Dominican Founders Abroad: We don’t just pitch, we export power

By Jonathan Joel Mentor | @jonathanjmentor 

Every month, Dominican startups hit the regional pitch circuit in Bogotá, Mexico City, Medellín, and now Antigua. They show up hungry. They build under pressure. They rep the flag proudly.

But let’s be honest: we’re still treated as guests in Latin America’s innovation economy.

That era ends now.

From Demo Day to Decision Maker

Just this month, Dominican startup Extinguisher360, cofounded by my dear friend Jonathan Bournigal-Read, who also hosts the Dominican en Tech podcast, was selected for Volcano Summit’s Startup Avenue in Guatemala. It’s a strong achievement and a proud moment for early-stage founders chasing traction.

But a new class of Dominican entrepreneurs is walking a different path.  A path built on leverage, infrastructure, and long-term exportability. These aren’t startups waiting for visibility. They’re platforms designed to attract capital, shape policy, and move markets.

This isn’t about pitch decks anymore. It’s about power mechanics.

The Problem With the Circuit

There’s no shame in pitching. But the regional startup fair has become a treadmill.

• Are these summits designed to fund or to filter?
• Do they elevate Dominican innovation or extract novelty from it?
• Do they build local ecosystems or train us to seek approval abroad?

There’s a word for that: outsourcing. And it doesn’t build sovereign economies.

What Exportable Innovation Really Means

The startups that will define the next 10 years of Dominican tech aren’t looking for applause. They’re architecting systems.

• Ventures with cross-border monetization baked in.
• Products that interface with regulation, not just users.
• Founders who build with ministries, not just mentors.

The new model isn’t pitching. It’s hosting summits, capital, and global attention.

3 Signs You’re Building Power, Not Just Presence

1. You raise capital before applying to be seen.
   You don’t need validation to move, you move, and the ecosystem follows. 
2. You shape market behavior, not just hold court over panels.
   Your product rewires how people spend, earn, or move, not just how judges clap. 
3. You get studied by competitors, not just accelerated by institutions.
   When others are adjusting to your model, you’ve stopped playing the game and started writing the rules

Final Word: From Tourist to Host

Dominican innovation has matured. Some will keep touring Latin America’s pitch festivals. That has its place.

But others are quietly building exportable infrastructure and ventures that invite the world in, not beg to be let out.

That’s the difference between a guest… and a host.

And in 2026, the world will fly in to see what we’ve built.

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Jonathan Joel Mentor is the CEO of Successment and architect of the Provoke Visibility™ campaign, scaling startups and challenging institutions to evolve. UN World Summit & ADOEXPO Award nominee. www.jonathanjmentor.co