Who will represent Seedstars World in Latin America in 2015?
It has been almost two weeks since we successfully closed the second edition of Seedstars World. We spent 7 incredible days with 34 entrepreneurs from around the world. Mentoring them, listening to them, having fun with them. And on February 4th we saw the top 10 startups pitch in front of 1000+ audience, and found our global winner, the Philippine startup Salarium.
So what are the plans for this year, you ask? Since we plan to visit more than 50 cities, and at the same time learn as much as possible about the individual startup ecosystems, the Seedstars World tour this year is going to be different. How?
Instead of having one team travelling to all the lined-up countries, we are going to have TWO travelling teams: one based in Latin America, and one in Asia. From there, these Seedstars World scouts will fly out on a regular basis to cover all the events in their respective continent and in Africa, and at the same time soak up as much local startup spirit and knowledge as possible.
Sounds good? Great! Then let us introduce you Lorena and Enrique, the Regional Managers for Latin America.
Seedstars World (SSW): Hi Lorena, hello Enrique, thank you for finding the time to talk. Could you briefly tell us how you discovered Seedstars World?
Lorena Edejer (LE): I found out about it at Lift, actually, just before Alisee and Pierre-Alain left for the first edition. I immediately fell in love with the project and since then, I have been working with Seedstars World on a couple of projects on on-and-off basis. I officially joined the team in October, being responsible for the bootcamp management, logistics and the PR.
Enrique Alvarado Hablutzel (EAH): From my side, I have been working as a consultant on innovation for Innobridge and on the strategy and corporate development for Virgin for quite some time, so the attraction to innovation and entrepreneurship was always there. However, I was also curious about the opportunities present in emerging markets, and by complete coincidence I learnt about Seedstars World during a business trip in Mexico. And after I talked with Julien, Alisee and Charlie to see what Seedstars World has to offer, I was immediately ready to quit my job and start working for them full time.
SSW: What was your main motivation for choosing Latin America as the region you want to specialise in?
LE: Latin America is mostly known for its amazing scenery, warm culture and also its history and political regimes. During my time backpacking around the continent for half a year, I came to discover that there is so much more to it than beautiful nature and strong-willed dictators. Latin America is such a booming continent and I feel this is the perfect opportunity for me to discover its other side: the entrepreneurial spirit of people and startup ecosystems growing at the speed of light.
EAH: What I love about Seedstars World the most is that we are a team. And from this perspective, I feel I can bring the most value to the company by creating viable partnerships in Latin America, because I am familiar with the environment, the people and how they react to business propositions. The cultural aspect of being Mexican will definitely help me with this and I am really excited to make the business grow.
SSW: Which country are you most looking forward to visiting?
LE: I would definitely say Colombia. I had a chance to visit it beforehand, but people kept on discouraging me as I was traveling alone and I missed this opportunity. However, we have been seeing a constant rise in economic activity there, and the number of startup initiatives in Bogota and Medellin is astounding. It is something that I cannot wait to witness first-hand!
EAH: I find Ecuador especially appealing. It has been the priority of the government to develop the knowledge and innovation base of the country for quite some time, and we can already see a lot of investment going into universities, experts and developing the innovation structures. The university of Yachay, for instance, is a great example of how to trigger the innovation ecosystem by combining the collaboration of the industry (private sector), the government and the academic culture.
SSW: Is there anything special that you want to get out of this experience?
LE: Technology and startups have always been my passion. Being able to witness what is actually happening behind the scenes, meeting ambitious and intelligent people and gaining more hands-on experience is definitely something I am looking forward to!
Also, I was always interested in understanding how startup ecosystems develop over time. Living in Latin America is going to be very instrumental, as we can already see the effects of learning in between the individual countries. It took Startup Chile four years to realise that their activities had a limited impact on the boosting the Chilean startup scene and it started pushing for a more targeted program only recently. Startup Brazil and Startup Peru learned from Startup Chile and were able to implement such policies early on.
EAH: Raised in Latin America, I think what inspires me is the idea of creating a platform for all those fabulous ideas that just need a push to go further.
SSW: Apart from organising the Seedstars World events, do you have any specific plans for the region?
EAH: I especially want to focus on creating the path for the next years, by developing great alliances with new business partners. It comes as a natural step to develop our corporate strategy and start selling the portfolio of solutions, consultancy services and workshops that we can offer.
LE: I want to finally find a global winner for Latam! (laughs)
SSW: Being Regional Managers, there is bound to be a lot of travelling involved. What is the one thing that you never travel without?
EAH: Earplugs and headphones are a definite must!
LE: I was going to say a toothbrush, but I imagine you are looking for something more inspirational than that :) In that case, I always carry around a notebook, where I write everything that passes through my head. When you are travelling like we are going to, you never know when your smartphone battery is going to run out, or you might get stuck somewhere where smartphone use is limited. In those situations, having a notebook comes very handy.
SSW: Talking about inspirational things, let’s end up with your favourite quote. Which one would it be?
LE: I love the one from Albert Camus, when he says that “In the midst of winter I found, within me, an invincible summer.” If you know how much I hate winter, it is perfect for me!
EAH: For me it is a quote from Nietsche, saying that “We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.”
