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Self Made An NASE blog on the self-employed and micro-business 
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What One Government Is Doing To Foster Start Ups: Fund Them (Duh)
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Posted by Sung Yoo - Finding seed money to start up is always a challenging endeavor. After all, if a venture capitalist invests money in a startup, he must be willing to part with it all. But have no fear, it seems like one national government is heeding the challenge, offering a $40,000 subsidy for six months and a temporary one-year visa to attract entrepreneurs to the country. Where is this bastion of generosity, you ask? Look south, even further south than Texas to...Chile.
Created by Chile’s Ministry of Economy, Start-Up Chile, as the program is called, seeks to attract foreign, high-potential entrepreneurs to come to Chile to bootstrap their businesses. Through this program, Chile is aggressively courting entrepreneurs in order to make the Latin American country the entrepreneurial and innovation hub of the region. In 2010, which was the program’s inaugural and pilot year, 23 teams from all over the world participated.
According to Vivek Wadhwa at TechCrunch, Chile’s approach is different than the typical government response.
“Regions all over the world have spent millions – sometimes billions – of dollars trying to create their own Silicon Valley,” Wadhwa said. “They drank the same Kool-Aid and used the same recipe: start with a research university, build a fancy tech park next to it; give tax breaks to chosen companies to locate in the park; attract venture capital by offering matching investments; and watch the magic happen.”
Top-down approaches to entrepreneurship do not work because fostering startups is as much about money as it is about culture.
After a successful 2010 inaugural and pilot year, Start-Up Chile is opening up applications for 2011 from July to August. The Ministry of Economy hopes to fund 100 projects this year. For more information, check out their application.
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Meet the NASE Staff Bloggers 
Kristin Oberlander - In public affairs, my job is to serve as a link between the
association, micro-businesses and the media. When I have down time, I
enjoy drinking large quantities of coffee, contemplating how I will
cram one more pair of (un)needed shoes into my closet and finding
creative ways to remove my dog’s hair from my clothes, car, own hair
and food. My biggest pet peeve is drivers who don’t understand 4-way
stops.
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Katie Vlietstra - As Director of Government Affairs, I work to explain how actions on Capitol Hill can impact the self-employed. I love D.C. and have made my home in Capitol Hill, where I live with my fiancé and black Labrador, Coltrane. We love playing volleyball and softball on the National Mall.
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Molly Nelson - I help out with the NASE’s legislative advocacy, communications, and
public relations. From attending hearings on the Hill to helping select
the cover design for the member magazine, I’ve always got something new
going on. I like practicing yoga, running through different parts of
the city, and I’m an admitted etymology/grammar nerd.
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Kristie Arslan - As President, one of my chief roles is to educate legislators and the media on how key issues such as health care, tax, and the lagging economy affect the self-employed. When I am not speaking out for our members, I spend my time helping my husband with his small business.
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