather choose the state of Florianopolis. It is remembered for its well-developed IT infrastructure and a large number of universities.

5 tips for those who want to do business in Brazil:

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