Category: Community

Peru Startups is 6-months old today. This is the 55^th post. It has been a fun journey that has allowed us to connect with founders and ecosystem actors. Continue reading “6 months of storytelling”

Lima tech talent was a key issue mentioned in the Techstars Lima Startup Community Assessment, which recommended that we “greatly expand the entrepreneur funnel” by holding informal events, formal workshops and broadening the media coverage of the startup community.

Here is a list of places founders are looking for tech talent:

1. GetOnBoard: Fernando Langschwager of Aprendiendo.la used GetOnBoard to find a CTO and two other people on his team. BlazingDB and AmigoCloud, two startups based outside of Lima, have also looked to find candidates in Lima on this platform.
2. PagePersonnel: Ximena Caballero entered Page Group to lead a talent acquisition role for startups. She has helped Culqi look for experts in database administration, Java developers, and frontend developers. PagePersonnel also helps startups with other functions outside of technology. Ximena helped find a head of finance for Karaoke Smart. Here is a link to the PagePersonnel corporate presentation.
3. Social Media: There are many groups on social media for developers, often divided by functional expertise and programming language.
4. Accelerator programs: A great way to mix with other teams, compare notes on talent and build a team is at an accelerator programs. Especially programs like UTEC Ventures or EmprendeUP that are part of universities
5. Teach: Teaching is a great way to share ideas and identify talented students that may want to work for you as interns or full-time professionals. Jaime Chiarella, a founder at Riqra, teaches at Kurios, a startup founded by Carlos Lau.
6. Tech Founders: Tech-savvy founders like Ragi Burham, Eddie Wong, Rodrigo López are great at identifying talent. Reaching out to people like them to ask for ideas and vet potential candidates can help point you in the right direction.
7. CTOs: Good CTOs know how to identify and cultivate talent. Julio Canares of Riqra, recently held a CTO Meetup event to share best practices and foster a community among his peers.
8. Arequipa: There are great universities in Arequipa. Get on a plane and go see for yourself! Kenny Lazo is a great resource there who is part of a local group of tech-savvy people in the city
9. Co-working, co-living spaces: Comunal and WeWork are top co-working destinations in Lima. Tap into these coworking communities to find people. Tekton Labs, led by Kenneth Lopez, and Endeavor Entrepreneur, works out of WeWork and has an entire team of top tech talent. Selina, a destination for digital nomads, is coming to Lima and will add an extra boost to our ecosystem. Pretty exciting!

Takeaway:

Founders who have success finding talent try more than one of the above channels to build their teams. I hope the above list is a good start to broaden your search and find the right people. How to hire and retain them is a subject for another post!

Prior to the PVCC here are some trends in Peru’s startup community: Continue reading “Doing your homework prior to the PVCC”

Como en todo, la clave es el contenido y les aseguro que el contenido del PVCC va a ser de primer nivel. Continue reading “¿Por qué tienes que ir al Peru Venture Capital Conference (PVCC)?”

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”

The recent Techstars Startup Community Assessment helps remind us why we are working to build a startup community in Lima. Continue reading “Why build a 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”

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”

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.

The premier conference for female startup founders in Latin America takes place this year on November 6th and 7th at the Universidad del Pacífico campus in Lima, Peru. Continue reading “Pitch Competition for Female Founders – Apply Now!”