A global business phenomenon
While many of us maybe new to the term ‘Start-Up companies’ there are some of us who have dived into the deep-end of this novel entrepreneurship scheme – reaping its benefits on a first-hand basis.
A start-up company is essentially a small-scaled venture (generally tech-oriented) that is designed for high growth, has a low bootstrapping cost, but usually gives out a high potential return on investment. Things happen so fast that it may seem like the bungee-jumping equivalent of the business world, and as Anushka Fernando-Goonetilleke puts it, “is a rewarding experience”
Anushka, and husband, Chaminda Goonetilleke were part of the ‘Start-Up Chile’ programme created by the Chilean Government.
Anushka Fernando-Goonetilleke
Overlooked by the Chilean Ministry of Economy, it seeks to attract early-stage high potential entrepreneurs to bootstrap their startups using Chile as a platform to go global. In line with the national goal of converting Chile into the innovation and entrepreneurship hub of Latin America, the programme plans to bring 1,000 startups to Chile by 2014.
At a recently held event describing the nitty-gritties of the programme, we learn that participants are required to spend six months in Chile – for which they receive US$ 40,000 of equity-free seed capital, a 1-year work visa, and access to local financial and social networks. “The objective is to raise funds, hire talent, create networks, and to launch businesses from Chile while leveraging and interacting fully with the local entrepreneurship ecosystem,” says Anushka says, adding that it is the ideal opportunity for bootstrapping individuals to receive funding without ceding equity, while utilising one of the strongest Latin American economies as their launching pad.
“The programme lets you meet an array of different entrepreneurs and you create a network within them,” Anushka says. In terms of what Chile expects out of the participants, Anushka tells us that they aim at interaction with their local community, engagement in activities, workshops, social impact programmes and eventually giving back to Chile on an entrepreneurial level.
‘Start-Up Chile’ has been featured in The Economist, BusinessWeek, TechCrunch, and Forbes, among others, as a pathway to a global business phenomenon. While a natural question of brain-drain may rise, the organisers deny the fact by stating that the ownership of any business idea shall remain with the participant. While they say that any team can go back to their country of origin and implement the idea on a larger-scale, thus giving revenue back to their home land.
Anushka and Chaminda came up with Knowrom – an online platform for students to share information on universities—reviews, photos or videos, or even events and educational materials. The first three features are meant to provide potential students with an inside view of the university and also to help students familiarise themselves with the university they’ve decided on.
So far, five teams from Sri Lanka have been selected to participate in the programme.
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