Colombia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is preparing to be the next Silicon Valley of Latin America. Without a doubt, it has the talent, vision and professional ethics to achieve it. The commitment of Colombian entrepreneurs to constant innovation makes the country an undisputed Latin American leader and a clear example that, in the era of digital acceleration and unicorns, providing tools to women will be the key to the development of the region’s orange economy.
During my Masterclass at the Innovation HUB of the National Learning Service (SENA), I had the opportunity to share with entrepreneurs strategies and tactics with which their companies or startups can generate added value to become the most successful on the continent.
“How do you build billion dollar companies?”
This was the central point of my presentation. I conveyed to the attendees the main fundamentals of attracting investment through alternative financing methods at a global level.
Today, we are going through a post-pandemic economy. It will without a doubt impact the world of work throughout the next year. As Chinese culture says, crises bring opportunities together, and technology has become the great equalizer, with it having the greatest impact on people’s lives and on global economies.
The limitations that we had for fear of changing the traditional business model has driven us at this time to cross borders and has opened opportunities for us to pursue new challenges in remote work following the digital transformation we are going through.
Remote Work: From an “exception” to a rule
2021 showed us that remote working was no longer an exception to the rule, but the key rule. What at first seemed a temporary solution showed great results – productivity, profits and simplification. The keys for companies to continue with their businesses and for successful ventures to emerge.
It is fundamental that entrepreneurs know these new business and employability models, which generate low cost and higher performance. They need to understand that technology is the raw material that allows us to permeate a large number of sectors and equalize opportunities, regardless of gender or geographical location.
I had this ideology in mind from the moment I became the first Latin American woman to found a unicorn company – TransparentBusiness – in 2012, when business leaders still did not understand the benefits of remote work and during this year when producing the series of Unicorn Hunters, where we seek to democratize access to capital for entrepreneurs around the world.
The success of “companies of the future” and the inequity in access to capital
The companies that currently have the greatest impact are those that are at the forefront of markets such as fintech, climate tech, data and artificial intelligence, and biotechnology.
However, the lack of equity and access in terms of capital democratization for entrepreneurs and the lack of investment opportunities is what makes the path more difficult, especially for female entrepreneurs.
Only 12% of women are founders or co-founders of a company, highlighting business inequality due to gender.
That is why it is so important for women to bend the rules, without breaking them; and to think big. That’s why I created the global movement Skirt the Rules, a virtual community that seeks to display the entrepreneurial power of women by sharing contacts and valuable content, alliances, events, workshops and essential help when starting a business.
Skirt the Rules: For powerful companies led by women
Skirt the Rules was designed as a space where you can develop the skills of women: effective communication, the power of empathy, and the principle of community. Because women know that what makes a difference is to work with others, and that the more extensive our network is, the more visibility our capacity to raise capital.
In this era of unicorns, it is important that our businesses are thought of in a scalable way with a disruptive and innovative model, using technology as our ally, surrounded by a team of experts focused on generating results and growing our business. In addition, it is essential that women acquire sufficient tools to be able to lead this revolution: we are 50% of the population and it is time for us to have 50% of the opportunities.
