My Top Five Takeaways from Work Life X

mitchellake on August 17, 2018

I was lucky enough to attend Work Life X conference in Greenfields Melbourne last week, and this wasn’t your everyday business conference. This was a conference exploring the future of the workplace, covering concepts such as finding your purpose; humanising work; digital nutrition; wellbeing; employee engagement; leadership; productivity and being more conscious/ intentional in work and in life.

Speakers included leaders from Slack, Deloitte, Pwc and Vinomofo to name a few, as well as the Work Life X team Kate and Kate who proved to be fantastic speakers as well as hosts. The venue was beautiful, green and light-filled, and the talks were engaging as well as thought-provoking. You really had to be there, but hopefully my takeaways are the next best thing:

  1. Active recovery is more important than chilling.

Thank you to Dr Kat Page for this one. Although I love to exercise, I used to think that coming home from work and watching a mindless TV show was the downtime I needed after a long day at work. Now I realise that real recovery is allowing our brain’s physical state to change and to fully concentrate on something else, so yoga, rock climbing or playing piano is perfect for this.

App Store hack:

Learn a language, do a HIIT workout, brain games or practice yoga, respectively.

  1. There is a reason my boss has so many plants in the office…

It’s the same reason Apple use, err apples in their advertising and shop windows draw us in with beautiful flowers. Our brains love associations with nature. It actually produces feelings of wellbeing, makes us more productive, and has a positive effect on overall health. The perfect reason to take a walk by the canal at lunchtime (Dr Gary Veale, Uni of Melbourne).

App Store hack: Calm. Listen to stories about being in nature anywhere in the world.

  1. The next one came from inspirational couple Helle Weston and Lukis Mac.

They go around the world teaching about transformative breathwork, and how incorporating this deep breathing practice into our lives can have a magnificent impact on the realisation of our core values and the movement towards our goals. What they taught me was that our visions need our investment. Don’t wait around for someone to tell you what you can do in life. Invest in your passions, whether it be in the form of money, time, or just believing in yourself more, don’t wait around for others to invest in you – invest in yourself and the rest of the world will follow.

App Store hack: Buddify. Meditation and breathing exercises to suit any occasion/ timeframe.

  1. Design thinking methodologies don’t only have to used to build products and services.

They can also be used to design your personal life. Couple and mother of one Emmy-Lou and Ben Hamley (PwC and Models Inc respectively) showed us how by mapping our values against the outcomes we want to achieve, we can become clearer on our direction and set realistic intentions for ourselves and our families. This ties into Al Jeffrey’s talk about doing vs. being – first get clear on how (or who) you want to be, and then what to do will be a lot easier to decipher. A good tip to incorporating this into daily life is having a morning routine and listing your top three intentions for the day. As author Jim Collins said, “if you have more than three priorities, you don’t have any”.

App Store hack: Day One. Daily journaling app.

  1. It’s all about the journey.

Finally, I learnt from the lovely Kate McCready (Work Life X) and Mikey Ellis (Vinomofo), finding your purpose isn’t a destination and it’s not so much about what you do but how you do it. This is a topic I’ve put a lot of thought into. Kate defines fulfilment as being made up of four elements – developing the self, using our full potential, being a service to others and unity with others. Sometimes a career change is necessary, but other times it’s about changing our approach to what we do that makes our work meaningful for us.

App Store hack: Pinterest. Create a vision board of what success looks like for you.

If you’re clear (or unclear!) on your vision and looking for a new role in technology, design, marketing, commercial or recruitment, feel free to check out our jobs section for live roles!

How do we know when we are successful?

mitchellake on July 7, 2018

Having moved no less than 10,541 miles across the world and essentially starting over, I often question whether I have gotten far enough in my life and in my career. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and I’d consider moving to Melbourne one of best decisions I’ve ever made, but it does get me thinking. One of my colleagues quite rightly pointed out that conversing with some of the smartest people in technology on a daily basis – from data-science wizards to AI enthusiasts, can also affect the ego with questions of why am *I* not that intelligent/ successful?

The other day, 10,541 miles back in Scotland, I Skype’d my oldest friend Georgia, and she too was experiencing such feelings of uncertainty and inadequacy. This is a woman who was recently nominated as jazz musician of the year for the 2nd year running. Who knows, as folks in our late 20s, maybe there really is such a thing as a quarter-life crisis. Then I spoke with my friend Ash, who has recently launched her own consciousness coaching business, gained over 20,000 followers within the first couple of months, and she too was experiencing exactly the same feelings.

It got me thinking. Surely we should be comparing ourselves to our previous selves in order to measure our success, and not against the success of others? Surely the latter would be an unfair comparison as we all come from different beginnings, are genetically unique and have individual circumstances which all ultimately impact our reality. None of this is taken into account when we compare ourselves with others. I asked myself; if our teenage selves were to see us now, would they be proud of what we had achieved? More often than not, I think the answer would be a big fat yes, or maybe even a hell yes!

As cliche as it is, life *is* about the journey, and success isn’t somewhere we can just get to and then not have to try anymore. Our life goals and desires continually change and adapt as we grow (physically and emotionally) so all we really should do is strap in and enjoy the ride. As Shawn Anchor says in [his TedTalk,  if happiness is on the other side of success, your brain never gets there. Our brain works in the *opposite order*. If you can raise someone’s level of positivity in the present, their brain experiences what is called a “happiness advantage”. He explains that our brains in this positive state, perform significantly better than in a negative, neutral or stressed mindset; improving our intelligence, creativity and energy levels by 31%. But how can we achieve a “happiness advantage”?

According to Shawn, with five simple changes:

  • Gratitude: At the end of each day, name three things you were grateful for.
  • Journaling: Try it on the daily commute. It reminds you of what you have achieved and what your goals are.
  • Exercise
  • Meditation/ mindfulness: Even doing day to day tasks more consciously, like brushing teeth, or eating a meal with full attention and focus counts as being mindful.
  • Random Acts of Kindness: Could be as simple as sending an email to a colleague, thanking them or praising them for something they’ve done.

Sounds simple, right?

What are your thoughts on the pursuit of success?

How To Honor Candidates By Delivering A Positive Experience

mitchellake on May 17, 2018

I had the pleasure to sit down recently with Greg Russell, Head of Talent at Snapdocs. Greg will be leading the discussion on an upcoming workshop on how to build a world-class candidate experience, and graciously took the time to give us a little bit of insight on what to expect at the event and share some of his top tips that he’s learned in his tenure.

—

Jess Baker [JB]: The man, the myth, the legend… Greg Russell! Welcome! Thank you so much for joining me today for the first interview for our Meetup community: Learn, Connect, Grow. For those who don’t know you already, please, introduce yourself!

Greg Russell [GR]: Thanks, Jess! Happy to be here talking to you and very excited for our first event in June. To introduce myself… let’s see… I’ve been in recruitment since the dot-com boom in the late 90’s. From there, I learned my chops in the agency world and moved fairly quickly into onsite recruiting. I spent 3-years at Korn Ferry/FutureStep doing a large RPO engagement for Telecom New Zealand and then co-founded The MitchelLake Group here in San Francisco in 2008. After spending an amazing 10-years building and running MLG, I am now the Head of Talent at a startup called Snapdocs, where we’re automating and digitizing the mortgage closing process.

JB: Today we’re here to speak to ‘candidate experience.’ It’s one of the hottest topics right now in recruitment marketing. For those who might not be familiar with the phrase, can you explain what candidate experience is?

GR: Candidate experience is pretty much as it sounds – it’s the overall experience a candidate has with your company while they are a candidate. From the moment a candidate engages with your company, arguably even before that, to the moment you either reject or welcome that candidate to their first day of work – that is all candidate experience.

JB: It’s known that we’re in a ‘candidate market’ right now. Can you tell us what that means for businesses seeking talent?

GR: Indeed. ‘Candidate market’, ‘war for talent’, ‘goat rodeo’ – there are many labels, but they all come down to supply and demand. Here in Silicon Valley, there is a huge demand for people to work at technology companies from the tiniest startup to Google and Facebook and supply is super tight!

This is not just for software engineers or just for technical roles. This is across the board. For instance, I can tell you that it’s just as tough to hire a good recruiter today as it is to hire an engineer, and so you’ve got this incredibly competitive landscape where any role from an executive assistant to a software architect is super challenging to fill.

In order to not just compete, but actually win some of that talent, companies need to have a fast and efficient process, and they also need to make the candidate feel valued. Candidates have a lot of choices, so, you need to show them why they would want to work at your company, and that starts with their experience as a candidate.

JB: What are the top three complaints that you hear from candidates about the negative experiences they have been through?

GR: Number one has to be lack of closure. Unbelievably, a vast majority of companies don’t even take the time to reject candidates; and I’m not talking about just at the application stage. I’ve heard of so many who just ghost the candidate after they’ve had a phone screen or even an onsite! Crazy.

Another I hear a lot is a general lack of, slow, or incomplete communication throughout the process. The recruiter can go silent for 2-weeks and then pops back up wanting to continue the conversation. Then, there’s the poor interview experience – candidates left sitting in a room for 15-minutes between interviewers, being asked the same set of questions four times in one afternoon, etcetera.

JB: Why is it mission critical for businesses to deliver a positive candidate experience? What’s at stake for businesses that do not deliver?

GR: There’s been a gradual awakening to the idea that the people you attract and hire are the key to your success, especially in a startup where one right or wrong person can have such an outsized impact – because the whole team may only be 15, 30, or 50 people. If you subscribe to this idea, and I certainly do, then it is absolutely critical to give yourself the best chance of hiring the best people – or perhaps more accurately the right people for your company.

A huge part of setting yourself up to hire the right people in a candidate-driven market is getting the candidate to want to work with and for your company. One of the best ways to do that is to make sure they have an amazing experience while interviewing for the job.

JB: Do you feel that candidate experience is mostly on the recruiters and hiring managers to implement or are their certain stakeholders that should also be closely involved?

GR: There needs to be an overall owner of the candidate experience. The buck needs to stop somewhere. It makes sense for that owner to be the recruiter or perhaps a recruitment ops [operations] person in a larger talent team. Certainly, the ‘boots on the ground’ giving that great experience on a daily basis are the recruiter and hiring manager. But, many people can, and should, be involved in ensuring a great candidate experience. Everyone who the candidate sees while they’re onsite can either add to or detract from that experience, actually.

JB: What steps can be taken by businesses to improve their candidate experience?

GR: The lowest hanging fruit for most companies is follow up, and specifically, rejections. I think many companies punt on rejections since the candidate is likely never going to work there, right? But that’s such the wrong attitude. The Valley is actually a pretty small ecosystem. Rejected candidates are potential partners, vendors, customers, competitors, and can again be candidates at a later date.

Another important thing to do is to make sure you are prepared and organized for onsite interviews. This will signal to the candidate that you have your act together and gives them some confidence that you know what you’re doing.

JB: How do we measure if these improvements are benefiting candidates? Are there any clear metrics or KPIs [key performance indicators]?

GR: I think the single best thing you can do if you’re looking to track or measure the benefit of any candidate experience initiatives is to survey the candidates. Ideally, you’d survey past or current candidates to establish some sort of baseline, and then continue to survey as you implement improvements and see what those survey results tell you. You could even create an NPS [net promoter score] for candidates. If you want to try to see the results of your efforts in your recruitment metrics, I’d be looking at things like the percentage of candidates who withdraw from your process as well as your offer acceptance rate.

JB: Last, but not least, what do you wish you had known about implementing a positive candidate experience when you first got started in recruitment?

GR: Before I got into recruiting I was a bartender, so, I think I came at it with a customer service mindset from the beginning, but I don’t think I was connecting all the dots at first. In other words, I knew I wanted all my interactions with the candidate to be great as a recruiter so I could build a strong relationship, but I wasn’t really thinking about the whole process or ALL the interactions the candidate was having. So, I think early on I wasn’t ensuring a holistically great experience. I think back to a few hiring managers I had in the early days that had a backwards view of the process. Such as “the candidate is lucky if we hire them” – I know that came through in their interviews. Had I known then what I know now, I’d have taken more aggressive steps to correct some of that.

JB: Thank you so much for joining us today, Greg! Before we wrap up, can you tell us more about Snapdocs and how you are helping improve the candidate experience there?

GR: Very exciting times for us at Snapdocs! We closed our Series-A round through Sequoia Capital late last year, and we’re now looking to grow from 45 to roughly 100 this year. Lots of hiring to do! I’m still looking for one more great recruiter and a recruiting coordinator or talent-ops type person to join the team – shameless plug!

The talent function here is a blank slate, so, it’s very exciting that we get to build the candidate experience from the ground up. We’ve got the basics in place – like every candidate gets rejected, active candidates never go more than three days without an update, and the prep for candidates and interview panels is fairly robust.

We’re now working on the next level – making sure everyone in the company knows who’s coming onsite for an interview so anyone can greet and help the candidate, improving the way we all talk about and sell the company, implementing candidate surveys, etcetera.

Attracting and Retaining Top Tech and Design Talent

mitchellake on May 10, 2018

Creating a culture of success; how employee engagement can directly and positively influence revenue; how workplace culture can attract and retain the best talent – these topics have gotten increasingly more coverage over the past few years and quite rightly so, but why? Where did this come from, and who is doing it well in Australia?

 

It is unsurprising that many believe this notion was pioneered by tech companies; Facebook being the most famous example of this. Mark Zuckerberg realised early on that if Facebook was going to grow from the small company he built from his dorm room in 2003, he would need to attract and retain the best talent on the market and to do this, people would have to want to work there. Facebook (despite recent backlash) is now well-known as an office of fun; with hiring process itself, as well as social activities and employee perks all carefully reflecting Facebook’s company values of being open and connected.

 

As a global tech hub, companies in Silicon Valley have to continually compete for the best talent and niche technical skills, meaning other tech companies had to quickly follow suit. Even the infamous Google, have had to step up their culture game over the past five years in order to remain as arguably one of the most desirable places to work in the world.

 

As part of the Mitchellake team, I am lucky enough to work with some of Australia’s most well-known technology companies; meaning I know first hand how difficult it can be to find candidates with the skill set and experience they require. Australian tech companies have also realised the value in putting more focus on employee engagement and company culture, in order to compete in a skills-short market, improve their product/ service offering and ultimately to continue to be successful.

 

I thought it would be fun to use my insider knowledge to round up some of the companies we work with who are doing the culture thing well (don’t all apply at once!).

 

Seek. Free breakfast (and pick n’ mix!); commitment to career development; generous parental leave

 

RedBubble. Meditation room for mid-morning zen; weekly catering from some of the best restaurants Melbourne CBD has to offer

 

Culture Amp. Allocation of a mentor/ coach outside direct line managers to help grow individuals’ career; “bring your whole self to work” culture, with money set aside to support learning inside and outside of work

 

Invoice2go. One of the more stocked, fully-stocked kitchens I have come across; 3pm office planks

 

Mitchellake. Partly because my boss would kill me if I didn’t include us, and partly because we have gotten new bean bags which are extremely comfy to work from. We also have weekly table tennis tournaments; spend for professional development and are a pooch-friendly office.

 

If anyone has any thoughts, comments or insights on this topic feel free to drop me a mail 🙂

 

From One Expatriate to Another (pt 1: Melbourne)

mitchellake on March 5, 2018

Australia’s technology scene is growing rapidly, and local startup accelerators like Startmate are recognising the opportunity for budding tech Founders. However as technical skills, on the whole, remain in short supply in Australia; many of the companies we partner with require us to hunt for people globally in order to scale their teams effectively. We regularly source and place candidates from tech-hubs such as Silicon Valley, New York, Berlin, London and Dublin into new and exciting businesses in Sydney and Melbourne.

As the first point of contact many of these expats have with someone in Australia, we often get asked about the local culture. Here at Mitchellake we take such enquiries very seriously, and therefore our resident foodies (the Melbourne office, of course) have huddled together to come up with six of the best eateries, drinkeries and things to do in the culinary capital. Enjoy!

Cafes/ coffee

Patricia (CBD) – Trendy, standing-only artisan coffee spot. Arguably the best in Melbourne’s CBD.

The Farm Cafe (Abbotsford) – Beautiful riverside location overlooking the children’s farm. Fresh produce, down-to-earth quality food and stunning views.

Cafe Bu (Carlton North) – Potentially the cutest rooftop cafe in Melbourne.

Babajan (Carlton North) – The epitome of traditional meets contemporary – Homemade Middle-Eastern cuisine fuses with modern Melbourne brunch; paired with adventurous cocktails (and get 10% off your food bill when you indulge in one!).

Proud Mary (Collingwood) – Single origin coffee and delicious brekkie in a shabby chic converted warehouse space, typical of it’s Collingwood location. Perfect for business meetings and enough space for you to happily bring your laptop and work remotely all day.

Galleon (St Kilda) – a Local favourite with laid-back style, mismatched retro furniture and all the menu options you could ever dream of post-swim in the sea.

Restaurants

Supernormal (CBD and St Kilda) – Popular, up-scale restaurant with all the pan-Asian delights one could ask for. An office favourite.

Tipo 00 (CBD) – Not your average pasta bar.

Neighbourhood Wine (North Fitzroy) – One of Melbourne’s best-kept secrets; but not with the locals. Stunning locally-sourced food and carefully-selected wine list in an intimate, aunts-living-room like setting.

Jinda Thai (North Richmond) – Authentic, unpretentious Thai food, laid-back setting, BYO (bring your own) bottle. What more could you ask for?

Gerald’s Bar (Carlton North) – A Melbourne institution serving up two-hundred different wines, cheeses and small seasonal delights.

Hampton Wine CO (Hampton) – Boutique wine matched with European food. Buy a bottle from the shelf and drink it there; or take it away for a $10 discount.

 

Things to do

Sandringham dog beach (Sandringham) – One of the prettier, less busy beaches in Melbourne; and a perfect day out for the pooch.

Lawn bowls (in almost every suburb) – Not just for your granddad.

Going for a cycle (everywhere) – the Yarra Trail takes you all around the city, without feeling like you are ever close to the city. Think beautiful rivers, huge trees and if you look carefully the odd bit of wildlife.

Wineries (Yarra Valley or Mornington Penninsula) – Who doesn’t love a day out in the countryside tasting wine and eating artisan pizza? Top tip is to hire a driver from Airtasker as opposed to an organised tour, so you can choose which wineries you wish to visit.

The Yarra Valley is also home to Melbourne’s famous Four Pillars gin distillery, Yarra Valley Dairy cheese farm, and the stunning Chandon vineyard (sister of grand champagne house Moet and Chandon).

Sport (Richmond) – Home to venues like the MCG and Aami Park, Richmond is undoubtedly Melbourne’s sports hub. Just check out the atmosphere here during an AFL game.

Running around one of the many green parks – Princes Park, Edinburgh Gardens and The Royal Botanical Gardens (“The Tan”) are our favourites.

If you are or a friend is looking for a job in the technology space, please contact one of our friendly Lakers or apply directly to one of our [live roles.

Event Recap // Achieving Mindfulness with Matthew Savarick (Headspace)

mitchellake on February 7, 2018

“Mindfulness” isn’t just one of Mitchellake’s core values, but also an integral part of our company culture and daily lives. It allows us to operate with positive intent, and show genuine empathy to our clients, candidates, and colleagues. It allows us to show up, be truly present, and make the biggest impact. Being in tune with ourselves as well as our network, we continue to be driven by purpose and focus on being transformational rather than transactional.

On Thursday, February 1, 2018, we were joined by Matthew Savarick of Headspace, Inc at WeWork Transbay in San Francisco, CA. In an intimate, interactive workshop, Savarick spoke to the importance of incorporating mindfulness practices into your daily routine and how it can help elevate your career and personal relationships.

 “Mindfulness is the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn

If you didn’t know, Headspace is on a mission to improve the health and happiness of the world by creating media and technology centered around awareness and compassion. Stress has become an epidemic in the workplace that costs more $300B due to disengagement, absenteeism, as well as loss of focus. According to the National Institute of Mental Health,

“By 2020, the economic costs of mental health will be more than cancer, diabetes, and respiratory ailments put together.”

We understand the necessity of going to the gym or out for a walk or run several times during the week, however, many still believe that meditation is for hippies or people with far more time than them, however, that is the furthest thing from the truth — as we were told by Savarick. By setting aside one percent of your day, you can improve the other 99 percent. By tuning into a 10-minute meditation for as little as three consecutive days per week, you can help your brain perform at peak levels and better withstand psychological stress.

Savarick’s workshop was well received by everyone in attendance, including many of our own team members who have since downloaded the Headspace app and begin incorporating it into their routines. One attendee, in particular, raved that Savarick was a “great presenter” and that “any discussion on how to manage stress and anxiety is hugely helpful!”

We want to thank Matthew Savarick (Headspace, Inc) for graciously volunteering his time, as well as our partners at WeWork Transbay for allowing us to occupy their space for a truly memorable evening.

How do you practice mindfulness? Do you have a favorite meditation app? Let us know!

Should Small Business Hire Contract Workers?

mitchellake on November 7, 2017

As the career landscape has changed, with employees no longer staying with one company for the bulk of their career, corporations have been turning to contract workers on a larger scale. Many Millennial tech employees spend the first years of their career purely in contract jobs that may last months or years. For many, it has become a way of life. The practice has not taken off with small business to the same degree, but there are reasons a small business shouldn’t ignore the concept of contract workers.

 

The Advantages for Small Business

 

There are real advantages to small business in hiring contract employees, and the cost is not least among them. A business has limited liability with contractors. They forgo health insurance expenses and do not have to be concerned with short or long-term disability. The expense of paid sick days and vacation also vanishes from the bottom line.

 

Contract workers may also make it easier to find employees with specialized skills. Overall, a small business will have less overhead and the freedom to hire for short-term projects where specific skill sets that full-time employees lack are needed.

 

The Disadvantages for Small Business

 

The old saying that nothing is free in life bears true when it comes to contract employees too. Many small businesses that run with thin profit margins place a lot of expectations on their staff. Often, employees wear many hats, whereas contractors often have highly specialized skills. Since contract employees work on an hourly or project basis with no benefits, they tend to cost far more per hour or per project.

 

Another extremely important issue for small business is company culture; it is one-way small business compete against larger companies for the best talent. There is often a relationship-heavy culture, where all employees are not only known by the decision makers and ownership, but also become part of a workplace family of sorts. Contract workers who exist only temporarily within that small business, may not try to be a cultural fit. Existing employees, knowing the contractor is there only temporarily, may also not welcome them into the culture openly.

 

Advantages for Contractors in Small Business

 

For contractors used to working in a larger corporation, there is something to be said for moving to a smaller business. Often, the learning curve is much steeper in a startup or small business because there is so much to do with fewer employees. And, if the job isn’t a perfect fit, they know there is a limited time they need to endure the job.

 

Disadvantages to Contractors in Small Business

 

As with larger companies, a contractor who works in contracted roles over the long term may have a more difficult time finding a full-time job. Employers tend to look for long term commitment and proven tenacity when hiring full time workers, and this is where contracting can work against you on your resume. Contract workers also have the vulnerability of no employer-provided health insurance or disability coverage. They are also in perpetual job search mode, having to market themselves constantly to ensure they have a next role waiting for them at the end of the contract.

 

Each individual small business and each individual employee has unique needs, and the decision to hire a contractor comes with benefits and drawbacks for small business. You should weigh each and determine what cost/benefit means the most to you.

 

Remote Year Experience: Colombia

mitchellake on October 6, 2017

When I saw Colombia on my Remote Year itinerary, I was very excited because I had previously worked with one of Bogota’s most experienced startup founders, Alex Torrengra, when he brought his company, VoiceBunny, to San Francisco and was looking to hire a Chief Marketing Officer. I had a great experience working with him and his team and was always curious about the country’s push to rebrand from its notorious drug trade to an emerging technology center.

 

Colombia quickly became one of my favorite countries, I spent 2 months across Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, and one of the most relaxing, off the grid places I’ve ever been, Casa en el Agua. As someone who loves the outdoors, the varied landscapes in Colombia were what really sucked me in. There are snow capped volcanoes, the Andes, tropical beaches, deserts, grasslands, forests, jungles, and of course the Amazon! For those interested, there is a spectacular trek through the jungle of the Sierra Nevada mountains to the Lost City, one of the largest pre-Colombian towns discovered in all of the Americas.

 

I spent my first month in Colombia’s capital City, Bogota, home to the national government, most of the country’s corporate and financial institutions, and the largest and most diverse expat and immigrant community in the country. Bogota is located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes, offering a variety of hikes that you can easily do before the work day as it is so accessible from the financial district. Bogota is a very modern city, the workspace that I was in is located right above a Starbucks, with a Hooters on the street behind it, and a large mall with popular brands across the street! It also boasts one of the hottest graffiti scenes in Latin America.

 

Medellin, up-and-coming tech scene, was our home the second month. In 2013 the city government launched ‘MedellInnovation’, a 10 year, $389m investment aimed at making Medellin the Latin American capital in science, technology and innovation by 2021. Medellin’s vibe is more hipster than the buttoned up scene in Bogota and I ended up working in a variety of cafes along with many other remotes, expats and local professionals, rather than using the official workspace.

 

Who are the established and up and coming tech companies in Colombia?

 

  • Rappi – a delivery service across Latin America, which became widely used across the Remote Year community!
  • City Taxi – Another service that we used often, especially with Taxi drivers becoming increasingly more resistant in Latin America to ride share apps like Uber.
  • Viajala – a real time flight and hotel search engine.
  • Mercadoni – A grocery delivery app across Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina that has just raised their Series A.
  • Panter – A creative agency that develops custom mobile apps, websites and animations.
  • Visionar – an augmented reality platform.

 

Co-working spaces

 

  • Work&Go – I used this space in Bogota and Medellin, they both offer a lot of natural light, full-time reception, call and conference rooms, soft seating, and their Bogota location also has a great garden area.
  • AtomHouse – Located in Bogota, a space for innovators, hackers, and entrepreneurs.
  • HubBOG – Located in Bogota, with a large open space and 3 private offices.
  • Epicentro – Located in Medellin, a creative community of new entrepreneurs based in a vital, inspiring and collaborative space.
  • Casa 98 – Located in Medellin, a space for independent professionals and entrepreneurs.
  • Colabora – Located in Bogota, a community of freelancers, startups and small businesses.

 

Startup Incubators/Accelerators

 

  • Espacio – Located in Medellin, focused on advancing the media and PR industries.
  • Socialtom Ventures – Located in Bogota, offering seed investments and in-house services that range from recruiting to business development, with a significant focus on helping founders build elite engineering teams.
  • iNNpulsa – A government entity founded in February 2012 to promote entrepreneurship, innovation and productivity in Colombia.
  • Medellin ACI – Focused on international investment in Medellin.
  • Rockstart – a 150 to 180 day program for startups to fine-tune their businesses and prepare for international scaling through mentoring , workspace and access to capital.