7 ms·

How does Startup Chile facilitate the injection of capital necessary to continue product development past the seed stage? Are there networks of angels, super an

by FD3SA 15y ago

How does Startup Chile facilitate the injection of capital necessary to continue product development past the seed stage? Are there networks of angels, super angels and VCs ready to invest in companies as per YC? Also, is the $40K per founder or per company? I understand living costs are much cheaper in Chile, but how long can two founders live comfortably in Chile with $40K? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

nirvana 15y ago
The Chilean government has a sweet deal for VCs in Chile, effectively loaning them money to raise their funds, then financing it for them if successful and writing it off if not successful. Startup Chile has some Silicon Valley presence with visits by Dave McClure (500 startups) and the CEO of Groupon recently. But this program is not comparable to YC. YC is much more competitive, has been around a lot longer and has made a name for itself already. The $40k is per company, and it is provided at a %90 reimbursement. In other words, you spend $44k in reimbursable expenses to get the $40k. The expenses include funds for the founders, coverage of living expenses, legal expenses, etc. Looking at the reports of past participants, it looks like you can live pretty well in a nice part of town.
- FD3SA 15y ago
  Thank you nirvana and andrewcross for the salient information. One more pertinent question: how is medical insurance handled in Startup Chile?
  - nirvana 15y ago
    I want to say that I heard good chilean health insurance was cheap, but I might be mistaken. I assume you buy chilean medical insurance, or you can keep your american medical insurance if you are an american. Most american medical insurance will cover you out of the country, for reasonably short trips, though I think you'd want to check into it. Since we travel a lot, we've got travel specific insurance from one of the companies that focuses on that market. There are a fair number of them that do so but the terms vary. (We've just changed and my cofounder is the one who handles that so I don't remember the name of the company off hand.)
  - andrewcross 15y ago
    In order to get your visa, you have to show that you've purchased travel medical insurance for the duration of your trip. I got mine through Blue Cross.
andrewcross 15y ago
I'm in the current cohort of companies for Start-Up Chile and can hopefully help out a bit. -There are angels and VCs here, but it's still a pretty new infrastructure. I know some people have raised money locally, but more are looking to the valley. A couple weeks ago the first round of companies pitched and voted to determine the top 5. Those top 5 were/are being introduced to some valley VC's by Vivek Wadwha. Pretty sweet deal. -$40K is per company as a 90% grant (example already covered by someone else). The money is a bit of a pain to get access to (it's reimbursed), but it goes a long ways. -The connections outside of Chile are pretty awesome. As mentioned before, Andrew Mason and Dave McClure have already stopped by (I was one of a few that pitched to Andrew Mason). YC is still top, but for a very early-stage team, Start-Up Chile is awesome. If you were selected, I wrote a blog post you might find helpful about what I wished I knew before I came down here. http://www.andrewcross.ca/2011/12/11/7-tips-for-entrepreneurs-arriving-to-start-up-chile/ http://www.andrewcross.ca/2011/12/11/7-tips-for-entrepreneur... Congrats to everyone accepted!
GFKjunior 15y ago
What about all the social unrest currently going on in Chile? I don't know a lot about the situation other than passing mentions in the news but the protests were a big enough deal to warrant a wiki page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Chilean_protests http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Chilean_protests
- melling 15y ago
  They probably say the same about America. "What's with all that Occupy Wall Street social unrest?" I was in Ecuador when the FARC "incident" happened a few years ago. My girlfriend saw the news and canceled her trip to see me despite my reassurances. Quit watching the news and travel.
  - GFKjunior 15y ago
    Well I've been to Ecuador and your GF probably didn't miss anything that great lol. But seriously Chile doesn't really have the best historical precedent... Plus the countries politics are firmly grounded in socialist ideals and don't forget about the large magnitude earthquakes it suffers through regularly.
    - nico 15y ago
      If you think like that, then you shouldn't go to California either, same earthquake problem and the state is broke. Chile is a very stable country, equal or less corruption than the US, and the best economy in south america. Not to mention really beautiful and great weather. You should stop worrying so much and start enjoying life a bit more.
- andrewcross 15y ago
  It's pretty benign. My apartment is a couple streets over from the main area (Universidad de Chile) and I walk by it every day. There are a couple flare-ups every now and then but it's essentially a non-issue.

by FD3SA 15y ago

nirvana 15y ago

The Chilean government has a sweet deal for VCs in Chile, effectively loaning them money to raise their funds, then financing it for them if successful and writing it off if not successful. Startup Chile has some Silicon Valley presence with visits by Dave McClure (500 startups) and the CEO of Groupon recently. But this program is not comparable to YC. YC is much more competitive, has been around a lot longer and has made a name for itself already. The $40k is per company, and it is provided at a %90 reimbursement. In other words, you spend $44k in reimbursable expenses to get the $40k. The expenses include funds for the founders, coverage of living expenses, legal expenses, etc. Looking at the reports of past participants, it looks like you can live pretty well in a nice part of town.

FD3SA 15y ago
Thank you nirvana and andrewcross for the salient information. One more pertinent question: how is medical insurance handled in Startup Chile?
- nirvana 15y ago
  I want to say that I heard good chilean health insurance was cheap, but I might be mistaken. I assume you buy chilean medical insurance, or you can keep your american medical insurance if you are an american. Most american medical insurance will cover you out of the country, for reasonably short trips, though I think you'd want to check into it. Since we travel a lot, we've got travel specific insurance from one of the companies that focuses on that market. There are a fair number of them that do so but the terms vary. (We've just changed and my cofounder is the one who handles that so I don't remember the name of the company off hand.)
- andrewcross 15y ago
  In order to get your visa, you have to show that you've purchased travel medical insurance for the duration of your trip. I got mine through Blue Cross.

andrewcross 15y ago

I'm in the current cohort of companies for Start-Up Chile and can hopefully help out a bit. -There are angels and VCs here, but it's still a pretty new infrastructure. I know some people have raised money locally, but more are looking to the valley. A couple weeks ago the first round of companies pitched and voted to determine the top 5. Those top 5 were/are being introduced to some valley VC's by Vivek Wadwha. Pretty sweet deal. -$40K is per company as a 90% grant (example already covered by someone else). The money is a bit of a pain to get access to (it's reimbursed), but it goes a long ways. -The connections outside of Chile are pretty awesome. As mentioned before, Andrew Mason and Dave McClure have already stopped by (I was one of a few that pitched to Andrew Mason). YC is still top, but for a very early-stage team, Start-Up Chile is awesome. If you were selected, I wrote a blog post you might find helpful about what I wished I knew before I came down here. http://www.andrewcross.ca/2011/12/11/7-tips-for-entrepreneurs-arriving-to-start-up-chile/ http://www.andrewcross.ca/2011/12/11/7-tips-for-entrepreneur... Congrats to everyone accepted!

GFKjunior 15y ago

What about all the social unrest currently going on in Chile? I don't know a lot about the situation other than passing mentions in the news but the protests were a big enough deal to warrant a wiki page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Chilean_protests http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Chilean_protests

melling 15y ago
They probably say the same about America. "What's with all that Occupy Wall Street social unrest?" I was in Ecuador when the FARC "incident" happened a few years ago. My girlfriend saw the news and canceled her trip to see me despite my reassurances. Quit watching the news and travel.
- GFKjunior 15y ago
  Well I've been to Ecuador and your GF probably didn't miss anything that great lol. But seriously Chile doesn't really have the best historical precedent... Plus the countries politics are firmly grounded in socialist ideals and don't forget about the large magnitude earthquakes it suffers through regularly.
  - nico 15y ago
    If you think like that, then you shouldn't go to California either, same earthquake problem and the state is broke. Chile is a very stable country, equal or less corruption than the US, and the best economy in south america. Not to mention really beautiful and great weather. You should stop worrying so much and start enjoying life a bit more.
andrewcross 15y ago
It's pretty benign. My apartment is a couple streets over from the main area (Universidad de Chile) and I walk by it every day. There are a couple flare-ups every now and then but it's essentially a non-issue.