By Andrew Ritosa
Comienza su semana cero! Or as we say in English, Start your week 0! Such a fitting way to awaken the entrepreneurial spirit in Chile. Our class trip out to INACAP was a truly amazing experience and one that felt a little more at home. After spending a few days out on the town and at various companies, it was refreshing to go back to school.
Although I normally would object to going to class during my spring break, it is always a treat to share ideas with my peers and strangers all thirsty for new knowledge. The special thing about this class was that it was live translated so that both the native Chileans and our class could both understand and respond in real time. After a warm welcome from INACAP, Michael shared his experience with entrepreneurship beyond silicon valley. He explained that you can have that kind of success in different areas by telling the story of Cleveland and what were the catalysts and drivers and that Chile could do it too.
In our table group, we got the chance to speak with a younger (17 year old) student, Joseph, that was interested in becoming an entrepreneur. He explained to us that he doesn't want to get a "normal" job, here meaning a boring office job with one of the large companies, when he graduates. Likewise his friends also want to see what other kinds of opportunities are out there. Joseph wants to improve his English and go to the United States because he sees the opportunity there. It was actually very striking to me to realize the major difference at this moment. With Case, I have had the opportunity to work with a startup company and been fortunate enough to be accepted to several regional pitch competitions. I asked the Joseph and our translator Critobal if there were any such competitions in Chile to which they said of course no.. And I think that does a good job of highlighting the main cultural difference when it comes to entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is all about taking risks. Spending a lot of time and effort without any kind of guarantee of success. And the idea of holding a competition requires first that collective acceptance that it is ok to not win and that failure is not only an option, but a crucial step on the path to success.
Comienza su semana cero! Or as we say in English, Start your week 0! Such a fitting way to awaken the entrepreneurial spirit in Chile. Our class trip out to INACAP was a truly amazing experience and one that felt a little more at home. After spending a few days out on the town and at various companies, it was refreshing to go back to school.
Although I normally would object to going to class during my spring break, it is always a treat to share ideas with my peers and strangers all thirsty for new knowledge. The special thing about this class was that it was live translated so that both the native Chileans and our class could both understand and respond in real time. After a warm welcome from INACAP, Michael shared his experience with entrepreneurship beyond silicon valley. He explained that you can have that kind of success in different areas by telling the story of Cleveland and what were the catalysts and drivers and that Chile could do it too.
In our table group, we got the chance to speak with a younger (17 year old) student, Joseph, that was interested in becoming an entrepreneur. He explained to us that he doesn't want to get a "normal" job, here meaning a boring office job with one of the large companies, when he graduates. Likewise his friends also want to see what other kinds of opportunities are out there. Joseph wants to improve his English and go to the United States because he sees the opportunity there. It was actually very striking to me to realize the major difference at this moment. With Case, I have had the opportunity to work with a startup company and been fortunate enough to be accepted to several regional pitch competitions. I asked the Joseph and our translator Critobal if there were any such competitions in Chile to which they said of course no.. And I think that does a good job of highlighting the main cultural difference when it comes to entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is all about taking risks. Spending a lot of time and effort without any kind of guarantee of success. And the idea of holding a competition requires first that collective acceptance that it is ok to not win and that failure is not only an option, but a crucial step on the path to success.