Leadership and Communication

As part of this internship, I am getting credit from school for working and writing a research paper.  The research paper can be almost about anything, but the department I'm getting credit from focuses on leadership.  Leadership in startup culture is a lot different from the corporate environment, and I think it's a pretty cool concept.  Yes, my boss gives me tasks to do, has meetings with me and keeps me honest about the quality of my work, but she is very hands off.  Startups have limited resources and man-power as it is, and she really can't afford to micromanage everyone.  It makes everyone feel a little more important and more equal in the organization, which I have noticed makes people care about the work a lot more.  Don't get me wrong, she is definitely in charge.  She is just more hands off and a mentor to me than the classic boss I have had in the past.

A ton of the work we do is virtual as well, so the most common form of communication is email.  I like being able to work when I want and where I want, but I work a lot more efficiently in an environment where my coworkers are near me at all times.  It has been a really good experience working more virtually, especially since technology is allowing us to do more and more of that, but I kind of miss working in the office all the time believe it or not.

This is my second to last day of my internship, and my second to last day in Buenos Aires.  Sad day.  Luckily I'm traveling around for a few weeks after, but I'm also ready to go home.  Living in a city all the way around the world has been one of the most awesome experiences I could have hoped to have this summer.

Latin American Business Culture

One of my goals for this internship is to learn more about the business culture here in South America, something that you must learn if you are to work abroad.  In one word, Latin American business culture is chill.  Unless you are a banker, you don't need to wear a suit, business casual is not even required for most days.  Sure, if you go to a networking event or any event like that it might be awkward not to wear business casual, but I don't think anyone would really care.  The work hours here are pretty relaxed as well.  For my internship, I choose the hours I work, and a lot of businesses around here are like that.  Most of my exposure has been to the startup industry, so most people work whenever, wherever they want / need to.  Although people here typically work less hours per week than entrepreneurs in the United States, their work ethic is certainly just as strong.  Working less hours is more due to cultural differences than not wanting to work their ass off.  In reality, a lot of successful entrepreneurs down here do work crazy hours, but most people looking to jumpstart their own gig usually clock in from 35-40 hours a week, if that.  Another thing I have noticed is taking work off is pretty easy, especially when the world cup is playing.  I feel very comfortable in this work environment.  The only thing that I have actually struggled with is that when you email or start a conversation with an Argentine, it is rude to get right to the point.  In the United States, people want emails to be as short and to the point as possible, however here it's rude not to start your email with "¿Cómo estás?".

On another note, VAMOS ARGENTINA.  I'm so happy to be in a country that is playing in the world cup final.  It's going to be awesome.

Also, here is a picture from the obelisco in downtown BA.

The Internship

This internship experience has turned out to be much more valuable than I thought.  It's not because I'm doing more exciting tasks than I thought I would be doing, or meeting more cool people (although I have met a lot); the main value has come from learning about startup culture and realizing that I could see myself working in this world.  I have learned more about startups in the last 5 weeks than I have about anything in only 5 weeks of time.  Startups are really important to Argentina from an economic standpoint.  Their economy has been struggling quite a bit, and there is quite a bit of unemployment.  This has lead to people working for themselves, a lot of times because they have no other option.  It's amazing what this has done for the startup culture here; almost everyone I meet at networking events, startup events, and within my organization have so many great ideas for startups, and they aren't afraid to pursue them.  Although there isn't a lot of funding for startups in Argentina right now, it's obvious that Buenos Aires is becoming more known as a startup ecosystem around the world, and I suspect it won't be long until the amount of Venture Capital funding down here increases significantly.  The startup community really has a chance to help turn the economy around and create jobs for the talented workers down here.  It's no Silicon Valley, but who knows, perhaps with time it will become a tech powerhouse.

My work is awesome because although I have a lot of day to day tasks, some of my larger projects will really make an impact down the road.  I'm working on a market research report that will really give our organization a good idea of what startups struggle with the most, and what we can do to make a difference for them.  It has been an amazing experience so far, and I look forward to making the best of it for the time I have left.