Nashville business BorderJump connects U.S. products and Latin American customers

"We take away the critical roadblocks that have stood in the way of doing business in Latin America and the Caribbean"

"Our ties to Nashville are both emotional and strategic"

The City Paper recently interviewed Robert “Bobby” Frank, CEO of BorderJump, a Nashville-based business that connects U.S. products with Latin American buyers.

Excerpts from the interview:

City Paper: It’s interesting that such an “international business” is based in Nashville. Thoughts?

Frank: Our ties to Nashville are both emotional and strategic. I am a Nashville native, as is [Aeropost co-founder] Fredjoseph Goldner. Fredjoseph currently lives in Costa Rica, but we’ve both started businesses here and have a very strong attachment to the city. At the same time, there is an amazing community of technologically sophisticated people who understand e-commerce, distribution, payment processing and marketing.

City Paper: What is the key to BorderJump?

Frank: The simplicity. We’re telling retailers that they can “sell there like they do here.” They don’t have to worry about international logistics, shipping, customs, language, payments or fraud. We take away the critical roadblocks that have stood in the way of doing business in Latin America and the Caribbean and provide a very easy way for U.S. merchants to sell to customers in a global setting.
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City Paper: What do U.S. retailers tell you when you talk to them?

Frank: I hear very similar stories that usually begin with something like: “We’d love to sell into Latin America, but it’s too hard to do.” There is always discussion of fraud rates, payment methods, customs and duties, international shipping charges, language and marketing, which are all of the traditional barriers to entry.

At some point in every conversation, though, there is recognition of the fact that the retailer simply has to ship to Miami and BorderJump handles everything else.

Read the full interview here.