Apply - Start-Up Chile – Applications live now | Hacker News Reader

Apply - Start-Up Chile – Applications live now

startupchile.org

43 pointsnischalshetty27 comments

I am participating in this program and it's been an amazing experience. I have met entrepreneurs from all around the world and gained different insights that I would not have gained had I stayed in Denmark. Chile is also a very beautiful country and a great springboard to explore and learn other parts of Latin America.

While the program itself could be improved, especially the reimbursement process, I still think they have done a great job and I am pretty sure it will be improved in the future.

So come to Chile and build your startup - - with minimal risks involved ;)

The only thing I can recommend is that you have some cash when you come here (they recommend at least 5k USD) - - else the experience won't be that pleasant.

Yeah, what he said. :)

It's hard to underestimate how great this deal is.

You get a work visa, office space, support network and enough money for rent reimbursement, basic salary (more than ramen btw) AND with what's left you can hire the skills you lack. All this is FREE, you keep 100% of your equity.

Silicon Valley is of course the startup capital, but until there's an incubator that gives you the equivalent in cash ($100K in SV dollars?) and an instant visa (impossible) without taking equity (hah), Chile is the place to be.

you probably meant "hard to overestimate" :)

You are correct.

I am a current Start-Up Chile participant (see also: http://www.startupchile.org/press/alum-participates-in-excit...), and I too would encourage everyone to apply. The opportunity to meet, work with, and play with the other entrepreneurs in the program has been totally awesome. Chile is a beautiful country, and the locals have been really welcoming and supportive. I've even hired a Chilean with wonderful results.

Every part of the application is required and important. Treat them as such.

True, the reimbursement process is fair (10% founder contribution), but a complete pain in the ass. Those people who will do best in this program are those who with a "roll with it, make the best of it" kind of attitude.

The applications would be open until Oct. 27th. I would recommend all of you to apply. $40k without any equity and a chance to live in a beautiful country like Chile should not be missed. Plus, you get to meet entrepreneurs from all over the world.

It still has some strange points: the $40k is a reimbursement -- not a grant or funding. They reimburse you up to 90% of your expenses and expect you to show up with over $5k in cash to support your group until you start getting reimbursed.

It sounds like a great program if you have $10k+ sitting idle and want to extend your runway as far as possible, but it may be a stretch for a zero-customers/zero-products web startup.

We came to Chile with around US$1500 each (we're a team of two). We could survive (pretty comfortably) till the first reimbursements came in (once you get a bank account which is within a week or two you have around $2000 more at your disposal thanks to the line of credit you get at the banks here).

Yeah, you get reimbursed for 90%. But I think it's fair. As founders we need to have put some money into our start-up and have something to lose when things don't work out for us.

Yes it is true, reimbursement fills up 90% of all expenses, but allowed salary compensates for the remaining 10% even if the team has only one member. But since the grant money is dispensed via reimbursement you will need ~5-7K of cash per team to start.

I've been reading through the offer and the FAQs. The question I have is: am I forming a Chilean company by participating in this program?

It'd be nice for someone who has participated in this program to jump-in and give their thoughts on the experience.

I remember reading one participant's review of the program that boiled down to: bring more money than you think you'll need and, overall, it was a good experience.

I guess I'll send them an email for clarification on what they're wanting startups to commit to.

Here's the article you are talking about: http://www.leslieforman.com/2011/09/advice-for-incoming-star...

You don't have to incorporate in Chile, but if you want, the grant will pay the legal fees.

Cool. Thanks for the reply.

I cant seem to figure out but there is some problem with the forms.. i have all the 'required' fields filled and it still says.. 'One or more required team registration fields were incomplete.' very broad message, could be anything. also in some cases '100 words left' works and in others it doesn't. maybe that's the reason.. but now i can't save my form.

Did you upload all attachments using the EXACT names they require?

Note to all: The YouNoodle "integration" is a bit buggy, I stored my draft answers in google docs for peace of mind.

yep seeing similar issues with younoodle, really buggy implementation ... content going unsaved, js alerts after pasting into fields. doesn't seem like having their own application form similar to ycombinator would be that big of a deal...

it wasn't working then but then the next day they changed something and it worked. Thanks :)

If I were to get selected during this round, when would I actually be expected to report in Chile?

Report what?

If you mean the expense reimbursements, they will explain upon arrival. (They welcome you and help you get a RUT number, bank account and mobile phone contract.)

Don't worry about those practicalities now - they are taken care of.

Sounds great. Does anyone know if examples of successful applications are published? Thanks

No, but you can get inspiration indirectly.

SUC publishes the names of selected startups: http://www.startupchile.org/110-startups-selected-to-partici...

Upon selection SUC also asks (if you confirm to come) to give a summary description of your startup for publication on their site.

I'm not sure if this is published yet for the latest round.

no they are not.

how important are letters of recommendations in the process? there's an blank field there.

As far as I know it's needed (we had submitted it). Don't leave out anything in the application form, the last thing you need is getting rejected because your application was incomplete.

All the best and the start-up chile folks are super helpful. You can always direct your questions to http://twitter.com/startupchile and expect a response.

Here's how it was last round:

You need two for the entire team - can be zero, one or two per founder.

The recommendation can come from anywhere. I used a happy client for this.

i would like to know that too.. i don't have any :(

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