Mexican tech company chooses McAllen as launchpad for U.S. expansion

McALLEN, Texas — Ticketopolis, a Mexican technology company specializing in event management, has established its Texas headquarters in McAllen as the first step in a strategy to enter the U.S. market and use the Rio Grande Valley as a platform for broader expansion.

Founded in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in 2014, Ticketopolis entered the U.S. market after more than a decade of development, with more than 11,000 events created, more than 1 million tickets issued and more than $20 million in transactions processed through its platform.

Its cloud-based, AI-powered technology brings together ticketing, payments, digital wallets, WhatsApp, SMS, email, access control, on-site sales and real-time information for live, virtual and hybrid events.

The company grew out of a need identified among its own clients. Blanca Guerra, Ticketopolis co-founder, said the company initially operated a software development agency and began receiving requests from organizations looking to sell tickets and register attendees.

“It was a system that they asked us for a lot,” Guerra said. The company subsequently developed and refined the platform, eventually moving it to the cloud.

McAllen as the first U.S. market

The decision to launch in McAllen is closely tied to Monterrey, both geographically and culturally.

“We’re from Monterrey, Nuevo León, and we’re very close — two hours from the border,” Guerra said.

The company sees McAllen as its “gateway to the United States.”

Fernando Medellín, Ticketopolis co-founder, described the expansion strategy as taking “baby steps, but very firmly.”

The immediate priority is to understand the needs of event organizers in the Valley and across Texas and use that knowledge to adapt the platform before expanding into additional U.S. markets.

“We feel that getting to know the market in McAllen, the Valley, Texas and eventually the United States is precisely what will help us fine-tune the platform for this market,” Medellín said.

A video presented during the launch underscored the company’s rationale for choosing McAllen, describing the city as a place where Mexico and the United States, businesses, cultures and communities intersect.

From Monterrey to Texas

The expansion began taking shape in 2024, following a business meeting in Monterrey that connected the founders with representatives from McAllen and the World Trade Center Monterrey. 

Daniella Plata, McAllen’s director of international relations, became a key contact in that process, helping connect Ticketopolis with the city’s business resources and guiding the company through its expansion. What began as a conversation about opportunities in the U.S. market eventually led to Ticketopolis establishing its Texas operation. 

Ticketopolis is also the first company to successfully complete McAllen’s soft-landing pilot program, which is designed to help international companies, particularly small and midsize businesses, establish a presence in Texas through connections with attorneys, accountants and industry specialists. 

A small company with a growing footprint

Despite the scale of its technology platform, Ticketopolis operates with a remarkably small team.

Medellín said the company’s Mexico operation has four employees: he and his wife, along with two other team members.

“We’re a very small company. Sometimes people don’t believe us,” he said.

Personalized support is part of the company’s business model, particularly when clients are launching their first events. Ticketopolis guides organizers through the process until they become comfortable managing the platform on their own.

Investment in the U.S. operation will also grow as the business gains traction.

“The investment grows as we grow,” Medellín said. 

The company plans to increase its investment as its customer base and transaction volume expand, rather than committing to a large upfront investment before validating the market.

A Model Other Mexican Companies Could Follow

For Eugenio Reyes, director of the World Trade Center Monterrey, Ticketopolis’ arrival comes at a time when Mexican companies face a strong incentive to establish a presence in the U.S. 

Reyes highlighted the size gap between the two economies, saying the U.S. economy is approximately $33 trillion, compared with about $1.3 trillion for Mexico. He also said Mexico’s economy has averaged just 0.7% growth over the past seven years.

He hopes Ticketopolis becomes a model for other Mexican companies considering the same move.

“It’s always much harder to break ground than it is to follow the steps of someone that did it before,” Reyes said.

For Ticketopolis, however, the immediate goal is more focused.

“We don’t want to simply have an address in McAllen. We want to become part of this community,” Medellín said during the launch.