Lo Que Dije Al Presidente

El jueves pasado, tuve la oportunidad de contar mis experiencias en mis seis meses en Chile como parte del programa Start-Up Chile en un reunión con Geeks on a Plane, Startup Chile y el Presidente de Chile, Sebastián Piñera.

Cuando llegué a Chile, solo hablaba un poco de español, y nunca en mis sueños pensé que tendría la oportunidad de dar un discurso en un desayuno con el Presidente y un publico de mas de cien personas y cámaras de la prensa. Eso es lo que dije al Presidente Piñera y el resto del publico.

Hola, me llamo Nathan Lustig y soy el cofundador de Entrustet, la séptima compañía que llego a Santiago para Start-up Chile. Quiero decir gracias al Presidente Piñera para invitarnos a este desayuno y por la oportunidad de hablar un poco de Startup Chile.

En septiembre, vi un articulo en Techcrunch sobre la oportunidad de mudar mi compañía a Chile para seis meses. Llené la pagina web y cuatro semanas después, nos eligieron para el programa. Cuando llegué, no sabía mucho del programa, solo sabía que podría trabajar en mi compañía en otro lugar y con una beca. La oportunidad de evitar invierno en Wisconisn sólo fue un incentivo.

Ahora, seis meses después, mi tiempo en Chile está terminando. Puedo decir que estos meses fueron unos de los mejores meses de mi vida. Progresamos mucho en Entrustet pero más que eso, nos hicimos Buenos amigos con los emprendedores del programa. Nos hemos conectados al red de emprendimiento en Chile y hicimos amigos Chilenos dentro y fuera del programa.

Ahora, quiero hablar sobre el programa. Como dijo Jean [Boudegur], Start-up Chile, es un emprendimiento en si mismo y ahora esta creciendo muy rápido. Cien equipos van a llegar en los próximos dos meses. Quiero decir gracias a todos los personas en el gobierno porque sin su permiso, este programa innovadora no tendría éxito. Quiero decir gracias a todos los personas que trabaja en startup chile.

Este programa es muy especial, Creo que mucha gente no entiende eso, especialmente Chilenos. Cuando hablo a mis amigos sobre el programa, me dicen “si Chile puede hacerlo, otro países pueden. Pero en realidad, no. Este tipo de programa nunca ha ocurrido en estados unidos o Europa. El programa es el programa de gobierno mas innovador que he visto en mi vida y todos los Chilenos deberían estar orgullosos.

Han hecho algo magnifico que es el comienzo de algo increíble. Quiero ver como crecen el programa y el emprendimiento Chileno en el próximo año. Quiero terminar con otro agradacimiento a mis amigos emprendedores, startup chile y cada persona que apoya el programa. Gracias.

 

Juan Pablo Salas, Sebastián Piñera, George Cadena, Nathan Lustig

Gracias a Juan Pablo y Javiera para leer y corregir unos versiones de mi discurso y a Jean y Brenna para la oportunidad!

In English:

What I said to the President

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to share my experiences of the last six months in Chile as part of the Startup Chile program at a breakfast with Geeks on a Plane, Startup Chile y the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera.

When I arrived to Chile, I only spoke a little Spanish and I never thought in my wildest dreams that I’d have the opportunity to give a talk at a breakfast with the president, an audience of over 100 and the press.  This is what I said the President Piñera and the rest of the audience.

Hi, my name is Nathan Lustig and I am the cofounder of Entrustet, the seventh company that arrived in Santiago for Startup Chile.  I want to thank President Piñera for inviting us to this breakfast and for the opportunity to talk a little about Startup Chile.

In September, I saw an article in Techcrunch about the oporuntity to move my company to chile for six months.  I filled out the website and four weeks later, they picked us for the program.  When I arrived, I didn’t know much about the program, only that I would be able to work on my company in another location and have a grant.  The opportunity to avoid a Wisconsin winter was only an added bonus.

Now, six months later, my time in Chile is coming to an end.  I can say that these six months were some of the best months of my life.  We made a lot of progress on Entrustet, but more than that, we made good friends with all of the entrepreneurs in the proigram.  We were connected into the Chilean entrepreneurship network and we made friends with Chileans inside and outside of the program.

Now, I want to talk a little about the program.  Like Jean said, Startup Chile is a startup in it’s own right and it’s growing really fast.  100 team are going to arrive in the next two months.   I want to thank all of the people in the government because without your permission, this innovative program never would have been successful.  I want to say thanks to all of the people who work in startup chile.

This program is very special.  I believe that many people, especially Chileans, don’t understand this.  When I talk to my friends about the program, they say to me “If Chile can do it, other countries can.”  But in reality, it’s not the case.  This type of program would never had happened in the US or Europe.  The program is the most innovative government program I’ve seen in my life and every Chilean should be proud.

You’ve done something amazing and it’s the start of something incredible.  I want to see how the program and Chilean entrepreneurship growns in the next year.  I want to end by thanking my startup friends, Startup Chile and every person who supported the program.  Thank you.

 

15 Comments

  • GuaranteedInterview.com is one of the startups coming to Chile in the next two months. I was reading your blog posts about your experience for months before the application opened and got more excited by the opportunity because of your descriptions. Other countries may be able to pull off a similar program but Chile will be the preeminent one in the same way that Y Combinator is to all the other micro seed investors. It is Chile’s game to lose, and from what I have seen, they have the right vision to make sure that they don’t. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the program and will do everything in my power to see that they win also.

    • Hi Ken, thanks for commenting. I think you’re right, Chile has a great headstart and a current government that gets it. We’ll see what happens.

  • fe de erratas:

    emparedamiento = emprendimiento

    Great article Nate, thanks for publishing here

    • thanks for the edits! glad you liked it. are you going to apply for the next round of startup chile now that i believe chileans can apply?

  • Congrats! This is a great speech. How cool to be able to address the president directly! I am involved with a team that has been selected for Startup Chile, and I am currently debating whether I should uproot my life in Beijing and move to Chile for the project. I studied in Chile for all of 2005, and while I was there I interned with an NGO called Accion Emprendedora. I really appreciate all your blog posts about the program — very informative and inspiring.

    Saludos desde Beijing

Comments are closed.