Chile is not just a long narrow country far away but a node of global innovation. Santiago is now a place to visit on the start-up circuit
Vivek (@Wadhwa) summarises his argument as follows:
“To create a tech centre like Silicon Valley, you need to first attract smart entrepreneurs from all over the world. Then you have to create entrepreneurial networks; instill a spirit of risk-taking and openness; and build mentoring systems. You also need to provide seed financing to startups. The money is easy; everything else requires a change in culture that usually takes decades.”
Through his meeting with Shea (@ nicoshea) he got his own laboratory to try out his ideas and Start-Up Chile was officially launched on January 13th, 2011. The idea is devastatingly simple: anyone from anywhere with a business idea was invited to apply to come to Santiago, the capital of Chile, where the Start-Up Chile program would provides everything needed to live, work, and play. This included a one year visa, $40K in seed capital and a soft landing program to deal with issues that arise when moving to
a new country. Perhaps surprisingly, nothing but active participation was required. The Chilean government would take no equity in the fledgling entrepreneur’s business.
I had a chance to meet the Executive Director of Start-Up Chile and a representative from
CORFO, the
Chilean governmental agency with the responsibility OF improving competitiveness in international markets at a recent meeting of the Kauffman Global Partners Network in San Francisco. They told a compelling story of bureaucratic resistance but also of unexpected benefits. For instance, at times the traffic to the Start-up Chile website exceeded that of the Tourism Chile website. Also, if you total the amount spent in the country by the friends and family visiting Start-up Chile team members, you start to get close to the $40K given to them on arrival. Suddenly Chile is not just a long narrow country far, far away but a node of global innovation. Santiago is now a place to visit on the start-up circuit as evidenced with
recent drop-ins by Dave McClure, Dan Martell and Andrew Mason.
Being the last to leave the bar every evening at the KGPN meet- up, I picked up some other equally compelling stories of what it took to get Start-up Chile off the ground. Nothing illegal but nothing glamorous either e.g. sleeping in cars, doorstepping, obsequious flattery. Now that the concept is semi-established, it is much easier for followers to pick up the baton. There are people in Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Pakistan, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam all looking to do a StartupX in their country. And in an act of selflessness, Start-Up Chile have produced a 108 page playbook in English which outlines exactly how to do it. As with an actual start-up it is all about the detail. Nothing can be left to chance.
Exceeding Expectations Start-Up
Chile has exceeded
expectations. The biggest concern about the program was that no
22 entrepreneurcountry
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