From Montevideo, Maximiliano Casal directs all Nowports operations. The company, which combines the classic field of logistics with information technology, has not stopped expanding since its creation in 2018.
Nowports is a platform that moves merchandise and provides the client with greater security by monitoring the merchandise during the journey.
The company was founded by the 30-year-old Uruguayan, who is currently the operations director of the logistics company, and by the 22-year-old Mexican Alfonso de los Ríos, who today serves as the company’s CEO.
The business idea arose after the coincidence of its founders at Stanford University. The De los Ríos family has vast experience in the logistics field and Casal contributed to the digitalization of the business model, which is conquering the region.
The startup grew exponentially and became one of the most powerful of its kind in Latin America. Below is a summary of the interview that El Observador held with the young Uruguayan businessman.
How did you get to Stanford University?
In 2017, I applied to a summer boot camp (intensive study methodology focused on the development of software), and I was selected from thousands of applicants. It was a unique experience, being able to spend several weeks at the university, meeting hundreds of people with a great spirit and incredible entrepreneurial mentality. The environment and context that Stanford generates is practically impossible to recreate in other universities. There I met my partner Alfonso de los Ríos.
I went to the US in 2018 for a US government program in which I was awarded a scholarship to do a internship (exchange) in Kansas City. I was living in Kansas, then in Silicon Valley (California) and then in Mexico. Since March 2020 I returned to live in Uruguay.
How did Nowports start?
When I met Alfonso, his family had more than 15 years of experience driving freight forwarders —merchandise clearance service— traditional in Mexico. turn on me internship in Kansas City, I worked in a freight forwarder Hellmann Group (one of the largest logistics groups in the world). Thanks to this experience, I learned how the digital transformation of foreign trade worked in the American market: a vision we wanted to aim for. Although the US has much more infrastructure and digitization than Latin America, its clients face similar problems. Thus, Alfonso and I decided to create a disruption in an industry that remained the same for more than 70 years.
How was the expansion process of the company?
In January 2019, we were accepted into Y Combinator —a company that invests in the development of technology companies—, from which large companies such as Airbnb, Dropbox, Intacart, Doordash, Coinbase, Stripe, Gitlab, among many others, emerged. At the end, we raised our first round of capital, to begin operations in Mexico.
We chose the city of Monterrey for our central office due to its industrial development and residence of the decision makers of large companies. Then we open in Mexico City. A few months later, we expanded to Chile and Colombia. Once established in those markets, we opened in Uruguay, Peru and, recently, we started operations in Brazil.
How did the so-called “container crisis” influence?
Like the (covid-19) pandemic, the container crisis was something that helped companies appreciate Nowports’ value proposition. We, being a large player with a presence in multiple countries, have the ability to negotiate better prices and spaces with shipping companies to load the goods.
The crisis changed the rules of the industry, companies had to put container freight costs in the background and worry more about space and the date of departure with the expected itinerary. Not having the merchandise on time can be very expensive, whether in fines, production stops or lack of inventory during important seasons. A friend in the United States told me that, for the first time in a long time, he does not have access to basic products such as wall paint, wood and construction tools.
How are you projected for next year?
In 2022 we will continue to grow in our active regions and we will also have openings in four or five countries, in Latin America and on other continents. Additionally, a few months ago we launched a merchandise financing product for our clients that has been positioning itself very well in Mexico, Chile and Peru. The idea is to expand it to the rest of the countries. We offer a very competitive interest rate for the region and added to the logistics product we position ourselves as an essential partner for the supply chain of our clients and the growth of their businesses.
This interview was originally published by El Observador on December 21, 2021.
