Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González
During RGV Startup Week, held at the newly inaugurated Pharr Global Business Hub on May 1, 2025, Victor Perez, President and CEO of the Pharr Economic Development Corporation (EDC), delivered a presentation titled Pharr’s Economic Vision: A Gateway for International Business. The event highlighted Pharr’s ambition to serve as both a hub for global commerce and a launchpad for innovation in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV).
Among the event’s standout voices were Andres Gutierrez and Hector Alvarez, two young engineers and Oui Trend Marketing Agency co-founders. Their Harlingen-based company creates digital platforms, websites, and AI-driven marketing systems to help small businesses scale efficiently. “We create digital platforms and websites and do everything regarding marketing. We create automations and AI workflows, obviously to help scale businesses,” said Alvarez. “We’re seeing a big deficit in engineering in these businesses.”
The founders are focused on integrating local talent into their model, particularly engineering students from UTRGV. “We wanna advocate for using UTRGV engineers,” Alvarez said. “We would intern them and then work with local businesses to start creating software internally to keep track of metrics and automations.”
Gutierrez added, “0.9% of the industry within technology is the margin we have paid attention to. Not only do we focus on the deficiencies of companies, but we also consult with them and implement technology. Most talent is leaving because the jobs aren’t here.”
Their internship pipeline allows students to gain hands-on experience while helping local businesses modernize. “We want to focus on attacking and scaling for small businesses and providing that education and experience,” said Gutierrez. “If you want to replicate what you’ve learned, it will benefit the Rio Grande Valley.”
Alvarez emphasized the lack of awareness around software needs. “Nobody’s paying attention. They talk about manufacturing, not the tech that tracks products—QR codes, inventory systems, databases. No one’s advocating for that.”
Oui Trend operates virtually with a team of remote engineers and designers. “We have our engineers, our graphic designers, we sit ’em down on TEAM meetings and we’re like, alright guys, we gotta build this and that,” Alvarez said. “We create the plan, the documents, the guidelines. Everything’s properly branded.”
Alvarez shared his journey, “I have burned through a couple of businesses. I started at 17, but this one with Andres has been going for a year and a half. We saw so much potential.”
The duo is determined to stay the course. “Next step, support or not, awareness or not, we’re gonna continue doing what we’re doing,” said Gutierrez. “Helping small businesses and educating minds that want to grow.”
Oui Trend connects with clients through word of mouth, website, and social media. “Our clients speak about us,” Gutierrez noted.
Though for-profit, the company prioritizes community development. “The idea is to gather UTRGV students for six- to twelve-month internships. We’re also educating them,” Alvarez explained.
Gutierrez concluded, “The value we add is the opportunity people give us. Especially with AI, we stay on top of it daily. We want people to use these skills in any business, even in their families. Because we’re a consumer culture, we can’t be a producer culture. We want to start something new for the Rio Grande Valley.”
Andres Gutierrez and Hector Alvarez are exactly the kind of forward-thinking professionals the Rio Grande Valley needs. Through Oui Trend, they’re not only helping small businesses embrace digital tools and automation—they’re creating real opportunities for local engineering talent to stay and thrive in the region. Their passion for innovation, community impact, and tech education sets them apart. They’re not just building a company—they’re building a movement for a smarter, more self-sufficient Valley.
