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I'm in the program now (demo day next week!). The goal of the program from StartupChile's perspective is to make Chile the technology hub for Latin America, whi

I'm in the program now (demo day next week!). The goal of the program from StartupChile's perspective is to make Chile the technology hub for Latin America, which it seems to be succeeding in. The goal is not specifically to produce great startups (although it has been a good feeder for other accelerators, and a few have raised some VC). The entrepreneurs that travel to Chile get equity free funding and have to help build the ecosystem (either through teaching, sharing their network, running events, etc). There are 3 classes of startups a year, 100 startups in each batch, so the network of smart people grows and more of that knowledge is shared with local Chilean entrepreneurs (and entrepreneurs from other parts of Latin America who will likely stay because of the economy/opportunities here). If anyone has questions about the program, happy to talk more about it. I have had a great experience.

deleted 12y ago
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turnip1979 12y ago
If only Ontario/Canada did something like Startup Chile instead of burning money in the Mars building/project.
- VPrime 12y ago
  OCE is starting to. There is the OCE Smart Start fund and it is fairly simple process to apply for the grant. There is not too much of an ecosystem of support, but the money is nice. http://www.oce-ontario.org/programs/entrepreneurship-programs/smartstart-seed-fund http://www.oce-ontario.org/programs/entrepreneurship-program...
  - turnip1979 12y ago
    Not sure why they are excluding older entrepreneurs (18-29 is the required age). I went to UofT, I'm in my mid-30s and in the Toronto area .. I get excluded from the whole Waterloo ecosystem, and programs such as this one. What I have around me is Mars, which doesn't make sense to me. Frankly, there seems to be a better tech culture around Ryerson (again, targeted at their students) than for my alma mater. We have Mars close by but as you can tell, I don't see how it benefits fledgling entrepreneurs.

deleted 12y ago

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turnip1979 12y ago

If only Ontario/Canada did something like Startup Chile instead of burning money in the Mars building/project.

VPrime 12y ago
OCE is starting to. There is the OCE Smart Start fund and it is fairly simple process to apply for the grant. There is not too much of an ecosystem of support, but the money is nice. http://www.oce-ontario.org/programs/entrepreneurship-programs/smartstart-seed-fund http://www.oce-ontario.org/programs/entrepreneurship-program...
- turnip1979 12y ago
  Not sure why they are excluding older entrepreneurs (18-29 is the required age). I went to UofT, I'm in my mid-30s and in the Toronto area .. I get excluded from the whole Waterloo ecosystem, and programs such as this one. What I have around me is Mars, which doesn't make sense to me. Frankly, there seems to be a better tech culture around Ryerson (again, targeted at their students) than for my alma mater. We have Mars close by but as you can tell, I don't see how it benefits fledgling entrepreneurs.