If you had “start a new company” on your resolution list for 2014, it’s time to get into gear. Not only are there several UCLA Anderson pitch competitions on the way this spring, the first round of applications for Start-Up Chile are due. The accelerator program helps develop startups while inculcating entrepreneurship culture in Chile and is open to ventures worldwide. Selected participants must move to Chile for the duration of the six-month program.
Two UCLA Anderson teams have worked with the incubator thus far. Noah Ornstein (JD/MBA '12) participated while still enrolled at Anderson and launched El Teatro, a theatrical film distribution company. The El Teatro team also included Jesus Martinez ('12), Kerim Onder ('12) and Craig Muhlrad ('13). "We learned a huge amount, and it wasn't anything we could have learned from stateside analysis or a classroom environment," Ornstein said.
Eric Kriegstein ('12) won seed funding for a company called SeatUp, a mobile-auction platform that enabled airlines to auction off premium seats and unused inventory in the final hours before a flight takes off. Kriegstein found support and networking help from Guillermo Tagle ('91), one of the school's 100 Inspirational Alumni, who founded an investment bank in Santiago.
Start-Up Chile has three application rounds per year, with 100 teams selected to participate in each round. Application dates for 2014 are March 4 to March 25 (arrival dates: July 21/August 11), June 2014 and September 2014, with exact dates TBD.
Besides its outstanding alumni, Anderson has a robust footprint in Chile through its Global Executive MBA joint program with Chile’s Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. The 15-month program is designed to provide an insider's view on doing business in the region, and each session offers an intensive classroom-learning experience coupled with guest speakers and visits to local companies, says Bob Pettit, Executive Director of GEMBA for the Americas.
For more on Start-Up Chile and Anderson’s relationship and connections with the nation and its entrepreneurial culture, head to Assets Digital.
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