In the Brazilian ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation, accelerators, companies or institutions that offer infrastructure support, mentoring and investments for the development of startups gain relevance every year.
To talk about the prospects of this business environment, the ABES Portal interviewed André Ghignati, founding partner of WOW, one of the first startup accelerators in southern Brazil. The executive highlights that an aspect that has matured a lot in the Brazilian ecosystem was the participation of the individual investor, “who seeks in the ecosystem, in addition to financial gain, to learn and teach, in a two-way process between entrepreneur and mentor”. Check out our conversation with Ghignati:
In your opinion, has the profile of Brazilian startup entrepreneurs changed in recent years?
The ecosystem as a whole has become more mature. It is no different with entrepreneurs, who in general have already lost some of the naivety of thinking that entrepreneurship is a bed of roses. This is positive.
What are the positives and negatives of the startup ecosystem in Brazil?
As a positive, on the part of the entrepreneur, resilience and the ability to do a lot with little. Access to a national market of 200 million people is also an advantage. As a negative, we still have to face scarce financial capital, labor laws, bureaucracy and the lack of an entrepreneurial culture in universities.
What are the prospects for the startup ecosystem in 2017?
The ecosystem must continue to mature. Corporations are increasingly approaching and betting on startups. Latin America as a whole is attracting more interest from global venture capital funds. I recommend reading the article: Why have some of Silicon Valley's top investors started investing in Latin America?
What other points have changed in this entrepreneurial universe?
Another aspect that has matured a lot was the individual investor, who seeks in the ecosystem, in addition to financial gain, to learn and teach, in a two-way process between entrepreneur and mentor. Today, for example, Wow has 100 investors and has a small waiting list for people interested in participating in the project. These investors are professionals with technical and business knowledge in several areas and markets, which become exceptional support for entrepreneurs.
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