A Look at the Chilean Version of The Start Up Visa Act

I, unfortunately, cannot compare the U.S. Start Up Visa Act to the Chilean version because we do not have one.  The U.S. version is only a proposed bill.  Start Up Chile is up and running.  And, here is a look at it:

Here is a short video about the Chilean program  from Start Up Chile:

Here is a list of benefits offered to an entrepreneur chosen by STARTUP CHILE:

1.  A $40k grant per project ($20,000,000 CLP),

2.  A 1-year resident visa to every founding team member provided on the application(limit of two additional team members who will be able to join the program upon their team’s acceptance),

3.  Every Start-Up Chile company will receive a premium Podio account for 12 months. This means unlimited users, unlimited apps and unlimited space.

4.  Office Space:  Start-Up Chile has arranged 100 free spots for its entrepreneurs at Urban Station. Sponsored by Movistar Innova

This sounds like the Red Carpet treatment.  As a matter of fact, it is.  As of the date of this printing(March 23, 2012), Start-Up Chile has granted visas to all entrepreneurial applicants.  

Potential entrepreneurs are also noticing this.  Betabeat.com ran an article last year on the Chilean Startup program.  The articles discusses Andrew Nicol, a young Australian entrepreneur who attended law school in the U.S..  He caught the entrepreneurial bug, but could not secure a visa.  He then ended up in Chile through the Start Up Chile Program. 

Mr. Nicol told NPR:

“I’m basically leaving New York to come to Santiago to start a business that targets New York consumers — just because it’s so much easier to do it from here, and there is so much more support from the government here.”

SOURCE

Can the U.S. economy afford to let go of these business entrepreneurs?  With a struggling economy, it sure looks like we could use the Start Up Visa Act here in the United States.