Silicon Valley welcomed 34 Colombian technology developers with open arms

With guided visits and one on one meetings with officers from the most important technology companies in the world, 34 Colombian entrepreneurs visited Silicon Valley in California, where they found that doing business with giants like Google and Facebook is not impossible, but rather likely. 

"Today we visited three companies that hit home runs. As a lesson, the United States' doing business model is far less confusing than ours. Here, everything is straight to the point, which makes it all much easier," explained Jorge Enrique Umaña, Azuan Technologies, a Bogota company that offers endpoint security software. 

Colombians who traveled with support and assistance from PROCOLOMBIA, visited companies like Google, Apple, Cisco, Facebook, Pixar, Making Fun and US Market Center (US-MAC) to see the way they work and find potential clients of projects to participate in.

"The visits were excellent. They helped us focus a little more on what we should do to make the most of the opportunities offered by this country in matters of business," assured René Serrato from Press Start, the video game studio for social networks, headquartered in Bogotá. "We already achieved making good contacts; networking has turned out really well," he added.

Peter Darling, Vice President of the company incubator, US Market Center (US-MAC), gave the Colombians some tips for the time when they are going to compete in the United States market. "First, you have to investigate your market really well, and understand what your clients are like, and which is the technology that is going to be used. Second, you have to understand that to be successful here, you have to be present at Silicon Valley, you have to have the ability to quickly answer U.S. clients, and serve them in their own terms."

He also warned them that "to have a good idea means nothing in Silicon Valley. You communicate everything here because, what matters is how the projects are going to be implemented. You have to take risks and lose the fear of failure. There is no one here who has not rendered a company bankrupt."

Most software, digital animation, video game, online marketing and applications developers for mobile phones; the Colombians also participated at the Business Encounter, organized by PROCOLOMBIA, with 70 North American entrepreneurs.

"Here, you breathe technology business in the air. On the train, you can meet an Engineer from Google, and the on the street you meet another one who works for Apple. So, more than doing business, there is a possibility to make alliances, to get to know and deploy projects together. There is a lot room to go," concluded Hans Christian Boehlke, from the company Celumanía Entretenimiento Celular.