Category: Community

It’s not Capital, it’s Culture

One of the more thought-provoking findings of the Techstars Lima Startup Community Assessment is that culture is something we need to work on more than capital. This may be surprising to founders who have tried to raise money in Lima (it’s hard), but it highlights that a larger, more grassroots effort, is necessary for our startup community to really take off. Continue reading “It’s not Capital, it’s Culture”

Techstars – Recommendations for Lima’s startup community

Chris Heivly of Techstars recently conducted an assessment of the Lima Startup Community. This is an excellent resource – an objective and highly credible measure of where we stand and how we can do a better job of building our startup community. Continue reading “Techstars – Recommendations for Lima’s startup community”

Why immigrants are essential to Peru’s startup community

Immigrants are a key driver for Peru’s startup community. Founders from other countries bring fresh ideas and valuable connections.  Matias Maciel, an Argentine, moved to Peru to take on a regional role at Western Union’s finance team. Now, Matias is CFO and co-founder of Rextie, startup that helps users find the best FX rates and exchange money. Continue reading “Why immigrants are essential to Peru’s startup community”

Peru Venture Capital Conference 2018

This year the Peru Venture Capital Conference will take place on September 11th. The theme is “Invest in the future” – a great way to think about supporting startup communities and  backing founders in the Peru ecosystem.

The conference will have a group speakers, including Jason Portnoy, formerly of PayPal and Palantir.

Last year, Chris Heivly of Techstars was the keynote speaker and his message that day, and work in our ecosystem since then, continue to leave an enduring impact.

UTEC is playing a leading role in organizing the event locally, along with the support of IDB, FOMIN, COFIDE and Startup Peru.

I encourage you to sign up here now and attend. Events like this help our startup community to grow and connect with founders and investors outside of Peru.

500 Startups LatAm – Batch 9 Applications

500 Startups LatAm has an application process open for its next batch. Founders can apply here by May 20th.  The program invests $60,000 in startups that go through a 16-week program designed to drive startup growth and make connections to top investors. Continue reading “500 Startups LatAm – Batch 9 Applications”