Innovation

technology, innovation and values

from the periphery

Emiliano Kargieman
ek@aconcaguaventures.com

http://www.aconcaguaventures.com/blog
 About me
• I spent the last 15 years of my life
building and thinking about building
innovative technology
• I co-founded , a global
information security software
company doing great
• I recently launched
, to help others build successful
high-growth, global technology
companies
Where does innovation take
place?
• Technology

• Processes

• Management

• Productisation / Packaging

• Business Model, Revenue, Sales & Distribution

• Positioning / Marketing
 Why innovate?
• Three answers:

– A personal answer

– An organisational answer

– A country/regional answer
How to face the challenges?
• Personal
– The link between ignorance, curiosity and
knowledge

– Pay attention to what goes on in the world

(be connected)

– Experiment

– Take Risks

– Stand Failure
How to face the challenges?
• Organisationally
– Connect to the world
(network, travel, read, attend
workshops&meetings )
– Culture
(Innovation, Quality, Ambition, Merit,
Research, Participation)
– Structure
(employee ownership, horizontality, slack )
– Mantain a healthy growth rate and
objectives
(focus, invest, prove, get traction, scale)
How to face the challenges?
• Country/Region-wise
– Creating a new industry is a process
• Coordination of players: government, academia,
private sector, NGOs.
• Long term public policy for research (develop
your own agenda!)
• Create a tax/legal framework that encourages
the birthrate of companies (boost both natality
and mortality rates)
• Build a layered financing ecosystem (it’s not just
$$$, but the ability to measure investment risk)
• Leverage your Diaspora!
 Building innovative technology
from Argentina
• Challenges
– Absurd, old or misaligned tax and societary laws
– Scarce sources of funding
– Lack of role models and management experience in
knowledge-based industries
– Low investment (both public and private) in science and
technology
– Disconnect between private companies and state-
sponsored academia.
– Distance to the most interesting markets

• Opportunities
– Availability of a limited ammount of very good quality
human resources:
• Great basic science formation in universities
• Sizeable and well-educated middle class
 “For a technology to be
successful, reality must take
precedence over public relations,
for nature cannot be fooled.” –
Richard Feynman