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Aqui niña recordando la infancia con plastilina

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PPG!

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pronounced

InBIA is a global non profit that represents 2,200 entrepreneurship support organizations. With networks extending over 62 countries, we provide education and enable collaboration, mentorship, peer-based learning, and the sharing of innovative ideas for entrepreneurs across the globe. We believe in the collaborative economy and are the largest member-based entrepreneurial support network in the world. For over 30 years, we've provided industry resources, hosted international conferences and leadership summits, as well as expanded our global programs to better assist our members as they strive to nurture the unique entrepreneurs in their communities.

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pronounced InBIA is a global non profit that represents 2,200 entrepreneurship support organizations. With networks extending over 62 countries, we provide education and enable collaboration, mentorship, peer-based learning, and the sharing of innovative ideas for entrepreneurs across the globe. We believe in the collaborative economy and are the largest member-based entrepreneurial support network in the world.

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Incubadora de tecnologia en UFG

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El foco de la Incubadora está centrado en el apoyo de proyectos de creación de empresas orientados al uso intensivo de las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones (TIC), partiendo de la premisa de que para crear estas empresas sólo se necesita conocimiento y talento.

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Creemos en los emprendedores salvadoreños y su alta capacidad de innovación e impacto social. Queremos formar una comunidad de agentes de cambio y de profesionales de alto desempeño para el desarrollo de negocios exitosas, sostenibles y de impacto. Queremos generar el cambio positivo que nuestra sociedad necesita por medio de la conexión de individuos y organizaciones con experiencias y capacidades diversas, unidos hacia el objetivo común de mejorar el nivel de vida en nuestra ciudad y país.

Nuestro objetivo es ofrecer a nuestra comunidad y al ecosistema de emprendedurismo salvadoreño un espacio inspirador y colaborativo donde puedan realizar sus ideas, capacitarse, conectarse con otros negocios y organizaciones y tener acceso a un universo de oportunidades locales e internacionales.

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Creemos en los emprendedores salvadoreños y su alta capacidad de innovación e impacto social. Queremos formar una comunidad de agentes de cambio y de profesionales de alto desempeño para el desarrollo de negocios exitosas, sostenibles y de impacto.

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Obten tu propia oficina desde $45 al mes

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Inicia el 2016 con tu propia oficina: internet - sala de reuniones - cañon - café - agua. Encuentra la tuya desde $45 el mes.

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CIC - More Than Just Office Space | Innovative Coworking Community

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CIC - More Than Just Office Space | Innovative Coworking Community

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Editor's note: Peter Relan is a former programmer and Internet executive, as well as a successful serial entrepreneur, Silicon Valley executive, angel investor, and technology veteran for over 25 years. Relan founded YouWeb Incubator in 2007, spinning out a string of successful mobile and gaming companies.

Incubators are now an industry segment in their own right. Before starting YouWeb Incubator in 2007, I began to explore the idea of an incubator with friends and colleagues. Most people told me that Idealab and CMGI had tried the model in the 1990s and didn't really work out (with the exception of Overture, which spun out of Idealab). CMGI imploded in the dot-com bust.

However, I noticed one model gearing up: Y Combinator by Paul Graham. At least in Silicon Valley, YC was pretty much the only well-known incubator. Today the total number of incubators (broadly defined to include incubators, accelerators, and "seed starter funds") must be in the hundreds, each one slightly different from the other - versus a few years ago, when the space had YC, TechStars, YouWeb, Idealab and a couple of others.

I would like to present the claim that 90 percent of incubators will fail. By " failing," I mean they don't return (or don't exceed) the money that was put into them. On what basis do I make my claim? Well, the hundreds of incubators are really startups, and the oft-cited rule of thumb is that 9 out of 10 startups fail.

Is there any reason why incubators would be different from other startup spaces? Just as we've seen with daily deals, mobile apps and games, it's clear only a few (maybe four or five) will become leaders in the category. The rest will absorb more capital than they can return, shut down, or pivot into something else.

Here's why:
1. Too Many Companies, Too Little Mentorship
Simply having a portfolio of companies and providing access to capital is not enough for most incubators to get off the ground. It's important for inexperienced entrepreneurs to learn the ins and outs of the game. A great idea will fall by the wayside without being properly executed.

Take a recent startup, Goko, for example. They had a great idea and a great, well-publicized launch, only to find two days later that there were serious issues with their product. So mentorship is everything. It's how you build products, sell your products or businesses to big corporations, hire, market, do PR - everything. Time matters. It's crucial that you explain all facets of the business, share war stories and help them - especially when they are on shaky ground.
2. No Clear Funding Path After The "Program"
Mentorship aside, too many companies still go after the same concept. Hundreds of startups innovate in every "white space" available, each one with a different angle or a twist that the founder believes will make their startup come out on top. This convoluted process of differentiation causes many companies to lose sight of the fact that, first and foremost, they need to solve a very compelling problem. Then overcrowding naturally leads to too much capital, which leads to bubbles and busts. Daily deals anyone?

During the incubator program or at demo day, start-ups can expect a flood of funding. However after this initial phase, I see too many companies struggle with continuing the flow of funds.

People who run incubators are often professional fundraisers; it's what they do. The silent crash you are not hearing at the moment is the sea of seed-funded companies that won't find the light of day into a Series A. Why? Not enough traction, a valuation that is too high and too much noise in their particular segment. Many start-ups are just features. They are not products, let alone businesses.
90% Failure Rate And Why This Is Still Great For America And The World
3. Lack Of Business Development Resources

Business development muscle and track record are huge factors for entrepreneurs picking between sources. SV Angel famously creates the partner list of everyone in the Valley, while other early-stage groups appoint business development partners. BD gets you your first client, your next financier and potentially your future acquirer or a good investment banker for an IPO. Incubators with the best exits and IPOs under their belts will have the best shot.

America needs new ideas, and citizens can't expect the government to foster tomorrow's disruption. With diminished funding and donor pools, public institutions can barely scrape by. So private institutions, like MBA programs, are creating their own programs in fear of becoming marginalized by these incubators. Every region and vertical could benefit from a new business acceleration approach.

Incubators have become a pathway to achieve this approach; they give people an opportunity to make their dreams come true. And even if most of these ideas fail, they will still create innovations that can be reflected in the product technology in other spaces.

And incubating companies is cheaper than ever. With lower risks for investors, incubatees can benefit from the network effect of the incubator. One incubator startup's success raises the prospects of others.
If 90% Will Fail, Which Models Will Succeed?
The culture of American innovation has changed rapidly over the past few decades. Being accepted into an incubator is beginning to hold the same weight as being accepted into a university - and like universities, there are different tiers: the Ivy's, private schools, the state schools and all the rest. We are creating a new education system, one where relevant real-world experience has begun to trump degrees. The right program can provide the same connections that accompanied acceptance into the right university 15 years ago.

But why stop at America? The world needs incubation just as much - if not more. In fact, cities with less tech culture could benefit from participation in a group of startups learning and earning together. Whether it's Berlin, Rio or New Delhi, the future of urban development around the world will be impacted by the strength of incubators. We now see successful executives like those from Brazil's mobile content powerhouse Movile going back to incubate tomorrow's disruptors at the 21212 accelerator.

There may be hundreds of incubators, but business models are much harder to come by. Most execute one of a few distinct business models, while some execute hybrid models. Here are a couple of examples of incubator business models that have been good for investors:

One business model that YC executed brilliantly is (as Paul Graham called it) the seed fund model. The thesis of the model is based on a combination of "high-quality filter" and "broad portfolio" approaches. The high-quality filter approach attempts to ensure that the very best minds, teams and ideas get into YC. After their acceptance, they spend three months getting to the next stage. On the other dimension, the broad portfolio approach, statistically, discovers a few breakaway companies, like Airbnb and Dropbox, in order to provide the big returns to investors. YC is funding close to 200 companies this year. So it is reasonable to say that a broad portfolio approach is fundamental to its strategy.

A second business model is the "high-quality tech founder" + "constant pivot" model. I've placed my bets on this model for YouWeb. YouWeb doesn't accept teams, ideas or business plans. We only accept incredible hackers, developers and technologists. Entrepreneurs receive one year of program participation, versus the three months offered at seed starters like YC. The Entrepreneur-in-Residence spends time building a product, launches it and measures traction. If the entrepreneur gets no traction they will pivot to a new idea or space.

This pivot process can continue for up to a year. If the entrepreneur can find traction, we will spin out a company and fund it with $250K. We currently have nine companies but have executed at least 50 ideas. In a different world, they might as well have been 50 different companies. But I find it more efficient to kill ideas rather than companies, so we don't spin a company out without traction. Jason Citron is a good example. He attempted three failed ideas before OpenFeint, the largest mobile social games platform in the world, was acquired by GREE last year.

Let's not forget TechStars, BetaWorks, Obvious and others. They might be executing similar models, defining new ones, or combining models in creative ways. Which models succeed over the long term? Time will tell, but I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

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90% Of Incubators And Accelerators Will Fail And That's Just Fine For America And The World

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Editor's note: Peter Relan is a former programmer and Internet executive, as well as a successful serial entrepreneur, Silicon Valley executive, angel investor, and technology veteran for over 25 years. Relan founded YouWeb Incubator in 2007, spinning out a string of successful mobile and gaming companies.

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Entrepreneurship, Business Incubation, Business Models & Strategy Blog

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"The main purpose of studying the future is to look at what may happen if present trends continue, decide if this is desirable, and, if not, work to change it." Timothy Mack The roots of futures thinking - the imaging in human minds of the future - can be traced back to the beginnings of ...

millionaire households Oxford Economics wealthy households

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Entrepreneurship, Business Incubation, Business Models & Strategy Blog

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"The main purpose of studying the future is to look at what may happen if present trends continue, decide if this is desirable, and, if not, work to change it." Timothy Mack The roots of futures thinking - the imaging in human minds of the future - can be traced back to the beginnings of ...

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Hi, I'm Andrew Henderson. I've spent almost a decade learning the right way (and the wrong way) to "plant flags" for greater freedom and prosperity. If you're tired of paying high taxes and being stuck in one place, this blog will show you to how go where you're treated best. We discuss legal ways to pay less in taxes, create wealth faster, and live a life of total freedom. If that sounds good to you, keep reading or get some help.

Dateline: Tbilisi, Georgia

I've long held the belief that truly adventurous and smart investors should take advantage of the opportunities in the world's last frontier markets in Africa.

Over the past couple decades, many African countries have experienced economic reforms that have made them much more attractive business destinations. For one, Africa is experiencing some of the greatest economic growth in the world. In the early 2000's, African countries delivered 14% yearly returns on investment. And, in the wake of the global financial crisis, 9 of the 15 fastest growing countries in the world are currently in Africa.

The level of growth yet to come is explosive and exciting. As I've said before, getting in now will be one of the wisest investments of this century.

However, many businesses and investors are still relatively unaware of the opportunities in Africa. One reason for this is that it's often difficult to find good information without actually being on the ground in the middle of all the action.

I plan on visiting several African nations later this year, but until then, I am doing my research. I recently interviewed Kathrin Freitag, a German studying International Business in Maastricht, the Netherlands. She is currently in Nyeri, Kenya, laying the groundwork for a new incubator center, "Starters Valley".

Kenya is home to the fastest growing economy in Africa, the largest economy in East Africa, and the third fastest growing economy in the world. It even made it onto our list of the five best countries in Africa to invest in. It is the regional headquarters for virtually all multinational brands in the surrounding region and the capital, Nairobi, is the largest city between Cairo and Johannesburg.

Kenya has a young, highly-educated, English speaking workforce. In response to such promising demographics, Kathi and her business partner Julia have created their incubator center in Nyeri, Kenya to give young innovators and entrepreneurs a place to learn, share experiences and grow as an entrepreneurial community. On their crowdfunding campaign page they explain:

Besides providing them with basic facilities such as co-working spaces, computers and internet, we will give seminars and workshops as well as offer a program they can participate in. The first part of the program takes 3 months where they get taught business basics. In the second phase, which will take 6 months, they can then start their own social business with our help and guidance.

Through this experience, Julia and Kathi have gained important insights into the business atmosphere in Kenya. Read on to learn more about their incubator program and the recommendations Kathi has for anyone looking to start a business in this promising frontier economy.
Andrew: Tell me a little bit about the One Percent Club, how you got involved, and what you're doing with them.
Kathrin: Basically, I was asked by Nando Ngandu - who is the founder of Smile to the Future, a non-profit organization from Maastricht - he asked me to join him for an idea he had to set up an incubator program in Nyeri, Kenya. In order to set up the project there was, of course, some funding required. He was actually the one who suggested to do a crowdfunding campaign.

When I was looking for a different website I had to make a decision, if I was going to go with a German website or a Dutch website. I myself study in Maastricht, Netherlands so it would actually be nice to go with the Dutch website to address as many people as possible. Nando had already done some crowdfunding campaigns with the One Percent Club, so that's why my friend and I basically decided to go with them.

We had the idea to make it a different type of crowdfunding campaign, not just your usual small video and rewards. We wanted to find special rewards for the people who donated, so we set up a system where the people who donate give us a certain task that we have to fulfill. In addition to this task, they also get a promise coin. The promise coin symbolizes the trust we want to develop between the people who donate and us.

We've seen that a lot of people are hesitant to donate to organizations like UNICEF or others as they don't know where the money really goes. So we had a friend of mine design a 3D printed coin, half of it goes to the person who donates and the other half goes to the entrepreneur in Kenya. It's all part of the creative program we are trying to set up here.
Andrew: So it's you and Julia Barth and you're both studying in the Netherlands, and this Incubator project "Starters Valley" is in Kenya. Why did you decide on Kenya? A lot of people go to Barcelona, Ho Chi Minh City or Bangkok, so why Kenya? What brought you there?
Kathrin: My friend Nando Ngandu, as I mentioned before, has a lot of experience with Kenya. He knows the people and has been here for quite a few years. He has the experience around it and we wanted to combine that experience with our business knowledge and our motivation to do something good.

I've personally never been to Africa until now. We thought it would be a good experience for Julia and me to try out this combination of setting up an incubator center in a country where somebody already has experience and we can bring our new perspectives from Europe.

More importantly, 60% of Kenyans are under 24 years old and live in remote communities with poor infrastructure and a focus on agriculture. This prevents the young locals from actually taking on jobs beyond the scope of farming. We would like to give aspiring young locals a place to share their experiences, to learn and to become entrepreneurs through a self-reliant and sustainable incubator center in the heart of Nyeri Town.

So, together with Nando Ngandu's Dutch non-profit organization "Smile To The Future" (which has already set up several projects in Kenya), we can combine our knowledge about the country and passion for entrepreneurship to make this project a great success. That's the reason why we decided on Kenya itself.

Andrew: When you say new perspectives from Europe, obviously different business cultures have different things going on. What are some of the things that you think you can bring from your backgrounds in Western Europe down to Kenya that would help the people starting businesses?
Kathrin: We can especially bring the expertise and the quality of the program. Of course we operate in a completely different way. Like here, marketing is different. The thing is, what we realized when we started working with people here is that they all want to operate on an international level. But the quality of education isn't at the standard that it needs to be to compete on this level.

As Germans we can bring some level of efficiency and punctuality. We try to really prepare the people for the international market. So with the quality of knowledge they receive from the program they can be able to compete in this international environment.
Andrew: It sounds like things aren't as developed in Kenya. Is there a specific example of things you think you could improve? Like marketing, for example, how is marketing more advanced in Europe? What would you want to take to Kenya?
Kathrin: If you're in Kenya and you want to do marketing, you don't do as much social media, for example, like in Europe where everything is done online. It's coming up. You see a lot of development, especially where I'm at here in Nyeri. The development in Nyeri within the past five years has seen their infrastructure increase, people use computers more and internet more.

It's a fast development, but still people do a lot of mouth to mouth marketing. You have to go to the streets, you have to go to churches and to schools to talk to the people. One person knows someone and they know another person. That is how you build up a huge network, but that takes time. I would like to actually introduce them to how to market their stuff online because it's an up and coming trend which they also have to go with - especially if they want to compete in an international environment.

Another thing we can help them with in marketing are their presentation skills. What I've figured out here is that there are some people with really good presentation skills, but they just work with words and their hands and they just stand there and speak. I would like to teach them how to present themselves in a more efficient and better way. After all, if you just talk and talk without visuals behind you, people will very quickly forget what you said.

Little things matter, too. For me, especially, a lot of women don't dare to speak up. It just starts with the volume of the voice. They're so quiet that even if they're right in front of you it's difficult to understand them. So, in terms of marketing, presentation skills are one way to efficiently market as well as do business.
Andrew: Tell me a little about Nyeri. How far is it from Nairobi? What is different about it than Nairobi? Because, obviously, Nairobi is kind of trying to become an African financial center. Talk about the difference between the two cities.
Kathrin: There are two main differences between Nairobi and Nyeri. First of all, Nairobi is the business and financial hub of Kenya and East Africa. It has a higher velocity of money and is more international than Nyeri, attracting many foreign companies and organizations with its business opportunities. However, the capital is very expensive and highly competitive compared to Nyeri.

Second, from a political perspective, Nyeri is regarded as very peaceful, as the population mostly focusses on their own business rather than participating in political revolts, being afraid that such actions might affect their properties and businesses. This mindset is typical for the local people, most of them being "Kikuyu" (Kenyan tribe). They mind their own business and are very hard-working entrepreneurs, always looking for business potential. In contrast, Nairobi's population is split into various tribes and, in times of political campaigning, those tribe rivalries turn the city into a very dangerous place to be.

Now that there are streets, the connecting road from Nairobi to Nyeri is over 100 kilometers. It takes about 3 hours to go from Nairobi to Nyeri, but of course they don't drive as fast as we do in Germany, so it would probably take us about 1.5 hours.

Slowly but surely, the trend is that Nyeri will be more and more developed. People will come and move into town and infrastructure will get better. It's expected to grow a lot in the next 15 years.
Andrew: What do you see in Kenya in terms of growth? Among African countries, Kenya's one of the few that's doing some of the right things. Tell me about some of the rapid growth you're seeing and where you think things will be in ten years as a result.
Kathrin: Around 5 years ago, Nyeri's infrastructure lacked basic facilities such as proper roads, electricity, water and internet. In addition, industries such as business and leisure tourism, agriculture and trading have boomed, leading many national and international companies to open up their offices in the city.

Nyeri has also developed to be a center of education - second place after Nairobi - offering great academic programs by the best universities in the country. Because of the safe environment and rise in job opportunities, the population of Nyeri will increase as well as its middle income class having more income surplus to spend. Living standards will also improve. Even though living expenses might rise slightly, in comparison to Mombassa and Nairobi it will still be cheaper to live in Nyeri.

Concerning the infrastructure, the government plans to market Nyeri as the most central point between Isiolo and Nairobi, extending railway, pipeline and the roads passing through Nyeri, turning the city into a business hub. Furthermore, the private airport close to Nyeri will be expanded for transportation of agricultural products and domestic travelers.

Andrew: Do you think that most of the growth with the people in your incubator will involve infrastructure projects? That's mostly what you see in developing world countries, like in Africa, where most of the businesses are figuring out, as you said, health care, transportation, stuff like that. Do you think that's what it is, or are there other businesses outside of that?
Kathrin: Actually, with the incubator center, our goal was to find and help people who want to start a social business. But we figured out that the people here are interested in smaller scale businesses for now. We also have people who already have a business - for example a hotel - and they want to make that business grow.

Alos, people in Nyeri are risk takers who invest rather heavily in long-term projects such as real estate (second country in the world) and agriculture activities like coffee, tea and crops.

For now, we have to start by taking in as many people as we can to create a network. I don't think that for now it will be on the social part. We try to promote social responsibility, but so far people are more interested in setting up a guest house or a small shop. A lot of them don't think internationally, but we're going to try and get this incubator program on a different scale.
Andrew: What experience have you seen with the Kenyan government and the local government in terms of wanting to help, or not being helpful or anything in that regard?
Kathrin: We actually met with the minister of education this week and she was very interested in the project and its program. She considers funding the project to enable more locals to participate. We will have another meeting this week to discuss this matter further, as well other ways of support.

It is good to see that they are interested in helping and see some value to the project. However, if we had just gone to them and said that it's a good thing for them, I don't think they would have bought it. We offered to train their youth so that they could see that it's not just about them giving us money.

Also, if you work with the government you need to make sure that you offer the program to the people who are interested and who are ready to develop and grow. In our situation, we needed to involve their youth and community. What I was told is that the government gives money, but what happened in the past was that a lot of the students used the grant money, but nothing came of it. The students didn't attain the required skills, so we want to make sure that, with the government's help, this doesn't happen again.

We have to prove that our money is very well put into the program to actually let the students gain skills and be able to contribute to Kenya at a later stage when the growth and money from their business is circulating.
Andrew: So they should be interested that you're trying to create jobs.
Kathrin: Exactly. I think partly because of their bad experiences, they're very cautious about just giving out money. But they've seen that we really want to do good. If the money has some affect in the end, it seems they are more willing to give some money.
Andrew: Besides money, have you found the government to be cooperative and wanting to work with you and wanting to see what you're doing? Or have you found it to be that they don't like foreigners
Kathrin: They wanted to see what we're doing. A co-worker of mine had the first chat with the ministry and he was very interested in terms of "Oh, it sounds good." But here in Kenya they'll often say that it's good, but it takes a long time to get results. You have to push for it. It's not that they called us to ask more about what we're doing, we had to push for it.
Andrew: Would you say that it's a pretty bureaucratic country?
Kathrin: While being centralized in Nairobi, the country was very bureaucratic and it took a long time to get certain documents or permissions. People had to go through a lot of governmental procedures. However, after the decentralization in 2013, those processes take less time as counties have the authority to govern themselves to a certain extent, involving less bureaucracy.

In addition, most of the procedures are also digitalized which accelerates registration processes and or receipt of documents even more. If I draw the comparison to Germany, which is a very bureaucratic country, Kenya has a strict regulatory framework and policies to maintain control. However, it has been very easy to speed up every process so far by simply having a good chat with the people, whereas in Germany, that is not likely to happen.
Andrew: What would be your recommendation to somebody who's interested in starting a business in Kenya? Is there something that they should do first? Should they hire someone locally to help them
Kathrin: I would definitely recommend Kenya as a place to do business. It has a lot of resources and a lot of potential, so if somebody wants to start a business here, especially from outside, I would recommend it.

In 2010, the government decided to implement a modernization of the constitution leading to a decentralization of the government which took place in 2013. Thus, before 2013, if a Kenyan needed to deal with some governmental issues, he or she had to go all the way to Nairobi. Nowadays, political and financial power is decentralized to several counties, which speeds up a lot of processes such as setting up a business.

Nyeri is increasingly considered (and advertised by the government) to be the center of the Republic, not only because of its central location, but also its political importance and its rapid economic development. Because of that, Nyeri people are very keen to do business with foreigners and accept nearly every investor as long as they know that he or she is competent, making it very easy to create a large business network.

However, if you come from outside, you'll definitely have a few conflicts. If you're just somebody from Europe, you'll get a lot of attention because you are a Mzungu (Kiswahili for all white people) and people are willing to hear you, but you have to network. It's always important to have someone here in the country who knows people and who knows how business is done here because it's completely different.

I think it is always wise to be assisted by a local as they know norms, values and how people do business in the country of choice. Their assistance in governmental issues and finances will be especially helpful. As I mentioned, in a lot of occasions foreigners receive special treatment in Kenya, from service in restaurants to the government. In fact, the government puts high priority on any foreigner, no matter if they come from Europe or the neighboring country of Tanzania. Even so, in certain areas a local can help prevent you from paying "Mzungu" prices, which can easily be double the amount a local would pay.

When I came here I was overwhelmed with how we would deal with the differences. You should definitely plan a lot of time. You can't say this is a deadline and this is when things will be done. No. Two weeks later, probably, things are done if you push for it. If you don't push for it, it will probably take longer. So be sure that you get someone, but also be sure that you have someone who's reliable.

It's something that you need to build up, so just coming here and setting up a business doesn't work. You need to probably come here for yourself for a while. Get to know people, get to know maybe some politicians as well, people who have some kind of power to get you the right people to help you out. If you create a network here, you should be good to go.

On a lighter note, the weather in Nyeri is very similar to the one in central Europe, which I guess might brighten some investors' mood as they do not have to deal with the unbearable prevailing heat in the other parts of the country.
Andrew: Can you meet politicians and people like that pretty easily?
Kathrin: Yes. I was talking today with the director of the college and he's a politician himself. He was with the president a couple of weeks ago and he said that if you're a Muzungu you would easily be able to go and see the president. That's what he told me. I have not seen the president myself, but it's just as an exaggeration that shows that it's easier if you're white.

The way people treat you on the street, they always treat you as if you were something special. You always get special treatment, although it's not necessary. But they know that you bring the money to the country. Even if it's just a small shop owner, they need the money. Or if it's a politician at the ministry, they know that with your business you will bring money, so they are willing to help you.
Andrew: Do you feel pretty safe there?
Kathrin: Yeah. During the day I could walk around here alone. Not in Nairobi though. If you're just a group of girls, walking around in Nairobi can be very dangerous. Here in Nyeri I don't think it's dangerous, but I wouldn't push it in that sense. During the day we walk together, during the night we take a cab or something like that.
Andrew: When will your incubator be opening and what do you expect to happen in this first year?
Kathrin: According to our plans, it should have actually started. However, we realized quickly that things take much longer here than we expected. We have a co-worker who's been here for two months already and we first had to figure out the market situation and then we realized the program was a bit too expensive and that's when we started trying to get government funding.

The volatile nature of the project let us encounter quite a few difficulties and delays from the beginning, which makes it quite difficult to predict the future of the project. However, in one year's time, we want the project to be self-reliant and well-known in the area for its great academic program - which, by then, should have already helped a lot of participants to have successfully set up their business during a period of 10 months.

Furthermore, with additional funding from various sources we would like to move from our current location at Dexter International College to our own building. We will provide additional facilities such as co-working spaces, internet and rooms for seminars and other activities, creating an innovative and inspiring hub for an aspiring entrepreneurial community full of ideas and willpower to conquer the business world.

We'll hopefully start with the program itself in the next month. We have the program outlined and we are about to hire more teachers. We think it's realistic to get 60 students for the first program and then we'll see where we go from there.
Andrew: Will everyone you're working with be local and from Kenya?
Kathrin: Mostly yes. We work together here with Dexter International College and the director of the college will also partly oversea the operations of the incubator program. In addition, we are now about to hire one of the teachers here from the business department and he will be at the head of the incubator program. We also want to start training the teachers here and we will have a guideline that will ensure a certain quality standard.

From the organization Smile to the Future we will bring volunteers to Kenya. We want to bring as many as possible. We'll also be working next week on making the stay for the volunteers cheap so we have a house where they can stay. But, by getting as many volunteers as possible, there will be people who can work from here to keep the project going. But we also try to maintain the local people because they are the ones who will keep on working on the project.
Andrew: Is there a website?
Blog: http://kathrintfreitag.wixsite.com/startersvalleykenya

Campaign: https://onepercentclub.com/en/projects/starters-valley-kenya/plan

Partner: Smile to the Future

Latest posts by Andrew Henderson (see all)

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How to start a business incubator in Kenya's frontier market

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Hi, I'm Andrew Henderson. I've spent almost a decade learning the right way (and the wrong way) to "plant flags" for greater freedom and prosperity. If you're tired of paying high taxes and being stuck in one place, this blog will show you to how go where you're treated best.

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Image: iStockphoto/Rawpixel

Startup founders looking to start off on the right foot often turn to a startup accelerator or startup incubator for help.

The terms "accelerator" and "incubator" are often assumed to represent the same concept. However, there are a few key distinctions that first-time founders should be aware of if they are planning on signing up.

Accelerators and incubators both offer entrepreneurs good opportunities early on. Founders get help to quickly grow their business and they often better their chances of attracting a top VC firm to invest in their startup at a later point. Still, the programs are different frameworks for startup success.

Let's start by breaking down the goals of each of these types of programs. Accelerators "accelerate" growth of an existing company, while incubators "incubate" disruptive ideas with the hope of building out a business model and company. So, accelerators focus on scaling a business while incubators are often more focused on innovation.

Accelerators

One of the big difference is in how the individual programs are structured. Accelerators programs usually have a set timeframe in which individual companies spend anywhere from a few weeks to a few months working with a group of mentors to build out their business and avoid problems along the way. Y Combinator, Techstars, and the Brandery are some of the most well-known accelerators.

Accelerators start with an application process, but the top programs are typically very selective. Y Combinator accepts about 2% of the applications it receives and Techstars has to fill its 10 spots from around 1,000 applications.

Companies are given a small seed investment, and access to a large mentor network, in exchange for a small amount of equity. The mentor network, typically composed of startup executives and outside investors, is often the biggest value for prospective companies.

The mentor networks aren't small, either. According to Troy Henikoff, managing director of Techstars Chicago, last year's program had 153 mentors.

Aaron Harris, a partner at Y Combinator, said he's not sure that accelerators necessarily work as a whole, but Y Combinator's success is due to the way it approached incentives.

"A lot of that success comes back to the alignment of incentives," Harris said. "Good programs completely align all parties - at YC all the partners who advise the companies have a stake in their success. We also do as much as we can to limit distractions. We don't schedule unnecessary meetings, don't force them to work in a big loud coworking space, etc."

At the end of an accelerator program, you're likely to see all the startups from a particular cohort pitch at some sort of demonstration day attended by investors and media. At this point, the business has hopefully been further developed and vetted.

"The goal of the accelerator is to help a startup do roughly two years of business building in just a few months," said Mike Bott, general manager of the Brandery. "If you go through a good one, you'll know at the end where your startup founding team and business stand."

Incubators

Startup incubators begin with companies that may be earlier in the process and they do not operate on a set schedule. If an accelerator is a greenhouse for young plants to get the optimal conditions to grow, an incubator matches quality seeds with the best soil for sprouting and growth.

While there are some independent incubators, they can also be sponsored or run by VC firms, government entities, and major corporations, among others. Some incubators have an application process, but others only work with companies and ideas that they come in contact with through trusted partners. A good example of an incubator is Idealab.

Depending on the sponsoring party, an incubator can be focused on a specific market or vertical. For example, an incubator sponsored by a hospital may only be looking for health technology startups.

In most cases, startups accepted into incubator programs relocate to a specific geographic area to work with other companies in the incubator. A typical incubator has shared space in a coworking environment, a month-to-month lease program, and some connection to the local community.

Coworking is a big part of the incubator experience and has been split off as its own separate business offering around country, with coworking spaces charging rent for access to utilities. Some accelerators offer a coworking space, but most provide companies with private office space or let them find it on their own.

"If you need private space, most incubators are open seating, and this can be distracting for larger teams," Henikoff said. "The economics are usually on a per-seat basis, which is great for the first few people, but at a certain point it may be less expensive to get your own office."

Both incubators and accelerators offer a great opportunity to help young companies and ideas for startups get headed in the right direction, but it's up to you where you need to start.

Also see

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Accelerators vs. incubators: What startups need to know - TechRepublic

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Startup founders looking to start off on the right foot often turn to a startup accelerator or startup incubator for help. The terms "accelerator" and "incubator" are often assumed to represent the same concept. However, there are a few key distinctions that first-time founders should be aware of if they are planning on signing up.

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Las incubadoras son excelentes herramientas para impulsar el nacimiento de empresas, pues proporcionan la asistencia necesaria para crecer. Conoce cómo funcionan y aprovéchalas para emprender.

Cuando se realiza un plan de negocios no basta tener una idea; es necesario estructurarla y gestar un plan que proyecte el desarrollo y la ejecución del emprendimiento. Sin embargo, esta tarea es muy compleja, lo que ocasiona que muchos emprendedores novatos se hundan en el intento.

Pero no es motivo para alarmarse; para los más inexpertos (o para todos los emprendedores) existe una alternativa alentadora: las incubadoras de negocios, una herramienta fundamental para impulsar el nacimiento de nuevas empresas y cuyo uso ya se ha popularizado en muchas partes del mundo.

Estos centros se encargan de evaluar la viabilidad técnica, financiera y de mercado de un plan, proporcionar servicios de asesoría legal, desarrollar los planes de mercadotecnia y ventas e incluso, aportar un espacio físico, equipo, logística y acceso a financiamiento y capital semilla.

La asistencia que una incubadora proporciona atraviesa por tres etapas. En primer lugar está la preincubación, durante la cual se brinda al emprendedor una orientación para el desarrollo de su empresa. Después viene la incubación, el tiempo en que se revisa y da seguimiento a la implantación, operación y desarrollo del negocio y todos los procesos. Por último, la postincubación se aplica después de haber puesto en marcha el negocio, con el fin de mejorarlo continuamente.

Éste es el proceso a seguir para acceder a un plan de asistencia de una incubadora:

1. Concebir y plasmar en papel una idea de negocios.

2. Acudir a una incubadora.

3. Entrevistarse con el representante de la misma.

4. Clarificar la idea conforme a la entrevista.

5. Elaborar un resumen de objetivos y las características de la futura empresa.

6. Proceso de retroalimentación entre el empresario y el asesor para delinear el plan de negocios (este proceso tarda de una a dos semanas).

7. Evaluación ante un comité de selección de proyectos.

8. Análisis del proyecto por el comité.

9. Si el proyecto se aprueba, ingresa a un proceso de incubación. Si el proyecto se rechaza se sugieren adecuaciones y se regresa a la elaboración del resumen.

10. En el proceso de incubación se recibe asesoría en aspectos administrativos, legales, contables, financieros, de diseño e imagen, estrategias de mercado y comercialización. En caso de contemplar la exportación de productos, la incubadora también proporciona orientación en aspectos de comercio internacional.

11. Al concluir el plan de negocio, por lo general la empresa comienza operaciones y recibe asesoría por 12 meses más.

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¿Cómo trabaja una incubadora de negocios?

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Las incubadoras son excelentes herramientas para impulsar el nacimiento de empresas, pues proporcionan la asistencia necesaria para crecer. Conoce cómo funcionan y aprovéchalas para emprender. Cuando se realiza un plan de negocios no basta tener una idea; es necesario estructurarla y gestar un plan que proyecte el desarrollo y la ejecución del emprendimiento.

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Jennifer y vos que opinas pues?

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Inventando y desinventando...

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With thousands of new coworking spaces are opening every year, it's clear there's no shortage of demand for new kinds of shared spaces. Building a thriving coworking space, however, is no simple task. To get there, you'll need to lay a strong foundation from the beginning. A few tips for you as you size up your project:

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This guest post is written by Tony Bacigalupo who started New Work City, one of the first coworking spaces in New York. Today, he helps people build better coworking communities at New Work Cities.
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1 - Gather interest early.

Before you're even committed to your project, you can hold preliminary interest meetings to get a sense of who's out there and what their needs are. At this point, it's really easy to adjust your plans, so take in as much info as you can!

Once you start paying rent on a space, the burden of rent will hang over your head for the duration. Remove as much pressure from yourself as you can by taking the time to find and entice people who will become members after you open.

2 - Aim for small wins.

Organize pop-up coworking events, or find people who will work with you to do so. When picking a space, err on the side of smaller spaces-if you fill up the space quickly, you can use that to justify raising support for a larger space.

Build on the success of each of your incremental efforts, from informal gatherings to more formal interest meetings and regular pop-up coworking events and beyond.

3 - Pick and pursue a sustainable business model.

There are a number of proven sustainable business models for coworking spaces now, so you shouldn't have to wing it. Feel free to mix and match from the following:

a - Coworking + offices
This is perhaps the most popular option. Private office spaces are proven profit centers. Offering them in a space that also is home to a vibrant community of coworkers makes them that much more enticing!

b - Coworking + events & educational programming
Planning to host a robust calendar of events offers double benefits: it gives you another revenue stream while also providing a natural pipeline of new potential members coming into your space.

You have lots of options here: You can produce your own programs or work with external content providers.You can charge for programming, or find sponsors to cover the costs.You can focus on technical, design, and entrepreneurship skills, or create an open-ended offering.You can focus on evenings and weekends, or have continuous programming throughout the week.

c - Coworking + consultancy
One of the most proven sustainable models for small-scale coworking, this model takes advantage of the symbiotic relationship between a consultancy and a coworking community.

There are two big advantages to this approach. For one, you're spreading out risk between two businesses-so long as one is performing well, it can make up for slow times in the other.

Secondly, the coworking space can provide a nice pipeline of talent and projects for the consultancy, while the consultancy can provide nice work opportunities for the members. Everyone wins!

If you don't have a consultancy yourself, you could partner with an existing one that might be looking to upgrade its space.

Some options: web development firm, design firm, advertising or marketing firm, small product company

d- Coworking inside an under-utilized space
A more recent trend in coworking is one in which spaces that often sit empty are repurposed into coworking space during business hours.

To keep costs down and get a lightweight offering off the ground quickly, consider partnering with a local restaurant or church!

e- Coworking in partnership with the city
The positive economic impact of a successful coworking space on its community is incredible. Consider aligning your project with the goals set fort h by the various departments and groups in your city, where there may be unique opportunities to access capital, publicity, and space.

The most important thing is that you do have a long-term sustainable model in mind. If you don't choose any of these routes, then keep in ind that you'll eventually have to address the issue of sustainability-or you can expect to eventually close.

4 - Recruit lots of help.

Don't try to do everything yourself! If you've got other people bought into the idea, empower and encourage them to help you tackle the countless things you'll need to do.

Invite these collaborators to help produce event programming, provide feedback on your brand, floor plans, furniture, and choice of location, get help building your web site and materials... anything that can possibly be delegated!
Doing this not only makes your life easier, it invites others to get emotionally invested in the project. The more people see that your space is the result of a collective effort, the more enticing it will be!

5 - Be human.

Coworking spaces are special because they break down the barriers to connecting between people of different backgrounds and disciplines.

Use a personable, positive and human voice in your correspondence and your interactions. Show people what it's like to work together in a way that's more collaborative and mutually respectful than what some of them might be used to.
And, most importantly...

6 - Organize fun gatherings.

People form strong bonds when they do fun things together. Organize happy hours, celebrations of major milestones, dinner parties, BBQs, game nights, anything that can spark joy between the people who will make your community special.

These moments are the ones that people will remember and tell others about. By applying these suggestions and the general mindset behind them, you'll be building not just a nice shared workspace but a truly transformative and memorable community. That community will provide you and those who are a part of it much increased productivity, happiness, and friendship for years to come.

Coworking is a movement that's changing our relationship between each other and our work. Thanks for being a part of it!

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Tony Bacigalupo helps people build better coworking communities at New Work Cities, which offers a membership that includes a toolkit of 50+ templates, worksheets, and other resources, as well as online group coaching and discussion forums. You can get a free coworking space starter kit here.

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If you're interested in starting a coworking space, the task ahead of you can be intimidating: from raising the capital to determining the business model to figuring out how to stand out amidst growing competition, there's no shortage of challenges. This guide will give you some critical things to keep in mind s you size up your project.

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#2Fit #TeamCaipiriñas #Brazil

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Mañana de goma al trabajo!

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Star Wars en ISEADE

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Creo que esta sera la ultima sentada fumada...

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Corporate employee mobility is such a hot topic these days, but we see a gap between understanding the rapidly evolving workplace trends and knowing how to act on them. If you're IBM, you may just jump into a WeWork building and ring the bell to get your teams into a turn-key, shared space. If you're...

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GLOBAL WORKSPACE ASSOCIATIONSHARED WORKSPACE RESOURCES AND NETWORKS FOR SEASONED INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS Learn More 1 JOIN US IN MIAMI SEPTEMBER 11-13, 2017 GWA is taking its annual Shared Workspace Conference to Miami's South Beach this year. Join us for 3 days of leading-edge resources, collaborative innovation, and effortless networking in one of America's most diverse and...

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Ultimo dia de clases!!! Bye bye maestria!!

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Ultimo dia de clases!!! Bye bye maestria!!