Cultural Nuances: Chileans are more like Midwesterners than Mexicans

It’s been crazy busy here, in a mostly good way, but I thought another Startup Diary, Santiago Edition was about due.

One thing I get asked a lot is what people in Chile are like. I’ve been here four months, most of my time in Santiago, with a few days in Valparaiso / Viña del Mar and Concepción , so I can’t claim a huge representative sample of the country. On the other hand, over a third of the population lives in Santiago and about 5% more in Concepción.

So much for the geography lesson, to my point…

Ways Chileans are more like Midwesterners than Californians

People are reluctant to tell you flat out, “No.”

I had a meeting with someone who wanted to sell me something and I thought the price was outrageous and the idea not very good. I just shook my head and said, “I’m not paying for that.”

She was pretty shocked. I was being very polite, for me, anyway, because what I was really thinking is “There is no @#$ing way on God’s earth I’m giving you any money.”

I’ve heard many entrepreneurs here, both Chilean and foreigners, say they would prefer the American way where investors or potential customers just tell you, “No” and don’t waste your time. They say that, but having been on both sides, I’m not sure they would. It’s no fun having someone say to your face that they are not interested in funding your…