10 ms·

Chile is corrupt from top to bottom. It's true that you can't bribe the cops, and Chileans are very proud of this (primarily because you can bribe the cops in A

Chile is corrupt from top to bottom. It's true that you can't bribe the cops, and Chileans are very proud of this (primarily because you can bribe the cops in Argentina), but access to opportunity in Chile is almost 100% dependent on who you know. The entire business class has raised nepotism to an art form. While free university education sounds good, even going to a top-ranked school like Universidad de Chile isn't going to help much if you've got the wrong last name and don't have the right pitutos.

MarkPNeyer 11y ago
> access to opportunity in Chile is almost 100% dependent on who you know isn't this true everywhere? how can you take an opportunity from a person you don't know?
- galfarragem 11y ago
  Understand it as: Chile is not a meritocracy.
- gohrt 11y ago
  In India, access to the top univeristies is completely determined by score on an entrance exam. Many major employers prefer to hire graduates from IIT. If you find a way to score well, you can get a pretty good job. Maybe not CEO, but a top-5%ile income.
MCRed 11y ago
This wasn't my experience. I got into Startup Chile knowing nobody in chile. Many of the other teams there were south americans from a variety of countries, including chile. I really don't believe that last name was a factor in the selection process (Though I do believe being from south america gives you a leg up these days.) After Startup Chile there were a variety of follow on funding programs, almost all of which I would have difficulty getting in, but that a chilean would have a much easier time getting in. I knew chileans who were bootstrapping from nothing (who got none of the funding I got) and I knew chileans who were getting investments. The chilean government supports a thriving angel and VC system there which, as far as I can tell is much better than the one in Seattle, though maybe not as good as the bay area. Sure it is probably more nepotistic-- in hiring-- but I don't believe that when it comes to startups. And all it takes is a few startups to be successful to create a system where more startups are started each year. And then more are successful and it feeds on itself. Chile doesn't seem to have much regulation keeping businesses out... so really it's all about being willing to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, network with others and apply to the opportunities for help that are there-- which was pretty vibrant. Of course it's all a matter of degrees.
smil 11y ago
So it's the same as in, for example, the United States or Sweden.

MarkPNeyer 11y ago

> access to opportunity in Chile is almost 100% dependent on who you know isn't this true everywhere? how can you take an opportunity from a person you don't know?

galfarragem 11y ago
Understand it as: Chile is not a meritocracy.
gohrt 11y ago
In India, access to the top univeristies is completely determined by score on an entrance exam. Many major employers prefer to hire graduates from IIT. If you find a way to score well, you can get a pretty good job. Maybe not CEO, but a top-5%ile income.

MCRed 11y ago

This wasn't my experience. I got into Startup Chile knowing nobody in chile. Many of the other teams there were south americans from a variety of countries, including chile. I really don't believe that last name was a factor in the selection process (Though I do believe being from south america gives you a leg up these days.) After Startup Chile there were a variety of follow on funding programs, almost all of which I would have difficulty getting in, but that a chilean would have a much easier time getting in. I knew chileans who were bootstrapping from nothing (who got none of the funding I got) and I knew chileans who were getting investments. The chilean government supports a thriving angel and VC system there which, as far as I can tell is much better than the one in Seattle, though maybe not as good as the bay area. Sure it is probably more nepotistic-- in hiring-- but I don't believe that when it comes to startups. And all it takes is a few startups to be successful to create a system where more startups are started each year. And then more are successful and it feeds on itself. Chile doesn't seem to have much regulation keeping businesses out... so really it's all about being willing to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, network with others and apply to the opportunities for help that are there-- which was pretty vibrant. Of course it's all a matter of degrees.

smil 11y ago

So it's the same as in, for example, the United States or Sweden.