NETworking or NOTworking? - and other Silicon Valley Stories

Taken from gapingvoid.com

ALSO TAKEN FROM MY ENTREPRENEURSHIP BLOG

http://entrepreneurial-discovery.blogspot.com/

I want to start this post highlighting this amazing quote I found recently on gapingvoid.com: "BLOGS AREN´T DEAD, PEOPLE ARE". It´s amazingly simple and logic, but at the same time it was amazingly harsh for me to read it ... "Man it means I´m dead ... my creativity is dead, my capacity to share experiences is dead since I do not blog since a good couple of weeks"

Anyways, after couple of minutes I recivered from my paranoia and well, FYI, I´m not dead!

I was busy doing NETworking, ehemmm, and NOTworking as well!

I was for a week abroad, half of it on a very short vacation and half of it participating in an amazing Immersion Tour of Endeavor in Silicon Valley (SV).

At Facebook, San Jose (CA)

The experience was just amazing, it felt like being in the "mecca" of entrepreneurship and capitalism, well in some aspects, it still is.

We had the opportunity to witness interesting and content-rich panels with all sorts of Venture Capitalists (VCs) of the Bay area that were willing to tell Entrepreneurs lessons on how the industry works and how to raise money effectively.

Another big block of the tour were of course the company visits ... we visited companies that today are icons for all of us, such as Google, Facebook, eBAY, PayPal and Eletronic Arts. Of course we saw what we all expected to see ... "thousands of crazy, diverse-looking employees living in wide campuses within a very unique, free, wild organizational cultures". However even if that was cool, won´t deny, I must say that was not what amazed me the most. What was unique of the experience was reflecting on how small these organizations started (just as any other entrepreneur) and how someone believed in them, invested in them, how the chose the right people to manage and envision the business and ... eureka! how they turned to be what they are now. It was a powerful lesson on THINKING BIG, on TAKING RISKS. Failure is not one of the options, but if it happens, it´s well embraced and powerful reason to stand up again.

At Electronic Arts

Well, since I´m a quotes person, I leave you with some of the most interesting quotes or expressions or terms I heard in the tour from VCs, Entrepreneurs and employees from some SV-based Companies:

• "In Silicon Valley one new company is born every hour"


• "We work on technology because we want to change the world" - COO Facebook


• "Silicon Valley - Wild West approach to risk"


• "DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION"


• "Queen Isabel of Spain - one of the first Venture Capitalists of history" - Bill Draper making the analogy since as we all know the Queen financed Columbus, one of the greatest Entrepreneurs ever


• "Demographics Vs Psicographics"


• "It´s not the strongest of species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change"


• "You´re the heart of our existence" - Venture Capitalist Bill Draper refering to Entrepreneurs


• "Being a VC is all about making money without working. The job is about identifiying great business ideas and put in the right management"


• "Self-actualization", "Identity refreshment"


• "VCs serve Entrepreneurs, it´s a service"


• "I do not do HR, I advice the leaders of the organization to do HR, I empower the business leaders to do their job" - VP HR PayPal


• "People want to work for winners, people want to for something that is going somewhere" - VP HR PayPal


• "The culture of you organization tomorrow is who you are recruiting today" - VP HR PayPal


• "If you are scared with the crisis right now, maybe you should not be an entrepreneur"


• "There are 3 kinds of people: people that start companies, that grow companies and tha run companies - not all entrepreneurs are ready to make this transition"


• "5 words an Entrepreneurs does not want to hear from an employee: - IT IS NOT MY JOB - be ready to look for people that are willing to go beyong its resumee"


• "You do not need to be in high-tech to make a lot of money"


• "Finding one´s calling by looking at one´s purpose and it´s impact - not at the tasks we do"


• "The ultimate time to differentiate ourselves (as companies) in the the times of recesion/crisis"


• "VC money is not a commodity, it comes with a partner that makes it special"


• "Fun is a very important element when building a culture"


• "Sucess is failing repeatedly with ENTHUSIASM"


• "It´s all about IQ that generates IP" - IQ= Intelligent people who generated Intellectual Property!


• "The (Silicon) Valley isn´t anymore the only thought leader ... we need to re-create the valley in other places"


• "A great business leader deeply understands the motivations of his/her employees, investors and of course, customers"

Endeavor profiled in The Economist

You can red more on my Entrepreneurship Blog.

Fallin´ in love with Cartagena again ...

Because of work reasons, I had the pleasure to spend at the beginning of this month 4 amazing days in one of the most beautiful cities in Colombia and in the word: CARTAGENA. Being originally from Barranquilla(another coastal city just 1,5 hours away from Cartagena) Cartagena and its treasures weru not unknown to me; however one of the amazing things of Cartagena is that every visit makes you feel as if it would be your first time ...

This time I stayed in one of the hotels that reinforces the best -because of its gorgeous colonial architecture- what the Cartagena charm is, Hotel Charleston Cartagena, also known as Hotel Santa Teresa. I recommed it to everyone, if possible, it´s an investment worth making!

Hotel Santa Teresa, outside and inside

Although, as said before, we were staying in a great venue, all dinners every evening were hosted outside the hotel at private residences of some of the event sponsors. One does not know what was better ... if the amazing hospitality and environment that you could breathe in those old, traditional and extreely well mantained Cartagena houses or the relaxed and magic walks through the old Cartagena city to reach those houses.

Walking in the old Cartagena city

As in any other work event where you meet people from your company from all different places in the world (well, never so many and so diverse people as in AIESEC!) Cartagena and its landscapes were also the perfect background for many group pictures!

With collegues from all Latin America and USA

And last but not least, I just want to finish this post with two recommendations for eating places in Cartagena - the first one called JUAN DEL MAR and the second one PORTON DE SANTO DOMINGO. Not that I chose the two place nor that I´m an expert in culinary, but i definitively enjoy good food (specially sea food!) and these two places were really good. You can tell out of my happy face in the both following pictures!

At Juan del Mar and Portón de Santo Domingo restaurants

"Love and Friendship" day

The "Love and Friendship" day (día del amor y la amistad, in spanish) is the colombian version of the well known Valentin´s Day. For a reason that not even wikipedia knows, in Colombia this day is celebrated the 3rd weekend of september. As in many other countries, also here the "Love and Friendship" day is mainly a commercial event ... it´s all about giving presents, going out to party, buying flowers and candies ...

One of the most common "traditions" (if I may call it like this) is a game called AMIGO SECRETO (Secret Friend). It´s pretty much the same as playing Secret Santa (not that Secret Santa is a common game to play here in Colombia, but it´s at least the best I canf ind to explain the non colombians what Amigo Secreto is), in the sense that it´s about involving a group of people exchanging anonymous gifts.

What did I get as a present? a pen!

What did I give? A mascara!

Well, at this point is also important to tell, that normally there is a limit or at least an average of what ideally the gifts that we´re exchanging should cost. It´s purely about having fun and doing something different, in the office, at school or wherever is played.

My team ... Serving the food prior the game


My secret friend

Well now you knwo another funny colombian thing :-)

Palabras del presidente Uribe en lanzamiento de la Fundación Endeavor Colombia

The following is the speech (in spanish) of the President of Colombia, Alvaro uribe, in the offcial launch of Endeavor Colombia - the place where I work.

Bogotá, 14 ago (SNE). “Mil gracias a Endeavor. Esta incursión en Colombia nos ayuda en el propósito de este país de no crear empleos deprimidos sino crear empleos de alta calidad con afiliación a la seguridad social, y fundamentalmente de promover emprendimiento. Nosotros queremos una sociedad más de emprendimiento que de relación laboral tradicional.

Voy a contarles dos o tres cositas en seis minutos y a responder algunas preguntas que, aprovechando que están algunos de mis compañeros de Gobierno, quieran


formularme sobre preocupaciones de ustedes concernientes a obstáculos para la productividad y la competitividad del país.

Vamos a ver en estos seis minutos cómo les hago este resumen, diciéndoles que no podemos ignorar el tema político en la región. Así como América Latina estuvo en unas décadas desmantelando el Estado, ahora avanza bastante en la idea del estatismo, que este año puede cobrar mucha fuerza en las elecciones del Paraguay.

Es muy importante mirar en qué está Colombia. Colombia ha estado en la tarea de construir un Estado eficiente, no de desmantelarlo. Que no sea un Estado obstáculo, que sea un Estado garante de la responsabilidad social.

En esta administración se han reformado 400 entidades del Estado. Esta noche el Ministro de Minas anuncia todos los detalles del proceso de capitalización de Ecopetrol, en el cual tenemos todo el entusiasmo. Y aspiramos que el gran legado fiscal de esta administración sea la reforma del Estado. En los tres años que nos quedan vamos a procurar reformar todas las entidades no reformadas.

Colombia, en esta redefinición política de América Latina, no está en el estatismo. Colombia ofrece todas las oportunidades al sector privado con responsabilidad social. Responsabilidad social traducida en transparencia en las relaciones entre los inversionistas y el Estado, en responsabilidad solidaria de los inversionistas con las comunidades y en unas relaciones laborales no de odio de clases, no de capitalismo salvaje, sino de fraternidad cristiana.

Estamos trabajando cinco elementos: seguridad, libertades, cohesión social, respeto a un Estado conformado con instituciones de relativa independencia, pero que al mismo tiempo tienen que contribuir todos a la marcha armónica en busca de los objetivos superiores de la comunidad. Y lucha por la transparencia como factor de construcción de confianza.

Tres son los objetivos fundamentales de este Gobierno: consolidar la seguridad democrática, consolidar la confianza inversionista. Venimos de tasas de inversión del 12 por ciento y hoy están oscilando entre el 25 y el 27. Objetivo: consolidarlas. El sector privado ha pasado del 6,5 – 7,5 al 19. Esperamos que rápidamente se sitúe por encima del 21. Y el tercer objetivo: cumplir las metas sociales del Milenio antes del tiempo previsto por Naciones Unidas.

Los tres objetivos van de la mano. Creo que nosotros hemos empezado a construir un gran intangible en Colombia: el reconocimiento de que la política social y la política de seguridad no son excluyentes sino que van de la mano. Tuvimos que enfrentar allí un radicalismo ideológico, acendrado en el país durante muchos años.

A la política de fomento de la confianza inversionista le contribuimos con los siguientes elementos: el modelo de Estado, la lucha por la seguridad, buscar la salud fiscal de la Nación, orientar la tributación a promover la inversión. De hecho las reformas tributarias adoptadas en este Gobierno, que esperamos que sean estables, ayudan muchísimo.

Además el concepto de las nuevas zonas especiales económicas, la posibilidad (ya autorizada en la ley) de los pactos de estabilidad y la búsqueda de mercados para la producción colombiana a través de una estrategia muy ofensiva de negociar tratados de comercio y de negociar tratados de protección recíproca de inversión. La semana pasada firmamos el tratado con tres países centroamericanos.

Y el país ofrece –y agrego esto, que no lo tenía en el preámbulo–, una legislación laboral bastante equilibrada: Colombia en medio de muchas dificultades ideológicas que eran obstáculo, logró dos reformas laborales: una en el año y otra en el año 2002.

Esas reformas laborales creo que han creado un gran equilibrio entre la estabilidad y la flexibilidad, que tanta controversia han generado en América Latina.

Quisiera recoger algunas preguntas de ustedes sobre sus preocupaciones, lo que vean como obstáculo para el emprendimiento, obstáculos para la productividad, obstáculos para la competitividad".

Tom Friedman calls Endeavor's model “the best anti-poverty program of all”

Tuesday, 24 July 2007 -

In an updated and expanded paperback edition of The World Is Flat, New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman calls Endeavor's model for high-impact entrepreneurship “the best anti-poverty program of all.”

“Endeavor (http://www.endeavor.org/) was formed for the purpose of promoting entrepreneurship in emerging markets,” Friedman writes in the chapter entitled “If It's Not Happening, It's Because You're Not Doing It.” “Its basic model is to link up small and midsize businesses with seasoned entrepreneurs so that the little guys and gals can get the advice and contacts they need to grow their companies into bigger businesses that can employ more people.”

Friedman's praises Endeavor's “mentor capitalist” model for helping midsize entrepreneurs to expand and create jobs and innovation in developing countries worldwide. “As important as it is to help make poor people into small business people,” Friedman says, “it is just as important to make small business people in a developing country into big business people who can employ lots of their neighbors.” “(I)t is precisely these sorts of middle-class start-ups and small businesses that create the most jobs and the greatest innovation in a society.”This is the “pro-entrepreneurship” example that Friedman says has the “inspirational power” to encourage individuals in the developing world, where role models are scarce, to think big. “There is no greater motivator for the poor than looking at one of their own who makes it big and saying: 'If she can do it, I can do it.'”

FACT: Endeavor's "mentor capitalist" model breaks down economic and cultural barriers through rigorous screening and strategic advising from our network of world-class business leaders. With their guidance, our 266 Endeavor Entrepreneurs have created 79,000 jobs and generated $1.9 billion in revenues.

Join us at the 2007 Endeavor Gala on November 8th as we celebrate 10 years of supporting high-impact entrepreneurship and launching this “mentor capitalist” model further. For more information on the Gala, contact rebecca.plofker@endeavor.org.

U.S. Commerce Secretary hails Endeavor for "creating opportunity" in Latin America.

President and Mrs. Bush hosted the White House Conference of the Americas last week, where U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez hailed Endeavor for "creating opportunity" in Latin America by supporting innovative and visionary high-impact entrepreneurs.

The Secretary spoke to a gathering of over 250 non-governmental organizations, the private sector and volunteer groups focused on the southern hemisphere, where expanding economic opportunity was a key topic. Endeavor has "hundreds of case studies of successful Latin American pioneers" Secretary Gutierrez said and he pointed to Uruguayan Endeavor Entrepreneur Francisco Gross' company, Seinco, as an example. Helping deliver drinkable water and wastewater management through affordable water treatment devices, Seinco as a "patented product is so affordable and efficient that the company has been hired to consult with companies in China," said the Secretary.

Secretary Gutierrez also highlighted Endeavor Entrepreneur Carlos Marin, whose Mexican-based Alltournative, "is supporting thousands of impoverished Mayan Indians by helping them develop a sustainable tourism infrastructure. So far, over 200,000 tourists have visited the Alltournative-Mayan sites."

For the full text of Secretary Gutierrez's speech, click here

For more information about the White House Conference of the Americas, click here

For more information and updates on Endeavor, please visit: www.endeavor.org

Looking for high impact entrepreneurs

ENDEAVOR Colombia search process of high impact entrepreneurs is hot to go.
Read below (just for spanish speakers, sorry!) in brief what we are, what kind of entrepreneurs we are looking for and how to contact us! You can also contact me for reference!

¿Quiénes Somos?

Somos una organización global sin ánimo de lucro, que fomenta el desarrollo económico sostenible y la trasformación de las economías de mercados emergentes, identificando y apoyando a emprendedores de alto impacto.

Endeavor fue fundada en 1997 y hoy tiene operaciones en Chile, Argentina, México, Brasil Uruguay, Sur África, Turquía y, más recientemente, en Colombia. Hoy más de 198 Emprendedores Endeavor de 140 empresas han sido seleccionados a través del riguroso proceso de búsqueda y selección. A través de sus empresas los Emprendedores Endeavor, han creado 38,418 empleos pagando en promedio diez veces más del salario mínimo legal, y en el 2005 generaron US$ 1,375 billones en ganancias.

En los países donde trabaja, Endeavor se ha convertido en la organización sinónimo de emprendimiento; los gobiernos buscan el apoyo de Endeavor para la elaboración de sus políticas de desarrollo empresarial y económico.

¿Qué ofrecemos?
En Endeavor ofrecemos apoyo exclusivo adaptado a las necesidades de los emprendedores y sus empresas. Apoyo que busca minimizar las barreras al crecimiento que encuentran las empresas. Trabajamos a través de una red de profesionales del más alto nivel, encabezada por nuestra Junta Directiva, reconocidos en su medio por su conocimiento y habilidades en los distintos aspectos de negocios. Son personas ejecutivas vinculadas a exitosas empresas y firmas, que donan su tiempo a Endeavor y apoyan a los Emprendedores Endeavor en el desarrollo y crecimiento de sus empresas.

No somos una fuente capital. Sin embargo, los inversionistas confían en el sello Emprendedor Endeavor.

¿Quiénes son los emprendedores de “alto impacto”?

Buscamos y apoyamos a emprendedores de alto impacto, que tengan grandes ideas y los planes más ambiciosos, con el potencial de transformar empresas exitosas que den empleo a cientos o miles de personas y que generen millones en salarios y ganancias. Sobretodo, que tengan la capacidad inspirar a muchos otros a innovar y a tomar riesgos.

Endeavor Colombia busca apoyar emprendedores de alto impacto con empresas que tengan las siguientes características:

1) Iniciativa emprendedora - emprendedor con visión, persistencia, deseo de transformar y crecer su empresa exitosamente
2) Innovación – producto o servicio diferenciador, que tenga el potencial de cambiar e impactar la industria a nivel nacional y/o internacional
3) Valores y Ética - emprendedor integro y transparente
4) Impacto y Tamaño - negocios con potencial de crecimiento significativo, que generen empleo, impacto y bienestar social y/o ambiental. Buscamos empresas con ventas superiores a los $2300 millones pesos/año.

¿Cómo acceder a los servicios de Endeavor?

Endeavor tiene un proceso de búsqueda y selección de emprendedores estructurado. El cual consta de una etapa a nivel Colombia y una última etapa a nivel internacional. Cada seis meses se reúne el Panel Internacional al cual todas las oficinas de los distintos países, llevan sus candidatos. Allí miembros de la red de todos los países conocen a los candidatos y evalúan su potencial como Emprendedores Endeavor. Es el Panel Internacional quien tiene la última palabra sobre quienes son los Emprendedores Endeavor. Para llegar al Panel Internacional es necesario surtir un proceso en nivel Colombia, el cual empieza diligenciando el formulario anexo.

Actualmente Endeavor no cobra por sus servicios de apoyo.

Si considera que Ud como emprendedor y su empresa tienen el perfil y potencial que busca Endeavor, lo invitamos a postularse como candidato.

La convocatoria está abierta hasta el 15 de Julio de 2007

Si requiere información adicional no dude en contactarnos y consultar nuestra página web: www.endeavor.org

Catalina Spinel
emprendedores@endeavor.org.co
Búsqueda & Selección
Endeavor-Colombia
Telefóno: (571) 346 4242
Fax: (571) 346 4243
Bogotá - Colombia

Miami - and introducing my new "family"

I was in Miami for a couple of days last month, attending to an Endeavor Entrepreneur Summit!

Some highlights:

- Miami ... I really do not know if I was amazed or confused to see such a hispanic environment in the US ... it was so funny to talk to people in english (at shops, a taxi driver, etc... ) and see how automatically you rather get an answer in spanish ...!

- I visited Elias! (former President of AIESEC in Brazil and a great friend), great to know the trainees he lives with and of course his wife Fernanda. Also was amazed to see how different the life of an AIESEC trainee in the US is ... their house has a swimming pool, almost every trainee has a car! I mean, the city demans from you to have a car and other certain conditions, there is no other way, but it still looks funny!

- Shopping ... I know it's a latin thing to go to the US and shop, shop and shop, even if some things are exactly the same than the ones you find back home but ... I could not help tp do it at Sawgrass Mills! Florida's largest retail & entertainment center and relatively close to Elias' house where I stayed for 1 night. I can't deny it was cool to spend some time there, however expectations around Sawgrass are way bigger that what I found.

- Attended working sessions (speeches, interviews, panels) with amazing entrepreneurs, business leaders and academics (not all was play, I had also plenty of work with agendas starting at 8.30 a.m.!)

And last but not least, well the Miami trip was another moment to keep bounding with the people that since I work at Endeavor that have become my "2nd family" ... definitively the people that besides Javier I see the most every single day!



Esperanza Morales - one of our entrepreneurs - and myself


Mauricio Angel, one of our entrepreneurs, Gaia (my boss), Esperanza and myself


The entrepreneurs and myself


Nice boat trip!


This time there was no Mickey Mouse visit in Florida :( but hopefully we'll manage to come back to Miami for holidays soon!

Tomorrow ... Punta del Este, Uruguay!

"Projecting towards the South Atlantic, one narrow strip of land emerges proud, dividing the waters of the Río de La Plata and the Atlantic Ocean... Punta del Este"

I´ll be off to Uruguay tomorrow 13.03 and until 18.03 - my first work trip with Endeavor.

Uruguay was one of the countries that I did not manage to visit when I was Director of AIESEC International, so I feel more than lucky to have the chance to do it now with Endeavor as part of my induction process. I´ll be participating the Endeavor Latin American Selection Panel - the event where Endeavor officially selects entrepreneurs to become part of our network. Entrepreneurs passing through interviews by wonderful international panelists and Endeavor staff all together ... can´t wait to get inspired. Particularly Endeavor Colombia is bringing 3 pre-selected entrepreneurs, which we hope in the best scenario all 3 will be selected.

I can´t help to remember back AIESEC ... back to the travelling mood!