Community – Ruta Startup

Preparing for a new wave of startup founders in Peru

I am a big believer in the capacity of the founders currently leading Peru’s startup community. I also am optimistic about the future due to the emergence of Peruvians who have earned leadership positions in top tech companies.

Over the past few years, Peruvians working in Silicon Valley have been a steady presence in Peru’s startup community. PeruSV is a group of Peruvians in Silicon Valley that organizes the annual Techosuyo conference. The Peru chapter of Swiss EP has done significant work to help connect Peruvians abroad with the local ecosystem.

Now, the number of tech professionals is getting larger and they are taking on leadership roles.

Haystack News fosters Peru’s tech talent

Daniel Barreto, may be a lesser known actor in the Lima startup community, but his impact is huge.

Daniel is CEO and co-founder of Haystack News, a U.S.-based startup that offers a better way to consume digital news content. Daniel is also a mentor at StartX, a top accelerator program in the U.S. where Haytack News is a portfolio company. Haystack is described in the App Store as “your go-to for hyper-relevant news, from local coverage to global current events. It’s the best way to watch a variety of coverage, all in one place, and absolutely free.”

Impressive lineup for Peru Venture Capital Series

This year’s Peru Venture Capital Series highlights the breadth and depth of the venture capital industry in Peru.

The most important event for venture capital in Peru has teamed up with PECAP to put on the 2020 edition. The series will occur over a five day period in August and a diverse list of speakers has already been announced.

Startup founders are always the highlight of the event and this year Diego Olcese, Gonzalo Begazo, and Tatiana Guichard are already confirmed as speakers. More great founders are sure to particpate as well.

Logo of Perú Venture Capital Series (https://www.pecap.pe/pvcs2020)

The organizing commitee, led by Jaime Sotomayor, has done an impressive job of organizing a full agenda that includes keynotes, panels, and workshops on a wide variety of issues.

Check out the website to learn more and register!

6 recomendaciones para un ecosistema más diverso e inclusivo

Durante las últimas semanas, la muerte de George Floyd a manos de un policía en EE.UU ha devuelto a la actualidad el movimiento de la búsqueda por la igualdad de la población afroamericana, conocido como “Black Lives Matter” (BLM). A pesar de su origen en el activismo político, el colectivo que comenzó como un hashtag utilizado en redes sociales, hoy está consiguiendo cambios que van más allá y están permeando distintas industrias, entre ellas la de venture capital.

Ilustración de: Meg Robichaud – @megdraws

Fondos como SoftBank y Andreessen Horowitz han creado vehículos con la finalidad exclusiva de invertir en startups fundadas por afroamericanos y otras minorías. Hay firmas que han ido aún más lejos, publicando el make-up étnico de los founders en sus portafolios: por ejemplo, Initialized Capital reveló que el 7% de sus founders son afroamericanos, y un 9% son latinos. Sin embargo, estas minorías siguen subrepresentadas, ya que componen el 14% y el 20% de la población estadounidense, respectivamente, según la proyección al 2019 del US Census Bureau. Con el objetivo de resolver esta brecha, BLCK.VC, un grupo de inversionistas y emprendedores afroamericanos, lanzaron la campaña: “We won’t wait” .

Emerging tech hubs in LatAm

The startup ecosystem in Peru and other smaller markets in LatAm have come a long way over the last five years. We still have a long way to go. Maintaining support of entrepreneurs in Peru and other emerging tech hubs is vital to Latin America’s future.

Here is an article I published on the topic: Why support for Latin America’s early tech hubs is vital for the region.

Separation

UTEC Ventures has set itself apart as the top startup accelerator in Peru. The program is on par with peers across Latin America and continues to attract promising startup founders from Peru and abroad. UTEC Ventures recently opened applications for its latest cohort which is aimed to support fintech and post-covid solutions.

A long, consistent, approach is paying off and the results speak for themselves.

ASEDI brings together tech entrepenuers in Peru

In another clear example of tech entrepreneurs in Peru coming together in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, a large group of startup founders launched ASEDI, Asociación de Emprendores Digitales.

Sharing is caring (2)

Last year, I wrote about some of the best newsletters and websites that share information on the Peru and Latin America startup communities.

This year, more people are sharing. The new content goes beyond news. Fresh voices are both providing deeper insights into how to launch startups and building broad platforms for startups founders to share their stories.

Peru’s tech entrepreneurs can get us out of this crisis

Positive actions have been taken by traditional actors to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 in Peru. The government has taken strong steps to enforce a quarantine and implement fiscal stimulus. Many corporations are working overtime provide basic needs, including food, health and financial services.

However, opening up effectively poses an entirely different set of challenges. This is where startup founders come in. Peru’s startup founders have been thought leaders in analyzing the effects of the crisis and offering solutions.

The long haul

Peru enters its 75th day of government mandated quarantine today. Unfortunately, despite the quick, strong action to enforce physical distancing, Peru continues to be deeply affected by the coronavirus.

I was recently reminded of the Stockdale Paradox, which highlights the benefits of balancing optimism with reality when faced with extreme challenges. James Stockdale was a Prisoner of War in Vietnam. He said the following: