To the outsider, the Global Entrepreneurship Experience (GEE) seems like it would be a “How To” class on business basics and startup companies. While there absolutely are elements of these things, I believe it is the goal of professor Janet Runge, enrichment coordinator of entrepreneurial programs at Lee Business School, to reconfigure the mindset and thought process of her students so that they think like entrepreneurs.

This is done through hands-on applications, like creating a mock startup company and competing with classmates in the annual Innovation Tournament. This thought process is honed by the interactions that the GEE program gives to its students. Every professor, guest speaker, and even judges who hear our business presentations each had a unique experience by being involved in the creation of some kind of business or entrepreneurial venture.

But “Why Chile?” First of all, the international perspective is one of the most crucial aspects of understanding business and the crux of the GEE program’s goal. The perspective I have gained on this incredibly short first day in Chile is one that has already made me rethink everything I have learned to this point about entrepreneurship.

This realization hits quickly: The people around us in this completely foreign country – that is completely different and confusing – are just living their everyday lives.

The way these people conduct business and think about the products they purchase might be at the core very similar to everyone else. Still, there are incredible differences in culture you might not even consider. These are things that need to be considered by companies that expand to an international level. Their normal is not my normal.

Latin countries, like Chile, have populations that are slowly becoming more prevalent in the United States. The fact that these cultures exist more in our world now is one of the biggest reasons why GEE decided to go to Chile.

A Poetic Perspective

There are nine students in all in cohort 12 with an extra person as a special guest from cohort 9. Our first day in Chile was filled with walking. We walked from the hotel to the underground subway, which brought us near our first destination, one of many homes of the world-renowned Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.

We learned about the impact that his writing and activism had on the entire country of Chile. The house was filled to the brim with incredible pieces of art and collections that Neruda had made by exploring the world. After this, we did some more walking to get to a train car that carried us up a mountain called San Christobal to a park called Parquemet with many vendors and restaurants. Most prominently on this mountain was a giant statue of the Virgin Mary. As a Catholic, this part of the day was incredible and enlightening. They had beautiful art pertaining to the Catholic faith all over the park and on many of the walking trails. 

International Entrepreneurship

After descending from the mountain and having lunch, we took a walk to the Andres Bello Universidad. Here we were able to see the contrast between the more modern parts of the
University –that were very similar to ours – and the older and untouched parts that reflected a rich history through its older and detailed architecture. 

While we were at the university we were able to hear a presentation from an entrepreneur named Carolina Piña. Her company Piña Zero Waste was started as a solo venture into fashion with the tactic of creating absolutely zero wasted materials with her products. She is able to accomplish this by making her products out of recycled plastic bags. She explained to us that her most sold smaller purses could be made up of fifty to a hundred wasted plastic bags. The larger ones, she explained, can be made from hundreds of these single-use plastics. 

After hearing about Piña Zero Waste, we walked to a dance studio called La Academia. We got to meet the two women who started this business completely from scratch 17 years ago, and how they have expanded their business immensely from having a small group of dancing students to now teaching a wide variety of dances with a large number of teachers. Their main study of dance are Ballet and Flamenco. It was incredible being able to hear these women’s story of starting from nothing but an empty building and creating a business that lives and breathes their passion for dance.

A New Dialect

Some things that are immediately noticeable from the first impressions of Chile are the language differences. While Chileanos speak Spanish the way most Spanish speakers would understand, they have niche dialect fluctuations that make it sometimes difficult to follow. On this trip my classmates Alvaro, Andres, Bryana, and I all speak Spanish and have shared our struggles of understanding the Chilean accent. The way they speak is incredibly fast, often cutting words in half. For example:

• Something you might expect to hear in Spanish: “¿Que es tu numero?” Meaning, “What is your number?”
• Something that a Chilean person asked Bryana today: “¿Que tu mero?”

While this means the exact same thing, we were completely confused and didn’t realize
what this person was actually trying to say.

Although this country is completely foreign to me, it seems oddly familiar. The highway system feels a lot like the United States, for example. As we drove out of the airport and onto the highway, I noted this thought. If I was to wake up on this bus and not read any of the Spanish road signs, you could absolutely convince me I was driving through California.

Up Next

Tomorrow we will be headed to Sewell, a town known around the country for its presence in the mining industry. I expect to do a lot more walking on this trip. We have five more days to enjoy every single sight, sound, and taste that Chile has to offer. For now, I am most excited about our trip to the city of Valparaiso. I cannot wait to see the wonderfully designed buildings and the absolute clash of colors that Valparaiso has to offer.

The next letter will be written by my classmate and good friend, Nikki Ellsworth, a history major and senior in the GEE program.

About the Global Entrepreneurship Program

Lee Business School’s Global Entrepreneurship Program, or GEE for short, is a four-year curriculum that teaches students of any discipline the necessary skills in creating and scaling a business.