Second Week of Socialatom Ventures
Ok. Week two is “in the can” and things continue to progress. Some of the startups are intensely working on improving their product, some are mainly focused on customer acquisition and others are still working on their general value proposition. Last week, during out Wednesday 10pm progress meeting, we got a visit from an active early stage investor from Mexico called Sergio Romo of Investomex. Also in the room was Francisco Solsona who is one of Google‘s Developer Relations mangers for the region as well as Andres and David Cifuentes from eForcers, a strong local Google apps partner. Note: Andres Cifuentes was one of the graduates from the first semester of the Founder Institute in Colombia.
On Friday, the whole group was able to hold a great video conference session with an experienced Venture Capital investor in New York. Several of them were able to get some interesting insights into the mind of an investor when hearing their individual pitches. Others were able to ask general questions such as the importance of incorporating their company in the US. Other mentors such as the talented Sergio Martinez of Vulcan Estudios were able to talk with some of the startups about their user experience and how to improve it.
Several of the startups have been making great use of the incredible work space we have set up here at Socialatom Ventures. Aside from the physical space, this gives them a chance to talk with each other as well as with mentors and any other visitor that comes to check us out. Also, they can have a quick chat with Andres or myself and interact in a bit more relaxed format. The rest of the Socialatom team has been instrumental in making things run smoothly. This includes Felipe Betancourt and Karen Acosta.
There’s a lot to be done before our trip to New York City. The founders will be meeting with mentors and investors and will also get to experience the NYC startup scene. There’s a lot to be said for the vibe you can get from a particular startup ecosystem. I’ve personally lived and traveled quite a bit to Silicon Valley. Nonetheless, many years ago, when I was a young man (many, many years ago) one of my first jobs was an Electrical Engineer for a defense contractor in New Jersey and I absolutely loved getting into “the city” and walking around Manhattan. The vibe then was absolutely electric.
Finally, on Thursday, we had an excellent session with all of the startups and Product Mentor, Federico Ortega. It’s tough to find someone as passionate about digital products and about what goes into making them as Federico. Not to mention the incredible experience he has on the subject having worked for El Tiempo, Zemoga and, now, VivaReal. The session was an extremely interactive one with a barrage of questions and anecdotes about prior experiences.