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On (Startup) Chile

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Re: On (Startup) Chile

#41

Post by rndTwoSUP »

prateekdayal wrote: post #3

We are currently working on http://supportbee.com in Startup Chile. I spent some money from my Indian company's account when I was coming over but I could print out a few documents to prove it and it was done in 20 mins. Atleast that is no longer an issue here. It does take about a month for the first reimbursement to roll in and you have to manage till then. The account executives (the ones handling your reimburseme…

My reimbursement processed in 6 business days, with 100% of receipts approved on a $xx,000 request.. Forming receipts together took a few hours but they've improved significantly since the OP's days.

Perhaps its best to discuss the present or future rather than complaining about the past? They're like any start up - evolving quickly.

Re: On (Startup) Chile

#42

Post by ew »

nirvana wrote: post #30
ew wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As it stands I have little (actually zero) incentive to stay here after January. I'm distanced from my partners, friends, family, and investors who actually spend their money. I'm also not interested in spending 3 months, and a lot of money, incorporating a company here when I already did it in less than 24 hours back home in Canada.

Why would you need to incorporate in Chile in order to stay? The initial visa is for a year, right? I'm curious because we're planning to stay the full year, and may stay a second year if we can get a renewal.

Every time someone asks me if I'm coming back I answer that I would love to have a reason to, and I really hope the small business ties I have made here will pan out. As it stands, being an "internet company" (as you mentioned in a different comment) means I'm not tied to any location. I have no business reason to stay here, which is unfortunate, and it's not from lack of trying. I've met a lot of awesome people, Chilean and otherwise, but they aren't reason enough to remain uprooted from my life back home.

Re: On (Startup) Chile

#43

Post by ew »

skolk wrote: post #36
herval wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea (at least we thought so) was to incentive us to stay. If everyone leaves, there's no ecosystem...

and what is that incentive? there's no extended office space, mentor-ship, or support network, I was working with George on this, but we felt like it got slipped out beneath us when we tired :/ I agree with Herval that this could have be executed better, but more accurately that if these complaints don't exist the program will not improve (though many are extreme.. along with zac's comments :p )

Really it all boils down to there being no VC opportunities. The only angel/VC investor that was formally arranged for us to pitch to has left the country.

In fact, the Demo Day needed to be arranged by us instead of SUP staff taking the initiative. Hell, they were actually against it when asked on multiple occasions for their support. In the end all they did was blog about it as if it was their idea.

The above two paragraphs really sum up the problems. Reimbursements are tough, without clarity, etc., but the program will surely fail if they don't figure out the above.

Re: On (Startup) Chile

#44

Post by herval »

Gaurav569 wrote: post #39

Hi. In am part of Round 1 of Entrepreneurs; For me, its been a great experience. I can't believe can we be criticizing a free 40K grant, in exchange for no equity. (A few loose strings attached, so what?) If there are better, more entrepreneur friendly grants available; why do we never hear of them? And why dont entreprenurs go there instead?

A simple question: How many RVA points did u guys make? :)

If u don't give anything back, not complaining about "zero equity" makes total sense. If u were as involved as I was in the local "big picture", the fsct that there's no 40k grant means I basically worked for the government FOR FREE, or at least with a VERY HARD return on my time.

Very good proposal for a "noobie entrepreneur" hoping to build a "name", a terrible waste of time for any serious startuper.

Re: On (Startup) Chile

#45

Post by jsierles »

herval wrote: post #44
Gaurav569 wrote: post #39

Hi. In am part of Round 1 of Entrepreneurs; For me, its been a great experience. I can't believe can we be criticizing a free 40K grant, in exchange for no equity. (A few loose strings attached, so what?) If there are better, more entrepreneur friendly grants available; why do we never hear of them? And why dont entreprenurs go there instead?

A simple question: How many RVA points did u guys make? :) If u don't give anything back, not complaining about "zero equity" makes total sense. If u were as involved as I was in the local "big picture", the fsct that there's no 40k grant means I basically worked for the government FOR FREE, or at least with a VERY HARD return on my time. Very good proposal for a "noobie entrepreneur" hoping to build a "name", a terr…

My experience so far, 2 months into the program.

Many problems with the reimbursement program seem fixed. Stories from earlier rounds seem to have changed things, which is a sign that things can get better.

Given I had all the right information up front, I got the full amount returned on my first report. The housing allowances are very generous for Chile and things like requiring a housing contract is not exactly a 'pile of paper'. I finished my entire first report in a single morning, having kept myself organized ahead of time.

The legalization process for foreigners is also pretty slick. Try coming to Chile (or anywhere) and getting an ID card, bank account, and apartment in 2-3 weeks without government help. You may feel your time was wasted by RVA, but you win a lot of time if you choose to. If one doesn't feel that these things are worth his time, it may make sense to raise money from friends and family and stay home.

Regarding the RVA involvement there are many ways you can participate. For example, spend some hours teaching a local Ruby or web design. This sort of thing may actually help you work better too.

Above all the biggest problems are in communication, which seems to get better over time.

My feeling is that more accountability for teams (required demos) and the impact they have locally would help everyone build a better sense of trust. So would a stronger commitment from Startup Chile to communicate their goals clearly to new arrivals.

Re: On (Startup) Chile

#46

Post by funkah »

So, if I'm reading this correctly, starting a business in a country lacking a robust economy and business culture did not work out.

Well, I believe that.

Re: On (Startup) Chile

#47

Post by ew »

herval wrote: post #44
Gaurav569 wrote: post #39

Hi. In am part of Round 1 of Entrepreneurs; For me, its been a great experience. I can't believe can we be criticizing a free 40K grant, in exchange for no equity. (A few loose strings attached, so what?) If there are better, more entrepreneur friendly grants available; why do we never hear of them? And why dont entreprenurs go there instead?

A simple question: How many RVA points did u guys make? :) If u don't give anything back, not complaining about "zero equity" makes total sense. If u were as involved as I was in the local "big picture", the fsct that there's no 40k grant means I basically worked for the government FOR FREE, or at least with a VERY HARD return on my time. Very good proposal for a "noobie entrepreneur" hoping to build a "name", a terr…

They had to implement the Return Value Agenda program because a lot of the teams in the pilot project outright refused to participate in any way other than work on their startup. Christian, an ex-staffer with Start-Up Chile told me that there were people who literally never left their apartments and when asked whether they would host a meetup outright said "Nope".

It's unfortunate that happened, it's kinda of screwing it for the rest of us. Actually, a more comprehensive application process would have fixed a lot of the problems :)

Re: On (Startup) Chile

#48

Post by pjscott »

ykomada wrote: post #8

Startup Chile is a great program, but Herval's post is completely accurate (I was in his cohort there building pingpigeon.com). Drawing down on the funds takes a lot of paperwork and time and negotiation, when the government bean counters inevitably find some random reason to disagree with you. The money is there for you to get it; Startup Chile is not "Bullshit". But once a month, the time and emotional energy spent…

It sounds like Startup Chile is bullshit if (and only if) you have better options available. Startup investor quality is judged relative to other investors.

Re: On (Startup) Chile

#49

Post by ykomada »

pjscott wrote: post #48
ykomada wrote: post #8

Startup Chile is a great program, but Herval's post is completely accurate (I was in his cohort there building pingpigeon.com). Drawing down on the funds takes a lot of paperwork and time and negotiation, when the government bean counters inevitably find some random reason to disagree with you. The money is there for you to get it; Startup Chile is not "Bullshit". But once a month, the time and emotional energy spent…

It sounds like Startup Chile is bullshit if (and only if) you have better options available. Startup investor quality is judged relative to other investors.

"Better options" is always relative. If you absolutely need cash-flow and freedom from administrative hassles, Startup Chile is not for you. But if you want some seed money to build on an idea without giving up any equity, and have ~8 weeks of working capital, this is a great deal. It all depends on the context of you and your company.

Re: On (Startup) Chile

#50

Post by herval »

ew wrote: post #47
herval wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A simple question: How many RVA points did u guys make? :) If u don't give anything back, not complaining about "zero equity" makes total sense. If u were as involved as I was in the local "big picture", the fsct that there's no 40k grant means I basically worked for the government FOR FREE, or at least with a VERY HARD return on my time. Very good proposal for a "noobie entrepreneur" hoping to build a "name", a terr…

They had to implement the Return Value Agenda program because a lot of the teams in the pilot project outright refused to participate in any way other than work on their startup. Christian, an ex-staffer with Start-Up Chile told me that there were people who literally never left their apartments and when asked whether they would host a meetup outright said "Nope". It's unfortunate that happened, it's kinda of screwin…

There's more than one person in this thread that fall into that category... Christian was one of the great guys actually interested on helping btw. A real, real shame he left, making people have to interact with mr budeguer... (too much inside info, sorry)
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