All posts in General

  • January 20, 2013

    Socialatom Ventures ends first week with Hackathon

    Socialatom Ventures kick-offWell, it’s been quite a week.  We kicked off the Socialatom Ventures startup program on Monday with 12 initial companies.  Andres Barreto (co-founder of OnSwipe), one of my partners, has been here in Bogota and it’s been great for the startups getting his point of view on their individual startups.  He’s not only got experience with his own startups, but has been contributing quite a bit to the Latin American ecosystem in general.

    Some of the startups are going through a government “consolidation” program called AppsCo where the Ministry of Telecommunications and other incubators besides us had a hand in selecting the specific companies.  Additionally, there are two other companies that we selected and invested in (thanks to our partner NXTP Labs) and will be doing all we can to accelerate the growth of all of these companies in the coming three months and a half.

    During our one-on-one meetings with each startup, we try to get them to take a serious look at what they’re doing and how they’re going about doing it.  Andres has been instrumental in getting everybody to “think big.”  A tool that we are using to reinforce this is the New York City trip we’ve planned with some pretty amazing mentors.

    Socialatom Ventures Wednesday night meetingOn Wednesday, we had our first status meeting at 10:10pm in the evening.  We chose this date and time for the progress meeting for a number of reasons with one of these being that of inculcating the reality of startup culture into the founders.  Each startup pitches and also provides status on milestones in order to make sure they are learning and progressing.

    It’s great to see the amount of activity in the Colombian startup ecosystem although there’s still a long way to go to even be on a par with the Brazilian and even Argentinian ecosytems.  It’s great to work on this acceleration phase.  Two years ago, when I first brought the Founder Institute, a pre-idea incubator,  I saw (and still see) a major need for a program that could help founders develop their ideas into viable companies (that can later get “accelerated” if necessary).  Accelerators such as Wayra and Socialatom Ventures really need a wider selection of companies from which to select their startups.

    Socialatom Elite HackathonAs if all of this wasn’t enough, it’s Sunday evening and I’m sitting here at Socialatom Ventures at a great Hackathon that Andres set up with some of our developers and host of other talented developers who were handpicked to participate.  There are a number of interesting project such as a platform for asking mayors from different cities questions to a simple gifting app based on Facebook likes.  In general, we’ve done everything we know to get these startups in the right frame of mind to accelerate their progress.

    4 Comments / English, General /

  • December 31, 2012

    Where to focus in the new year?

    Alan 2013 PlanningAs I write these first words of this post, the clock has just turned to 12am and the first minute of 2013 has started.  I just got back from a cool get together at a friends house with the wife and kids.  It was time to get the kids to bed and, thus, I find myself celebrating in my own special way by organizing my thoughts in a blog post. :)

    How different from the way I celebrated the New Year when I was younger as a boy in Pennsylvania with my parents listening to Guy Lobardi or, later in California and here in Colombia partying the night away.  Nonetheless, at this age, having the family fast asleep and typing away while I have small window on my iMac replaying one of my favorite movies, is a pretty cool way for me to usher in the new year. During the past days, I’ve been soaking up my favorite gangster flicks from The Godfather to GoodFellas, The Departed and Casino.  I know. I’m weird. :)

    Just before siting down to punch out this post, I was able to leisurely sketch my key activities for the next year (see picture at the top).  Just looking at that sketch generates a voice from my inner mentor self saying that I’m involved in way too many projects.  In other words, since I have suggested to some of the startups that I’ve mentored in the past that they focus and try not to do too many things at once, I’m being quite a hypocrite in having too many cards on my own table (please don’t tell anyone).

    I’ve basically got two main areas where I’m focusing my efforts.  One is as the founder and a board member of SuperTrendi, startup focused leveraging the Internet for selling top brand women’s fashion.  The other area of focus in in helping other in-country startups growth through my efforts with Wayra and the Founder Institute.   In addition to these efforts as well as mentoring for Endeavor, the plan is to launch a new full-time accelerator (Founder Institute holds sessions once a week at night) called Socialatom Ventures.  I recently has a good live session with Andres Barreto on what we’re trying to accomplish with this new accelerator.

    With respect to SuperTrendi, after finding some local investors willing to bet on my vision for a new fashion brand (retail brand at this stage), I was able to build an initial site with initial product in a bit over six months.  Because I became a founder later in life (wife and two kids), I couldn’t burden such a nascent startup with my salary requirements, thus, the plan entailed hiring someone who could handle day to day operations till I can come back fulltime.  Unfortunately, SuperTrendi still doesn’t have the funds that would enable me to draw a salary that can keep me afloat, but I continue to guide the operational team as a board member.

    Until that day, I will be helping other startups find ways to grow and improve their chances of success.  Initiatives such as the Founder Institute and Socialatom Ventures are implicit bets on the Colombian ecosystem and an ability to find entrepreneurs and startups with a chance of hitting it big.  I definitely debate myself on the merits of the wager on the local ecosystem.  There’s no question that it can be quite satisfying helping entrepreneurs (mainly, those that want to be helped), but this year (2013), I really need to think hard about expending energies in this direction and not SuperTrendi.

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about what the Founder Institute is already accomplishing in the Colombian ecosystem and what Socialatom Ventures has the potential to accomplish.  Nonetheless, I really need to consider the opportunity cost of not finding a way to get new funding for SuperTrendi so that I can dedicate more of my time (ideally, all of my time) to making this startup a success.

    The good news is that, either way, I’ll still have time left over to dedicate myself as a mentor/advisor to a handful of promising startups.  As I’ve written in the past, I’m particularly excited about the prospects of Mapache Studios. One of my longer term objectives is actually creating an investment fund to invest in such startups, but it may be best to let that eventuality happen at a more natural pace while I continue to build SuperTrendi.

    2 Comments / English, General /

  • November 16, 2012

    The Bragiel effect

    Bragiel effectWell, yesterday was a whirlwind day, but incredibly impactful thanks to a visit from Paul Bragiel, President of i/o Ventures in Silicon Valley.  Thanks to some great help from my colleagues Martin Ramos and Juan Sebastian Duque, we were able to schedule an agenda of meetings/events.   In emerging markets such as Colombia, getting startup ecosystems moving in the right direction is fraught with challenges.  Yesterday, Paul was instrumental in getting some key messages across to different audiences in his own clear and passionate style for which I’m extremely grateful.

    I got introduced to Paul by Adeo Ressi who has also had a great impact through the Founder Institute on this country’s startup ecosystem.  A few months back, I had a great chat with Paul at his offices in San Francisco and we spoke of the possibility of his stopping by Colombia.  Fortunately, everything came together and, as I mentioned, yesterday was extremely productive (and fun).

    We started the day off with a breakfast with some of key business leaders.  Paul spoke to them about startup ecosystems in other emerging markets particularly from the point of view of angel investing.  His talk was clear and filled with key suggestions for how to think about angel investing and where to start.  Coming from someone who lives in Silicon Valley, is a serial entrepreneur and investor, this was invaluable.

    Then, after meeting with a few entrepreneurs, we had an excellent lunch with key players in the public and private sector.  Catalina Ortiz, Luis Florez and Marisol Camacho from government agency Innpulsa discussed a number of issues with Paul as did Camilo Serna and Claudia Obando from the Ministry of Technology.  Carlos Castañeda and Johanna Harker from startup incubator Wayra were unable to make it, but Diana Gaviria and Tatiana Leon from incubator Connect Bogota were there.  To my right in the photo was Hernando Barreto, my colleague and partner in our new accelerator called Socialatom Ventures. In the foreground is Dan Gertzacov, Americas CEO of an amazingly innovative (and well-funded) financial services startup called Lenddo.

    Bragiel Socialatom VenturesThe lunch was amazingly dynamic and stimulating and was a great prelude to the launch of the aforementioned incubator, Socialatom Ventures.  During the launch, Paul spoke to a room full of entrepreneurs about his experiences and answered a variety of questions on what it takes to create a successful startup.  The Ministry of Technology accompanied Hernando and myself as we spoke about how to apply to Socialatom Ventures.  I was pleasantly surprised to meet excellent startups such as a polished gaming company, a Software as a service company targeting the education market and, incredibly, a startup with a new take on databases (with an amazing product and a good amount of users).

    Paul Anti AlanPaul’s next stop is Cartagena and I’m sure he’ll have a great time there especially without our filling up his schedule with activity after activity.  I (and many of my colleagues) want to see Colombia wake up from its startup slumber andstart to really create some type of impact.  That’s why, watching the audiences and participants during all of yesterday’s activities was incredibly satisfying for me as I was able to see first hand the “Bragiel effect.”  The Bragiel effect is the possibility to have the maximum number of key players in an emerging market ecosystem gain additional insights into how to move the ecosystem or become aware of the possibilities of digital innovation thanks to a credible and passionate spokesperson.

    No Comments / English, General /

  • November 5, 2012

    Colombian Startup Ecosystem mentioned in Forbes

    Colombian_StartupsI tell ya, what a difference a few years make.  About two years ago, Adeo Ressi, founder and CEO of the Founder Institute, acquiesced to opening a chapter of this startup incubator in Colombia, I was able to commence from pretty intense work in developing an ecosystem in this country.  Even though there have been some Colombian startup success stories headed by people such as Andres Barreto, Juan Diego Calle, Martin Schrimpff and Jose Velez whom I mentioned in a VentureBeat article at the end of 2011, the term “Colombian startup” has been closer to being an oxymoron than many here would like to admit, but things are slowly changing and, today, Forbes published an article about Adeo Ressi and the Founder Institute where the Colombian chapter is discussed.

    This isn’t the first time that Adeo has mentioned Colombia in the press.  After visiting Colombia for the first time and then returning to kick-off the first Founder Institute semester here, he came away from the experience with a fondness for the country.  He’s also mentioned the impact that the Founder Institute is having in Colombia in interviews with the New York Times and Businessweek, among others.

    Although I’ve mentioned several times that the Colombian ecosystem still has a ways to go when compared to other countries in the region such as Brazil, Argentina and probably also Chile and Mexico, there’s a growing group of competent people in-country laboring push Colombian entrepreneurs to new heights.  I have written a number of times about the ecosystems of Argentina and Brazil as well as new startups in Argentina such as Joincube and others such as Smowtion and Brazilian players such as Compra3 and even Pio.la from Venezuelan uber startup guy, Hernan Aracena.   Nonetheless, these countries have already created some leading startups such as MercadoLibre and Buscape, among others.  Thus, I’ve always been cognizant of the fact that the efforts in Colombia are the ones that most need visibility within the the global market.

    Starting in 2009 with an article I wrote for VentureBeat on LetMego, a startup from founders Alex Torrenegra and Leonardo Suarez, I was able to start things off. After this, VentureBeat went on to publish my article on real estate portal VivaReal not only on their site, but also in the digital edition New York Times right before that company started raising an important round of funding and explosive growth.  Later, I was able to highlight Zio Studios’ funding round in 2011.  Aside from this, when interviewed for publications such as Inc Magazine, I don’t miss the chance to promote the reasons why investors should think about Latin American startups.

    Ok. Well this has all been well and good.  Promoting the Colombian and Latin American ecosystem is important as is educating local entrepreneurs on the basics of creating a viable startup.  Nonetheless, my efforts in this respect have an egotistical motive and an attempt to solve a curious problem: myy desire to run an investment fund while living in a country that I’ve grown fond of (and gave me a beautiful wife and children), but that didn’t have a viable startup ecosystem. Hence, two years ago, I started the promotion phase (highlighting existing successes and educating potential entrepreneurs) and am now ready to start a more “meaty” phase of working full-time to develop strong startups, which I also recently wrote about.

    As I mentioned, since working as a Strategic Investment Manager at Intel Capital, my goal has been to create my own fund and fund companies which I feel can become high impact startups.  During that stint, I presented four companies in one year to the investment committee at headquarters in Santa Clara, California (quite uncommon in Latin America at the time).  This, even though I was unable to present one of the deals I was most enthused about (it was counter-intuitive at the time).  I was even reprimanded by my bosses for suggesting it (the company went on to be wildly successful).

    Probably the most rewarding experience was working with a company called JackBe that we didn’t fund during my tenure, but that I advised to change their business being a technology provider within the Pharma industry to becoming a tools company.  Since then, I’ve felt my path lay in funding and working with startups.  In order to accomplish this while living in Colombia, I’ve had to develop a step by step strategy.  I’m about midway through a strategy, which, every day gets closer to becoming reality. :)

    2 Comments / English, General /
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