The Medellín–Spain Bridge: How to Scale a Startup Across Two Continents

When I incorporated Sleem in Medellín in August 2023, I already knew that the problem I wanted to solve — lack of profitability and transparency for independent artists — had no borders. Music on streaming is global by definition. The artists we work with don't operate only in Colombia; their income comes from platforms that pay in dollars, euros, and pounds. For Sleem to make a real impact, I needed to be where the key pieces actually move.

That's why I made the decision to relocate to Spain. It wasn't an escape or a whim: it was a strategic bet. Today, operating across two continents, I know that scaling a startup internationally requires far more than buying a plane ticket: it requires redesigning how everything works.

Why Spain and not somewhere else

Many people ask why not the United States or some other more obvious hub. The answer has several dimensions. Spain is the natural connector for a Latin American entrepreneur: access to the European market with a solid regulatory framework, but also real cultural proximity to Latin America. I'm not only talking about speaking the same language — I mean the codes, how things are negotiated, how relationships are built. In Medellín there is first-rate technical and creative talent; in Spain there is a more resourced and mature ecosystem. The combination of both is exactly what Sleem needs at this stage.

Two time zones: problem or advantage

Working with teams and clients across time zones can destroy productivity if you don't have clear systems. At first I tried to be present in everything — every call, every thread. That didn't last. I learned at Qué Código that systems always beat shortcuts, and that applies equally to team coordination.

So Sleem wouldn't stall while I slept — or vice versa — we built a culture of asynchronous work. No meetings for the sake of meeting: radical documentation, trust based on outcomes, and tools that do the glue work a transatlantic company needs. If something isn't written down, it doesn't exist.

Technology has no passport

One thing I've kept validating throughout this process is that great technology is a universal language. It doesn't matter whether we're talking to a label in Madrid or an artist in Medellín: Sleem's value lives in what it does, not in where it's registered. Moving abroad forced me to delegate more, to trust the team, and to understand that a founder's job is not to control everything — it's to design the environment so things work without needing to be on top of every detail.

What has actually changed

Being physically in Europe while keeping roots and operations in Latin America has given me a 360-degree view of what the independent music industry needs in 2026. Not just in Colombia, not just in Spain: in both markets there are artists with the same problem and the same drive to fix it.

Scaling a startup is not about where you stand. It's about how far your vision can reach with the systems you build.