It’s official, Sonic Pollen out of Valparaiso, Chile has been selected as one of the five finalists for the Intel Latin America Challenge (Desafio Intel) and will be the only startup/company representing Chile.
Will this year be a “three-peat” for Chile ???
In 2010, Latin America’s augmented reality pioneers, Gled (from nearby Viña del Mar, Chile) became the first team out of Chile to win this competition. And in 2011, Lifeware Integra (from Valparaiso, Chile) were the winners. Must be something in the water (: !!! Something also cool to note is that all the team are products of Universidad Frederico Santa María. (Thanks for pointing this out, Félix)!
The Intel Global Challenge at UC Berkeley (formerly the Intel®+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge) is where the best engineers and scientists present how they plan to make the world a better place through their innovations and entrepreneurial skills.
Originally envisioned as an incubator for artists and musicians, Sonic Pollen is Chile’s first social network dedicated to the administration of music shows and booking musicians.
Sonic Pollen could be considered the Latin American version of Gig Maven which over the course of 3 years reached nearly 2 million registered users and 20,000 venues. It was acquired by Reverb Nation in August 2011.
Sonic Pollen CEO Félix Barros Ribalta who is also the visionary behind Mustach (Music Startups Chile) will travel to Silicon Valley during the entire month of July 2012 for a crash course called “YouNoodle Entrepreneurship Camp”, which consists of workshops on entrepreneurship, networking, linking with mentors, investors and immersion in the world of Silicon Valley. During this time SonicPollen will refine their proposal in hopes of increasing their chances of success.
In September 2012, the top 3 teams will be invited to present at the world finals at UC Berkeley, where they will compete for 1st place in Latin America.
AndesBeat asks for the ‘buena onda’ (good energy) of Chile’s startup and entrepreneurship community in helping to spread the word about their work and sharing with them well-wishes and any support/expertise or past experiences to help them on this part of their journey.
Additionally, if you are a musician/entertainer or somehow connected to the music and entertainment scene, register on their site today!
Continúa éxito, chicos!
Connect with them here
