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Get $40k grant for your startup. Live in Chile for 6 months.
- angusgr 15y agoThis seems an exceptionally interesting & exciting idea. Is this the first time something like this has been run institutionally in an emerging economy or developing nation?
- HistoryInAction 15y agoNope. I'm coordinating political advocacy for the Startup Visa here in the US, and one of our volunteers came up with this list of research on international efforts: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Rbs3flXfGSfkVH41L3-oiIJP938NrCQt48RUA_gF2kg/edit?hl=en&authkey=CImvkL8C# https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Rbs3flXfGSfkVH41L3-oiIJP... StartupChile is almost certainly the savviest and most effective effort out there, both in results and their marketing of themselves, but there are many other international pushes to promote entrepreneurship.
- mlok 15y agoRelated : http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2497037 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2497037 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2240081 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2240081 ...and since searchyc is now dead (RIP), there is this : http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=chile+-earthquake+-disaster&start=0 http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=chi...
- robfitz 15y agoSearchYC is dead because there's now a search field at the bottom of every page.
- iamelgringo 15y agoI met one of the associate directors of Startup Chile last night at a Hackers & Founders event. These people are amazing. They are trying to revamp their economy by changing the culture, and to do that, they want to import startup culture. So, their government has set aside $100M over the next four years to get 1,000 startups to come to Chile for six months and work. But even more than that, their vision is much larger. They want the program to become a success, so that other, less developed countries start similar programs. Their goal is to try and convince 10 other governments of developing countries to embark on similar projects. They are trying to hack their economy. And... it's working. I was shocked to heard that their applicant pool wasn't that large. Also, they are willing to take people at the idea stage. So, if you want to build your startup, and take part in one of the best economic hacks I've heard of in years... apply.
- smogzer 15y agoFree lunch ? Or do they want equity ? Can't leave Chile for X years ? Must have headquarters there ?
- andrewcooke 15y agothere's more discussion at http://www.quora.com/Startups-in-Chile/Would-you-develop-your-startup-in-Chile-if-the-Chilean-government-financed-your-company-with-40-000-USD http://www.quora.com/Startups-in-Chile/Would-you-develop-you... but in short there aren't that many catches - certainly no equity (i would guess that people here in chile realise 40k really isn't that much in american terms; the payoff is in the numbers and the culture, not taking a stake in your particular business) [edit: also, getting a visa here is not hard. you don't need to win that grant to come here. i arrived on a tourist visa (3 months, renewable to 6), got a job offer, and within a week of the offer had permission to work. and none of that was illegal. do bring some kind of certificate indicating your level of education, though(!)]
- icey 15y agoCould you share some of your experiences working in Chile? Where did you move there from? Did you already know Spanish? Have you enjoyed living & working there?
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- andrewcooke 15y ago[having problems with hn slow response] see http://www.quora.com/Hows-life-in-Santiago-Chile http://www.quora.com/Hows-life-in-Santiago-Chile for more background. i am here because my partner is a chilean academic with tenure here. in general, it's a good place to live. personally, i am not the most outgoing or relaxed person on the planet, and sometimes living in a different culture - and it could be any other culture - gets to me. but the only negative thing i can think of about living here is that the work culture in large companies (my first job) emphasizes hours over productivity. if i were coming here to run a startup i would use a more results-oriented working environment (i don't care if you work at home, but you fucking get stuff done) as an incentive. a lot of people really hate the enforced long hours. you need to speak spanish. but people will be friendly and tolerant when you screw up. you can learn while you are here. a chilean lover is as good a way to learn as any ;) PS - just thought of a negative (as i went outside). the winter air quality in santiago is terrible. if you have asthma you don't want to be coming here. another negative would be the differences in wealth, although i imagine that's more shocking to a european than an american (i have no idea why i am paying such low taxes compared to europe - why isn't more of what i earn being used to help the poorest people here?). PPS - some positives: good food (you have no idea how good a hot-dog can be); good beer (really - it's exploded the last few years with a bunch of micro-breweries); a more entrepreneurial attitude than europe; a more sane social attitude than the usa; low crime rate (despite what people here seem to think...)
- andrewcooke 15y agoi live in chile, although i work for us companies. when this was announced i was pretty sceptical, but it does seem to be making a significant difference to the local culture. there is a lot more "buzz" - many more meetings, job offers, companies appearing. there's even a conference being organised - http://www.startechconf.com http://www.startechconf.com
- thaumaturgy 15y agoNice, you might be able to answer the number one question I have about this program: how do native Chileans feel about this? Is there a perception that they're being skipped over, do they feel negatively towards outsiders being brought in through this program, or are they generally positive towards it?
- andrewcooke 15y agoi haven't heard anything negative (as i said, the general response is a positive "buzz"), but i agree you might expect it. it might be because the kind of people i talk to are more developers than founders, or because i am a "gringo" myself, but i think there's also a feeling that it is helping locals. also, there may be similar schemes for local businesses - it wouldn't surprise me. i know other chileans read here, so perhaps one will answer? ps also, if your experience of latin america is mexico, i should add that chile does not have the anti-gringo sentiment you find there. not at all. it was a real shock for me, to go to mexico...
- hercule 15y agoNot a direct answer to your question, but: the program accepts Chilean entrepreneurs/startups as well as applicants from other countries. Which doesn't meant there can't be negative sentiment, but locals aren't barred from taking part and getting funded.
- andrewcooke 15y agooh, wow. so it is. has that changed? i thought back at the beginning it was external requests only (because i looked and understood i was barred). anyway, thanks for posting this and sorry for my misleading answer elsewhere.
- funthree 15y agoI got a survey from these guys a few weeks ago and it had cc'd over 400 applicant emails, including mine, for all to see.
- gcb 15y agolooking at the web site some time ago also gave me the impression it's not thatwell planed prices. lots of missing info. no wonder every thread about it raises the same basic questions.
- herval 15y agoit's also the first group (there was a beta last year), so it's not exactly a "long planned, flawless program". They call it an EXPERIMENT for a reason: come with an open mind and you'll definitely grow. Come full of "it doesn't work like that back home" and all you gonna find is frustration. Just my opinion, anyway. :P
- Tichy 15y agoVery few people know how to send group mailings correctly :-/
- corry 15y agoWhat's the cost of living like down there? What's the equivalent of ($40k in Chile) in a typical US city? i.e. ($40k in Chile = $x in Atlanta). Seems like a cool program, just trying to understand how far that $40k would go (or even the $5k that you can pay yourself).
- andrewcooke 15y agothere's a lot of info at http://www.quora.com/Hows-life-in-Santiago-Chile http://www.quora.com/Hows-life-in-Santiago-Chile but basically: if it's imported, it's more expensive than the usa, but if it's local then it's less so. so the cost of living depends a lot on your standard of living. if you want all the luxuries you might expect in the usa or europe, you'll need to spend a similar amount. but if you're happy living in a cheap part of town, eating local fresh food, you could get by on much less. you could rent a small apartment in a good area (providencia) for $300 a month; a ride on the metro or bus is $1 - $1.50; bread is around $2.50 a kilo... minimum wage here is about $500 a month (the quora page is a bit out of date - the dollar has lost some value...). i imagine you'd need to pay around $2,500 a month for a decent programmer - less for someone with less experience. so bring a laptop with you!
- hugh3 15y agoWhat about non-Santiago parts of Chile? If I were going to spend six months in Chile I might be tempted to forego the metropolis and find a nice town by the seaside or the mountains (both of which seem to be pretty easy to find in Chile). But are there "nice" areas outside the big city, or is all the wealth concentrated in Santiago?
- nickpinkston 15y agoI studied in Valparaiso and Vina del Mar - both very nice places on the beach about 1.5 hours from Santiago. It's a pretty modern place with all the shopping of a city of 200K in the US.
- davidw 15y agoI have the impression, from having had a look at the program, that they want you to be involved and available, which I suppose isn't that much to ask, given that the only other real string attached is to stay in Chile for 6 months. This would likely mean staying in Santiago. BTW, for andrewcooke or anyone else there: how's transportation there? Can you get by with public transportation? Are cars cheap? Do they drive well or like maniacs?
- thaumaturgy 15y agoSince it's a frequent topic of discussion here, it's worth pointing out that Chile is still not bound by the Patent Cooperation Treaty (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/dapp/pctstate.html http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/dapp/pctstate.html), although they are taking some steps in that direction (http://chile.usembassy.gov/press20090731_mou.html http://chile.usembassy.gov/press20090731_mou.html). If you have a product that you think might be popular enough to run afoul of the U.S. patent mafia, it might be worth consulting with someone versed in Chilean patent law and trying out a launch there instead.
- bazookaBen 15y agoany social/mobile game startups considering a move to Chile?
- gcb 15y agohow much is 40k in chile? can i and 2 other cofounders move there and have a good place to stay each? ...maybe one or two with the wifes?
- herval 15y agoyou can only spend 350k pesos per founder, from those 40k. The rest should be used for other expenses, such as hiring, software (housing/rent is also refundable outside the 350k cap), etc. 350k pesos = 760 usd/month, which allows for some pretty ok living (a decent meal runs for 3-4k pesos, subway tickets are 500 pesos and so on). I'm here with my wife, there's a guy here with SEVEN kids. :)
- gcb 15y ago3-4k pesos per meal is already over 500k for one month, two people. meal price * people * two meals day * 30 days 3k * 2 * 2 * 30 = 360k other comments mention rent $300 (150~200k pesos?)
- herval 15y agorent is not on that 350k limit (u can spend up to 600k a month in rent, which is enough for a pretty nice place - I currently pay 300k and live in the trendiest city in town) if you're bringing family here, don't expect to be able to feed everyone on restaurants two times a day, every day of the week. That's impractical on basically ANY city, if you have a family. Alas, if you're planning that, you should not even be considering bootstrapping....
- gcb 15y agoah nice to know all that. thanks so, updating my back of the envelope math for the monthly costs: ~US$700 rent ~US$700 for 'living' (food, transport, etc) ~US$4000 for paying two extra junior programers that will take you around 7 months to burn the 40k. maybe 6 if account for the trip and initial set-up. interesting.
- wiradikusuma 15y agothis is a very silly question, but what are the odds they will accept founders from Asia? i'm Indonesian currently working in Malaysia. if the odds are good, i'm willing to try. i don't want to waste my and their time submitting application if i know they favor certain countries of origin (i just pessimistically think they're luring people from Valley and the like, not just some random countries).
- zb 15y ago"Any globally-minded entrepreneur is eligible to apply, regardless of his or her nationality and all applications will be judged under the same criteria."
- bazookaBen 15y agoif you watched This Week in Startup, there's an episode where Jason and Jose were pitched on the ideas worked at StartupChile. the first was from brazil. second from Italy. Third was boston. No silicon valley in sight!
- ebaysucks 15y agoWhich Twist episode was this?
- jameskennedy 15y agoYou can see the TWIST episode at ... http://twistsantiago.com/2011/07/28/thisweekinstartups-comes-to-santiago/ http://twistsantiago.com/2011/07/28/thisweekinstartups-comes...
- econgeeker 15y agoChileans are interesting. I like the country, they seem to be culturally capitalist (though when we were there we did observe a communist party having a rally of some sort.) But on the street, you don't see kids bugging you for money, the poor kids go around selling coca-colas in the park. The older kids sell american cigarettes. Chileans don't seem paranoid, or to have an inferiority, nor a superiority complex like many people. They're open, but not pushy. If you don't say anything to them, they'll leave you alone, but if you ask a question they'll try to answer it. Santiago has a gay quarter which looked about comparable to the kind you'd find in an american cities. We were there during the day so I can't say anything about the scene, other than it isn't in the closet. Oh, and they have the best food. Highly recommend Chile as at least a place to visit. I could certainly live there.
- andrewcooke 15y agothe political spectrum is wider than the usa, and people are more politically involved (both of which you would expect, i think, given the country's history). some of the most decent people i know here are still active communists; many of my friends were in the party during the dictatorship because that was the main coordinating movement in the resistance. there's an active debate about how society should work. i suspect some americans will see "communists" and think they are going to have their work stolen from them. that's not the case. in practice the debate is more about where to position the country between what you might call "european" and "american" ideals. sure, some people i know advocate permanent revolution. but on the other side some people advocate eugenics of the poor (seriously - speaking from experience). there really is a wider range (and i think that's a good thing).
- limedaring 15y agoLast I looked at this, I thought one of the requirements was that your startup had to directly affect Chile, like providing jobs or something of that sort. Am I completely incorrect or is there something on there with that provision?
- ebaysucks 15y agoThere is a checklist of things they like to see. Hiring locally is one of the points in the list, but you only need to do a few items on the list so you can get by with scoring an article in your hometown paper, going to a Chile event, etc. Also, even if you don't need developers you can hire a Spanish speaking assistant to do all the admin work and contacts with the government. The list of things you can do is in the FAQ & Terms, see startupchile.org
- markddotme 15y agoAny developers here interested in applying? I've been thinking about it but I'm primarily on the business side. If anybody would like to discuss possibilities please check my profile for further background and contact info.
- wolfparade 15y agohow many times can I apply?
- Futur1st 15y agoWhen I first heard about this a few months back I was somewhat skeptical, but it seemed like a great idea. It's nice to see a Gov't that doesn't have its head firmly lodged up its own ass and one that is trying different approaches to attracting business. From the other comments it seems as though it's working out pretty well- When I can no longer take anymore of the politics and RIDICULOUS politicians here in the States, Chile could be a good place for the next adventure...
- runT1ME 15y ago40k for six months of my life in an area where I don't have a lot of familiarity or a network of business associates or friends isn't a great deal. Six months of my life to win a contract with the Chilean government to use my software, and I'm sold. How much support or networking is done by the program? Is it pretty much you get the money and you're on your own in a foreign country?
- HistoryInAction 15y agoThe first class met with Dave McClure and the Chilean President as part of one of Dave's Geeks on a Plane visits to South America recently. Looks like they do a fair bit of networking.
- lawfulfalafel 15y agoI looked at the application sheet, is it preferable to already have incorporated before applying? Or is that a no-no like YC?
- ebaysucks 15y agoYou need to incorporate in Chile upon arrival (they help you with that), so I don't see how being incorporated in your own country would help because that company would just become a subsidiary to the Chile parent.
- Okvivi 15y agoI wonder what the internet penetration, internet speed and mobile penetration is in Chile. Do they see this as something that would directly benefit Chile through the products or something that would just create a pool of people and ideas that would indirectly improve the startup environment in Chile. And then the broader question in my mind is: can you build a successful US focused startup from somewhere else? Aren't the first six months some of the most critical stages of your product development where you have to be close to your users and understand their needs well?
- ccarpenterg 15y agoI'm a chilean entrepreneur looking for a cofounder to apply to Startup Chile: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2824118 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2824118
- gcb 15y ago#2 is interesting. but my bet is there is already plenty of competition around. first step should be mapping them.
- daimyoyo 15y agoI was looking into living in Chile after I heard about this program and one thing that really jumped out is that the Chilean Peso is running at more than 450-1 against the dollar. Does anyone know why the currency is so devalued? Is the political situation unstable? Or is the sovereign debt situation out of control?
- matioyeah 15y agoI'm a non-technical guy (in that I don't really code) with a decent looking prototype built out of a CMS and minor hacks. Would applying for something like this with the intent of working with Chilean, or other, coders be a waste of the reviewers' time?
- clb22 15y agoI suggest you to sign up on http://www.startupdigest.com/chile http://www.startupdigest.com/chile to stay connected with chilean startup scene! Disclaimer: I'm the curator of Chile Startup Digest @cleiva