t was 2010, and we had been in Canoa for a couple of years. We weren't as panicked as one might be when first owning a business in a foreign country, where you don't speak the native language and are unfamiliar with local customs and cultures. We were beginning to figure things out.

By Peter Stromberg As I stood on the beach last weekend, I found myself engaged in a conversation with an Ecuadorian businessman who had...