Valley tech startup Supply Pay wants to hear from all importers and exporters

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Calling all importers and exporters. Weslaco-based Supply Pay, the tech startup company that plans to streamline international supply chains, wants to hear from you.

Tech entrepreneur William Steele, CEO and co-founder of Supply Pay, made his pitch at the end of a panel discussion at the 2025 South Texas Summit. The summit was hosted by the South Texas Business Partnership. 

Just as the panel was about to end, Steele said:

“Can I say one more thing? If anyone knows and importers or exporters, come talk to me. We’re still a startup. I need all the help I can get. Importers or exporters, anybody in Mexico, or in Asia, call us. Come talk to me,” Steele said.

Asked to elaborate by the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service after exiting the stage, Steele said: “We’re really interested in talking to importers in the South Texas area or anywhere in the United States, and exporters in Mexico, exporting and importing any types of goods.”

Supply Pay’s research has so far been focused on fresh produce and how the company can ensure Mexican growers can get paid on a more timely basis. Now, however, Steele says the company is ready to talk to all types of importers and exporters.

“We would love to hear from importers and exporters if they’re in fresh produce. But we would  love to hear from them if they’re in automotive. We would love to hear from them if they’re in textiles, e-commerce, anything. I just want to meet with the decision-makers, show them what we’re building, see if it can help them and get their feedback. That’s what early stage iteration looks like.”

In his remarks on stage, Steele explained the concept of Supply Pay.

“For those who don’t know, we really focus on building the tools and software and financing for exporters and importers. Specifically, we started with a focus on fresh produce trade between Mexico and the United States. As we all know,  the Rio Grande Valley is a huge import-export region for fresh produce. The number one port of entry for fresh produce in the United States is the McAllen-Pharr area.”

Steele said Supply Pay would not exist if he and his co-owner, Jorge Ayala, did not know of the supply chain problems that exist in the fresh produce business. And if their company can streamline those supply chains along the Texas-Mexico border they can do so at other terrestrial borders. Thus, Supply Pay can be scaled.

“I think there’s actually a really interesting opportunity that we have in border regions, in places like Brownsville, McAllen, Laredo, Eagle Pass, El Paso. I go to a lot of these towns often, and meet with different importers, exporters and business leaders. We have interesting problems that not everyone has. We have a terrestrial border between Mexico the United States. If you can solve (those supply chain issues).… well, there’s a lot of other countries that have terrestrial borders next to each other, and so you can really build, like a venture-backed technology company to solve those problems. And we can start here in this region.”

Editor’s Note: Here is a video recording of everything William Steele said at the 2025 South Texas Summit:

FreedomFest

Steele tells the Guardian that he won first place at the Principled Business pitch competition at FreedomFest in California, Florida. 

“I got to meet and pitch to some incredible investors/entrepreneurs, like Steve Forbes, Ross Ulbricht, Cornell West, and others,” Steele said. 

The grand prize for coming first was $15,000.

Supply Pay wins first place in a startup competition at FreedomFest.

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