BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Eduardo Cerda says he chose to launch the U.S. component of his Monterrey-based manufacturing data software company in Brownsville, rather than Silicon Valley, in part because the city is totally bilingual.
Cerda is the founder of Future SQC Software. The company is part of the Global Soft Landing Program at the eBridge Center for Business & Commercialization in Brownsville.
Under a Launch BTX Grant grant worth $210,000 recently awarded to UT-Rio Grande Valley’s workforce and economic development department, Future SQC will get assistance from the university. The grant was awarded by Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC) to the university.
According to GBIC, the $210,000 grant will provide for the purchase of software, virtual reality hardware, and possible additive manufacturing equipment worth $45,000. GBIC says it will support the advancement of manufacturing and commercialization of equipment used in automotive, food and beverage manufacturing, resulting in the acquisition of contracts and job creation. The partnership between SQC and UTRGV is expected to create 20 direct and up to 50 indirect local jobs.
“I am really happy. Something good is happening here in Brownsville at just the right time,” Cerda told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service. “As I said in today’s news conference, I have been in the software industry for 30 years. And then, like, all of a sudden, everything is happening now. I am really happy with the impact we are going to be able to make in Brownsville.”
When Cerda says he has been in the software and IT industry for 30 years, this is correct. However, much of that has been working for big corporations on big projects.
“So, yes, I have a lot of experience there. But, starting your own company, that is a different monster. You have the experience, but you don’t have the budget. You don’t have a lot of things. The eBridge Center and the university are going to help me overcome that,” Cerda explained.
“We were always confident that we would be able to deliver a project in the market. But, we really want to grow. We really want to go to the big leagues. The big leagues is in the United States.”
Cerda said he believes his experience working for large corporations has helped him grasp the financial and macroeconomic aspects of the industry.
“So I understand very well why the United States is the place to become global. But then as I said, in my pitch, I started to look at where I should put our headquarters. I looked at the Silicon Valley. That was for real, I have all the details. It took me several years and a lot of money. But then, suddenly, I just learned about Brownsville.”
Cerda gave special thanks to Linda Ufland Romo, director of entrepreneurship, innovation and commercialization at UTRGV, and Julio Ivan Quiroga, a development specialist and international program manager at UTRGV.
“Both Linda and, very honestly, Julio and his team have helped us a great deal. I really got hooked with them. I love them. I’m very thankful to them. I think it (the Global Soft Landing Program) is the best way to grow a company like mine.,” Cerda told the Guardian.
“But, the other important thing is the bilingual aspect of the Rio Grande Valley. I can put some workers in Mexico or Latin America, and put the main staff here in Brownsville, and make the bridge, thanks to Brownsville being totally bilingual. It is one of their best selling points. For me, it’s like, very specific. The main reason is you have full command of both languages.”
Asked how long he believes SQC will remain within the eBridge Center, Cerda said: “Just a year, maybe two years. But nothing more than that. I will need some specific offices. We hope to grow really fast.”
Here is a video of the comments Cerda made at a news conference held at GBIC to announce the BTX grant to UTRGV:
Video
Editor’s Note: The above video news story is the second in a four-part series on GBIC awarding a Launch BTX Grant to UTRGV’s workforce and economic development department. Part One features the perspective of UTRGV’s dean of engineering and computer science, Ala Qubbaj. Click here to watch it. Part Three, featuring the perspective of Brownsville City Manager Helen Ramirez, will appear in our next edition.
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