I’m Learning a Gang of S#@$ in Start-up Chile

Years ago, I attended a talk by Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries (it’s a wonderful charity, by the way, check them out) and he mentioned one of the homies he’d gotten a job in an office sending him a fax that said,

“Thank you so much, G, for getting me this job. I’m learning a gang of s#@% “

That’s how I feel about Start-up Chile. So far, this is a program about building your company. So, if you were looking for how to build a hardware or software product, look elsewhere. I think, though, that most start-ups are like us. They KNOW how to write software or build a 3D printer or whatever. What they need to know is how to sell, hire, finance and fundraise.

I’m learning about the Chilean education market, incorporating a company, employment contracts, taxes. I know 5 times what I did when I got here 3 weeks ago but because that was 0.1% of what I need, I have a long way to go.

Santosh is a walking LinkedIn

I’m super excited because I have a meeting with Chilecompra on Wednesday. In case you don’t know (I sure didn’t 3 weeks ago) that is equivalent to the GSA in the U.S. , that is the people in charge of all government purchasing.

Now, if you do any government contracting at all, you can imagine how inconceivable it is that you would…