At Piloto 151 and Codetrotters we have a pulse on the tech talent pipeline on the Island and we’re at the epicenter of the local tech scene. We’ve placed dozens of highly talented tech doers both on and off the Island. Along the way we have gathered the following tips for employers that guarantee they are able to find the very best tech talent.
En entrevista con Gabriela Frías de CNN en Español, Sofia Stolberg habla sobre el trabajo de Piloto 151 en la comunidad empresarial, haciendo hincapié al apoyo brindado a empresarios. “Nosotros como comunidad empresarial queremos que siempre se le dé mucho apoyo a empresarios que tienen un alto potencial de crecimiento. Sabemos que los empresarios de alto impacto son aquellos que verdaderamente aportan al desarrollo económico más que ningún otro.” La oferta de Piloto 151 incluye espacios de ‘coworking’ y oficinas virtuales (virtual offices) para empresas de innovación. Además, apoya al ecosistema con eventos, adiestramientos y cursos en programación mediante Codetrotters Academy.
“Hemos visto muchísimas más organizaciones de apoyo empresarial, hemos visto también que muchas personas, a pesar de que sí ha habido un éxodo de puertorriqueños al exterior, han vuelto a Puerto Rico a decir presente, a emprender, a lanzar y crecer sus empresas desde aquí,” resalta Sofia.
Se resalta en la entrevista el crecimiento en organizaciones de apoyo empresarial y además, la oportunidad creada por los extranjeros que han venido a Puerto Rico aprovechando los incentivos de Ley 20/22. Piloto 151 tiene una oferta de “soft-landing services” dirigida a individuos y empresas interesados en el “Puerto Rico Act 20 / 22”.
Al preguntar sobre la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal, se menciona que Piloto 151 junto con otras organizaciones como Include Girls, San Juan Tech Meetup y Puerto Rico Tech Summit presentaron propuestas para atender los problemas de Puerto Rico. Se resalta en particular el tema de los estados financieros y cómo lograr estados financieros en tiempo real en Puerto Rico.
La Compañía de Comercio y Exportación a través de su programa PRO TECH y un panel de inversionistas (angel investors) traídos de Nueva York para este fin, seleccionó a cinco startups puertorriqueñas en el “PRO TECH Startup Showcase” para llevarlas a South by Southwest (SXSW), el más importante evento de innovación tecnológica que se llevará a cabo en Austin, Texas en marzo del 2016. Este evento se celebró dentro del marco del H3 Tech Conference el pasado fin de semana.
Así lo anunció hoy el director ejecutivo de la Compañía de Comercio y Exportación (CCE), el licenciado Francisco Chévere. “Esta es la primera vez que se trae a Puerto Rico un grupo de nueve inversionistas ángeles principalmente de Nueva York, con el fin de que vean las presentaciones de startups tecnológicas en etapas iniciales de crecimiento. Los emprendedores finalistas les presentaron sus ideas de negocio, fueron evaluadas por los inversionistas y les brindaron experimentada asesoría” indicó el licenciado Chévere.
El director ejecutivo puntualizó explicando que “PRO-TECH es un programa creativo e innovador subvencionado en parte con una asignación de fondos federales del U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) bajo el programa Federal and State Technology Partnership Program (FAST). Con este programa buscamos incrementar el potencial de subsistencia de este tipo de empresas, proveerles potencial acceso a capital, capacitación técnica y oportunidades a nivel internacional para promover y comercializar sus productos y servicios, apostando al desarrollo económico de la isla y fortaleciendo las alianzas con la comunidad tecnológica y empresarial de Puerto Rico”.
Los ganadores de la competencia fueron: Campodata, Celero Health Solutions, Digital Media Creations, Space Rhino Games y Tix.By. South by Southwest (SXSW) es un reconocido evento a nivel mundial donde se presentan los últimos desarrollos en innovación, tecnología, música y cinematografía. Al evento viajan inversionistas y miembros de la comunidad tecnológica mundial, con alrededor de 65,000 asistentes de diferentes países.
Los ganadores a su vez recibirán una aportación de $8,000 cada una de capital semilla a ser aportado por la CCE, diseño de la estrategia de medios sociales y del exhibidor en SXSW a ser brindado por la Universidad de Sagrado Corazón, guías y asesoría legal de la firma Ferraiuoli y espacio de oficina compartido por seis meses en el Fideicomiso de Ciencia, Tecnología e Investigación de Puerto Rico.
Como parte de la creación de alianzas que distingue a la CCE, y previo a la competencia final se realizó un seminario para los finalistas sobre cómo presentar ante inversionistas, con el apoyo de Piloto 151 y Founder Institute, junto a un recurso del Angel Resource Institute traído por la CCE para este fin, al igual que dos sesiones de mentoría donde los finalistas pudieron practicar sus presentaciones en coordinación con mentores coordinados por el Grupo Guayacán.
Published originally by El Nuevo Día
El Fideicomiso de Ciencia y Tecnología se unió a Piloto 151 para ofrecer becas a personas que quieran estudiar programación de computadoras en la recién creada Codetrotters Academy.
La entidad ofrecerá su primer curso en junio, y el mismo comenzará con las destrezas básicas de diseño para internet. A partir de ahí, el currículo continuará avanzando en diferentes lenguajes y técnicas de programación, incluso para plataformas móviles.
Para la principal oficial ejecutiva del Fideicomiso de Ciencia, Lucy Crespo, la alianza le permite a la organización atender una necesidad que habían identificado para que Puerto Rico pueda ser competitivo en la economía del conocimiento.
Sofía Stolberg, cofundadora de Piloto 151, explicó que Codetrotters Academy es “la primera escuela de hackers” en Puerto Rico, y se dedicará a ofrecer cursos de programación, que permitan a los alumnos acceder a empleos bien remunerados en la industria de tecnología.
“La meta de la academia es que todo el mundo en Puerto Rico aprenda a programar”, enfatizó Stolberg.
Las solicitudes de asistencia económica para Codetrotters Academy serán evaluadas por un comité, que tomará en consideración elementos de necesidad, mérito y compromiso de los candidatos. Stolberg añadió que también contarán con financiamiento para quienes no cualifiquen para las becas.
Crespo, por su parte, destacó que la academia de “hackers” representa una oportunidad, no solo para estudiantes jóvenes, sino también para profesionales que deseen hacer un cambio de carrera. Stolberg resaltó que, como parte de la misión de Codetrotters Academy, servirá de plataforma para colocación de empleos en empresas locales e internacionales, que necesitan recursos con destrezas de programación. Asimismo, la emprendedora confía en que algunos de los egresados también se conviertan en fundadores de startups, aprovechando otros programas disponibles en Piloto 151.
Para información y registro puede visitar su página web o escribir ainfo@piloto151.com.
Published originally by EL Nuevo Día
A medida que los cambios en el mundo de la tecnología han incrementado su paso, ha aumentado la necesidad por parte de las empresas de emplear personal especializado en las ciencias de computadoras. Solo en Estados Unidos la demanda por programadores superó el millón de puestos de trabajo, lo que representa una gran oportunidad para personas en busca de insertarse en el mercado laboral.
“Todas las empresas del mundo están buscando gente que tenga un conocimiento mínimo en tecnología”, comentó Sofía Stolberg, co-fundadora de Piloto 151, espacio colaborativo con un enfoque en la tecnología y quien tiene previsto lanzar una escuela para “hackers” denominada como “Codetrotters Academy”.
Aunque para muchas personas el término “hacker” tiene una connotación negativa, la realidad es que el mismo es empleado para describir a una persona facultada de conocimientos técnicos para resolver un problema.
“La palabra hacker ha sido retomada nuevamente por la comunidad de programadores para convertirla en algo positivo, y lo que estamos haciendo en Piloto 151 es brindar el apoyo para que más personas empiecen a hablar el lenguaje del futuro y las oportunidades”, agregó la empresaria.
http://www.bumbia.com/elnuevodia/piloto151anunciaprimeraescuelaparahackersenpuertorico-166863.html
El anuncio del establecimiento de “Codetrotters Academy” fue realizado durante la celebración del TechSummit 2015 en respuesta a la apremiante necesidad que existe en Puerto Rico de mejorar la oferta laboral existente.
Para participar de la iniciativa, las personas interesadas pueden visitar la página codetrotters.com para encontrar más información sobre el proyecto y llevar a cabo el proceso de inscripción. Por el momento, la edad mínima para participar es de 16 años, pero próximamente Stolberg y su equipo de trabajo tiene previsto el lanzamiento de nuevos talleres para estudiantes de temprana edad.
El proceso educativo consta de una serie de cursos a lo largo de un periodo de 12 semanas. Una vez completados, la empresa se compromete a brindar la ayuda necesaria para conseguir empleos e insertarse en el ámbito tecnológico.
The Third Annual Tech Summit Puerto Rico brought together high ranking government officials and technology leaders to a host of different players in government and technology to push the boundaries of government redesign and transformation. Leading this dialogue were international key players such as Tim O’Reilly, founder of O’Reilly Media, and Jennifer Pahlka, founder of Code for America.
Yet what was evident in the summit was the wealth of local initiatives that will transform our government through technological initiatives, and ultimately grow the start and tech ecosystem in Puerto Rico. We are incredibly proud and honored to call one of those leaders in the local community our very own Sofía Stolberg, co-founder of Piloto 151 and Piloto Labs.
What is Piloto Labs?
Piloto Labs is a recently launched community based organization that consolidates all of the grass roots organizations and movements in the startup and tech ecosystem in Puerto Rico in an effort to double down on their impact and create innovate programs, events, and activities that continue to foster a more robust ecosystem.
The Strategy behind the Magic
Piloto Labs strives to serve as a Hub for the startup, tech and creative community, co-launching and creating dozens of events to motivate potential entrepreneurs and students. It creates networking & growth opportunities for investors, mentors, support organizations, students, hackers, and entrepreneurs at different stages and from different walks of life. Dozens of events and speaker series are hosted by the Piloto Labs community, featuring local and foreign entrepreneurial success stories and creating the environment for high impact collisions to take place and take flight.
Piloto Labs also operates as a Launchpad for high potential entrepreneurs. By sponsoring hackathons, code jams, and maker workshops, Piloto Labs continues to foster innovative thinking and creativity. Moreover, once entrepreneurs launch their startups, the Piloto Labs community continues to support them through various competitions, and through mentoring programs and founder showcases outside of Puerto Rico geared at globalizing entrepreneurs’ mindset.
Finally, Piloto Labs innovates and fills in the gaps in our local ecosystem through its Labs. These build the foundation for success for our community. Amongst the initiatives proposed through the Labs are: Womentechover, created to showcase successful women in tech and continue the conversation; the BOOM Maker Challenge and the first edition of the Design & Maker’s Forum, created to help artists build and create better and more innovative products through collaboration.
Piloto Labs is impact and innovation through collaboration.
Together, as a community we accomplish what no single organization or movement can accomplish on its own. We are the revolutionaries that will transform Puerto Rico’s economy.
This week, the startup and tech community has plenty of venues for a series of workshops and events that are sure to boost Puerto Rico’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Among the events is the highly anticipated Tech Summit 2015: Innovation Driven Hub, the business development and technology event pushing for government redesign and transformation in Latin America. Alongside is the Tech Week Puerto Rico conference series that runs until Thursday, closing out a week spotlighting entrepreneurs’ failure stories at the edgy, groundbreaking F*ckup Nights San Juan event held at Piloto 151, the co-working space in San Juan’s Old City.
“We are excited to have so many events taking place this year for Puerto Rico’s Annual Tech Week. Our startup and tech ecosystem is stronger and more robust than ever, and events such as these bring the community together and inspire more startups to grow and scale at a global level,” said Sofía Stolberg, founder of Piloto 151 and Piloto Labs.
On Monday, at Piloto, Code4PuertoRico is hosting a Prep Tech Community Hack Night bringing together programmers, designers and creative entrepreneurs to brainstorm and build programs with the objective to improve Puerto Rico and showcase their skills in the 2015 Tech Summit Hackathon.
On Tuesday, its Interactive Workshops with industry leaders features Diseñado en Puerto Rico, which will showcase its Behance Portfolio Reviews.
Wednesday’s Puerto Rico Tech Summit will include Piloto’s Stolberg, who also co-founded Codetrotters, as speaker, along with Tim O’Reilly, founder of O’Reilly Media; Jennifer Pahlka, founder and executive director of Code for America; Paul Baltzell, CIO at State of Indiana; Brian Breslin, founder of Infinimedia Inc. & Refresh Miami; and Tim Falls, vice president, Community at Keen IO. Piloto Labs will have a booth for the tech and startup community at the event.
On Thursday, F*ckUp Nights San Juan, part of a global movement born in Mexico, brings three entrepreneurs to share their failure stories while the crowd learns and enjoys “in an evening of laughter, drinks and good friends,” Piloto assures.
“We celebrate for the second year a unique opportunity for technology professionals from Puerto Rico, the United States, and Latin America to provoke dialogue and participation in the various stages of venture capabilities. Tech Week Puerto Rico aims to provide the space for investors, entrepreneurs, government officials, and business professionals to network and start the conversation about disruptive technological strategies that would lead to growth opportunities and diversity in the local economy,” Piloto 151 said in a statement.
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This week Puerto Rico’s Second Annual Startup Investment Forum invited keynote speakers Randy Thompson and Ken Kay to share their insight about the local early stage venture investment scene. A panel of local investors also discussed the state of the financing ecosystem in Puerto Rico and shared their experiences and insights on provoking the launch and scale of more investable startups on the Island. Investors, entrepreneurs and members of the startup and tech scene came together around a shared vision of growth. We have the potential to grow; let’s grow together.
10 things we learned at the Second Annual Startup Investment Forum:
1. We need to start thinking more globally, less locally.
2. There is nothing more important than cash management.
3. Don’t raise capital when you are cash-strapped and in trouble; raise it when you have leverage.
4. Respect and deserve capital.
5. Money follows good people.
6. Don’t be a zombie venture, operating even though you are insolvent or near bankruptcy.
7. If you fail once, the second time you are much more investable from an investor’s perspective.
8. We have the talent, we do not need to go out and find it.
9. Puerto Rico has some investable early stage ventures and a lot of potential to increase this pipeline and turn more early-stage ventures into successful high growth companies.
10. Puerto Rico’s local startup and tech ecosystem not only exists, it is growing exponentially.
The Startup Investment Forum, sponsored by Founder’s Institute, Grupo Guayacán, Piloto 151 & Piloto Labs is one of many events held throughout the year to spark debate and conversation amongst people from all walks of life. We are on the brink of an entrepreneurial revolution and we want you to be a part of it! Join the movement towards more growth and innovation and make a difference today! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Linked In, and Instagram for more upcoming events, including Tech Week starting May 7th, 2015!
Published originally by Caribbean Business
With the goal of continuing to promote the development of the early-stage financing ecosystem in Puerto Rico, Piloto Labs, Founder’s Institute of Puerto Rico and Grupo Guayacán are launching the second edition of the Startup Investment Forum this evening.
“Last year, we decided to launch this forum to celebrate the first investment in a local startup made by Ausubo Ventures, the first formal angel investment group on the island. This year, we continue to celebrate the development of the venture capital ecosystem in Puerto Rico, welcoming new players to continue contributing so that in the near future we can expect to have more investor-ready startups,” said Sofía Stolberg, founder of Piloto 151, Piloto Labs and co-director of Founder’s Institute Puerto Rico.
The forum, open to the public and free-of-charge, seeks to inform on the state of the venture capital on the island and foster open dialogue with experts in the field, as well as investors and entrepreneurs.
Randy Thompson, president of VA Angels, the largest angel investment group in Canada, will open the forum with a discussion on the financing ecosystem in Puerto Rico and the changes he has witnessed since the first time he visited the island three years ago as part of the Guayacán Venture Accelerator program, which seeks to accelerate Puerto Rico companies’ potential.
“The early-stage financing ecosystem in Puerto Rico has evolved considerably in recent years. Although still at an early stage, every year we see more interest from both local and foreign startup investors, and I include myself in this group. Eventually, this will lead to an increase in the quantity and quality of investment-ready startups,” Thompson said.
A panel of local investors will react to Thompson’s presentation, recounting their startup experiences on the island. Then, Ken Kay, a U.S. investor and entrepreneur who recently moved to Puerto Rico and launched the San Juan Tech Meetup earlier this month, will impart practical tips targeted at entrepreneurs looking to raise investment capital. The evening will close with a startup-pitch session, where high-potential startups will have a chance to practice what they learned in a series of mentoring sessions that will take place before the forum.
According to Laura Cantero, executive director of Grupo Guayacán, the forum will continue leveraging efforts undertaken by players in the entrepreneurship ecosystem and will help Puerto Rican entrepreneurs at all stages continue to launch and grow global companies. “We are pleased to collaborate with Piloto Labs and Founder’s Institute to co-sponsor the Startup Investment Forum this year. It pleases us to be able to maximize the resources of our programs for events like this, increasing the impact on the startup community. We need more local entrepreneurs that are prepared to raise venture capital and launch global companies,” Cantero emphasized.
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‘Puerto Rico goes bankrupt’. ‘Puerto Rico’s credit rating hits rock bottom’. These are the headlines that plague newspapers everywhere. Yet amongst all of the negativity, our local startup and tech community is making a difference and contributing to our economy’s resurgence. From participating in local Startup Weekend events to leaving a footprint in the 2015 South by Southwest Conference, our startups are reviving Puerto Rico’s creative economy. This shows that with a clear vision and mission, we can make things happen. By forming a strong, collaborative community, we can reach new heights, and change our economic structure. We can be doers, instead of just talkers. —That is what Piloto 151 does.
What is Piloto 151 about
Our impact is meaningful.
Piloto 151 is not just a coworking space. We are Puerto Rico’s premier Launch Pad, to help build the foundation for many startups to launch their businesses; a Hub, where all of the members of the startup and tech community meet in one place for events and workshops to network and share experiences; and finally, a Lab, to generate innovative programs and ideas. Through collaborative partnerships and exchanges with members of our community, we turn potential into action. Every week we partner with Yees! Inc., Centro para Emprendedores, Grupo Guayacán Inc., All Around Franchise Consulting, and SBA – Synergy Business Advisors to give starting entrepreneurs a platform and an opportunity to grow. Let’s take a look at the impact 1 Million Cups PR has on the startup and tech community.
The Interview
We sat down with Marie Custodio, co-founder of Urban Crop, to get insight into the challenges she has faced and is currently facing as an entrepreneur. Urban Crop designs and creates beautiful and functional modular hydroponic systems for those interested in growing their own food. She is an atypical entrepreneur, not only because she balances her career as a journalist and manages Urban Crop, but because she started a business, —not from the ground up. Marie described Puerto Rico’s ease of doing business as lower than she would like. However, with the guidance, support, and mentorship she received through organizations such as Grupo Guayacán and Founder Institute Puerto Rico, she has been able to overcome those barriers and grow her company, one foodie at a time.
These organizations, she claims, have given her access to a wealth of information, mentors, and contacts within the local and global startup ecosystem, giving her an incredible advantage over entrepreneurs starting on their own. Moreover, she not only recommended starting entrepreneurs to share their ideas and reach out to everyone in the space, but to educate themselves. There are many programs with incredible resources that would make starting a business much less intimidating than it sounds.
When asked why she comes to 1 Million Cups she said: “1 Million Cups allows early stage entrepreneurs like me to get feedback from people of all sorts of backgrounds and to validate our business models early on”.
Become an agent of change
We encourage everyone in the entrepreneurial ecosystem to join us at all of the events we host through our non-profit, Piloto Labs. We welcome coders, hackers, entrepreneurs, business professionals, artists, investors and anyone who is committed and interested in becoming a change agent for Puerto Rico.
