Carta al congreso: La reforma tributaria afecta directamente al emprendimiento

Estimados Congresistas de Colombia,

Regrese a Colombia hace más de dos años con el sueño de crear empresa, de traer mis conocimientos y experiencias y ofrecerlos a mi país que tanto me ha dado. Llevamos más de dos años tratando de construir empresa en Colombia y no nos ha sido nada fácil, en el transcurso de estos años hemos prácticamente trabajado para crear un nombre dando a conocer nuestro trabajo, pero también para ustedes; para pagar sus sueldos y los de otros funcionarios públicos que en muchos de los casos velan por nuestros intereses.

Después de analizar la reforma tributaria que se está realizando actualmente quiero que sepan que sinceramente estamos preocupados. Actualmente estamos pagando un IVA del 16% y no hemos logrado ni siquiera pagar nuestros sueldos, por eso estamos seguros que con un incremento del IVA al 19% seguro las cosas se van a poner aún más difíciles, no sólo para nosotros sino para otros emprendedores que están en este mismo proceso de crear las empresas del futuro, empresas de tecnología e innovación que contribuyen en gran parte al desarrollo del país. Condiciones tributarias tan desfavorables dificultan realizar esa transición necesaria de pasar de ser un país que sólo le ofrece materias primas al mundo, a ser promotores y creadores de tecnología, software e innovación. Conozco el mercado y el talento colombiano y por eso le apuesto a el, pero también soy consciente que necesitamos más apoyo del gobierno y muchos más incentivos.

Me tomo el atrevimiento de escribir esta carta en nombre de todos los emprendedores colombianos para pedirles de manera respetuosa y sincera que se pongan en nuestros zapatos y nos ayuden a interceder por nosotros, no sólo para que no seamos afectados por esta reforma sino que incluso logren ofrecernos unas condiciones tributarias más favorables, y que ayuden a seguir fomentando el emprendimiento.

Hoy en día el emprendimiento es considerado un deporte de alto riesgo y uno de los factores determinantes son los impuestos y el apoyo por parte del estado. Creemos que ustedes como promotores del desarrollo están en la obligación de velar por nuestros intereses, y deberían ayudarnos a promover todo tipo de incentivos para que este deporte de alto riesgo se vuelva un deporte más seguro de practicar y más personas se puedan vincular al mismo.

En los países más  innovadores del mundo como los Países Bajos las empresas pequeñas y que están empezando no pagan nada de impuestos hasta que no logren llegar al punto de equilibrio. En Colombia a pesar de existir iniciativas que permiten exención de impuestos por un periodo de tiempo corto a empresas nuevas, las restricciones de entrada dejan a muchas empresas por fuera y nos ponen a pagar impuestos desde nuestra primera venta.

Cordialmente,

Santiago Carrillo

Co-fundador Tuatara

tuatara.co

Repudio a la Deshonestidad

El día de ayer paso algo que demuestra lo lejos que estamos del desarrollo en nuestra sociedad, la carencia de valores que no permiten un progreso colectivo. Que si queremos mejorar debemos seguir repudiando todo acto delictivo que sólo desmotiva a los pocos que tenemos la iniciativa de dar sin esperar nada a cambio para que las nuevas generaciones vivan mejor.

Desde hace más de un año que participo de manera activa junto con otros jóvenes expertos y apasionados por la tecnología en varias comunidades como el Google Developers Group Bogotá, Android Meetup Bogotá y Desarrolladores Android Colombia. En estas comunidades realizamos eventos completamente gratuitos con el ánimo de compartir nuestros conocimientos. Luego de participar en varios eventos de estos como invitado y expositor he visto varias tendencias interesantes:

1. Al compartir nuestro conocimiento sin recibir ninguna remuneración económica a cambio estamos generando un impacto positivo en la sociedad. Esto permite que muchas personas que no han tenido las mismas oportunidades que algunos hemos tenido puedan acceder al conocimiento que les permite empoderarse para mejorar su calidad de vida.
2. Al realizar este tipo de labores sociales el reconocimiento, agradecimiento y cariño que uno recibe de personas completamente desconocidas es invaluable y la única forma de que usted lo compruebe es haciendo el intento de compartir su experiencia.
3. Es evidente que pequeñas comunidades a lo largo de la historia han marcado paradigmas y permiten generar cambios positivos en la sociedad.
4. Al participar en estas comunidades se tiene la oportunidad de conocer personas muy talentosas que le pueden aportar a su vida personal y profesional.

En el día de ayer se realizó uno de estos eventos organizado por el Google Developers Group Bogotá de manera GRATUITA. El evento se hizo en las oficinas de APES una de las startup más innovadores colombianas con las que he tenido la oportunidad de trabajar. Apesar de las buenas intenciones de los organizadores quienes ofrecieron su oficina y tiempo libre para compartir sus conocimientos, no faltaron los desadaptados que vieron la “oportunidad” y mientras se les ofrecía una porción de pizza de cortesía a todos los asistentes, aprovecharon la ocasión y se robaron dos computadores de la oficina. Lamentablemente no se pudo hacer nada y los ladrones se llevaron su botín dejando a un grupo de jóvenes emprendedores completamente desalentados y desilusionados. Como ustedes saben es bastante improbable que encuentren a los responsables de este acto delictivo. Por esta razón decidí contar la historia, para que se difunda el mensaje que repudiamos este tipo de actitudes deshonestas e igualmente alertar a aquellas personas y/o empresas que realizan este tipo de eventos.

Crowdfunding: make it happen

Crowdfunding is a really interesting concept. A community of diverse people is able to give small money contributions to finance an interesting idea. The concept by it self it's so powerful that, small financial contributions from millions can turn into enough resources to transform an idea into an initial product. The internet and the communities all over internet are transforming the traditional economy and the society. Not too long ago, you had to have a background in business, experience and connections in order to become an entrepreneur in most cases. Today, you can make an idea real by only using your imagination and creativity to share with others what you want to do. If you, dear reader have an awesome idea, and think it can have a positive impact into others' lives, I encourage you to write it down. Make a short and nice video that can explain with a few words and images what you want to do. There are several platforms where you could present your idea for free. Who knows, this idea might even get a lot of support and attention. This idea might let you join the new era of independent and passionate entrepreneurs that are changing the world. Here are some of those websites where you could share your idea:

• https://www.kickstarter.com/
• https://www.tilt.com/
• http://www.indiegogo.com/
• http://goteo.org/

You might not have an idea yet, but you could also have a look at the websites and the projects others have. Find something that aligns with your mindset. Find something that you think can help to make the world a better place. You don't need to donate a lot of money, but the small contribution of thousands of people can turn into enough money to make someone else's dream become true. Money can't make you happy but the way you spend it actually can give you happiness:

If you have a project already or know about other websites for crowdfunding please share them with us.

Truth of friendship

Life is journey where we meet a lot of people. Some people are too busy to bother to help and care about others. Some are just standing by, not doing anything even for themselves. Others have empathy and offer you what they have without expecting anything in return.

 I call this last group of people friends.

Friends are an important part of our lives. They always extend their hands to help you, they give you hope when everything seems bad. They light the road when it's dark; they help you find your path.  

Having empathy allows you to open your heart to others. It brings you to understand how they feel, how they see the world, and how things seem inside their minds. The ability to let others come before you is not act of inferiority, but the act of a true human being. A being that uses

his own intelligence to understand the world, a being that does not seek recognition but accepts that some life situations have more priority than others. Our human intelligence allows us to see that we are not so different from each other. Ethnical groups, beliefs, traditions, religions and nationalities are only the flavors of live that make our world colorful. Its always so interesting to share ideas with others that think differently. It requires an open mind and an open will to see the world through the  eyes of others and learn more about ourselves.

Society has shaped us to be competitive and dictates what’s right or wrong.  It makes us worry about trivial things like how we should look to be attractive or accepted. All the while, deep inside we have no values, compassion or kindness. We must make an effort to stop rushing our lives for a second to see the others that surround  us, and try to understand that they also have problems, families, dreams and goals. Then and only then, we will able to open  our hearts to meet those who may become new friends in our lives willing to help make us better people.

Tolerance: a Simple Recipe for Harmony

Many world problems originate from intolerance. People do not tolerate one another simply because one seems “different”. You are judged based on your race, religion, political preferences, or simply because of the way you see the world. Perhaps several years ago when the world was not connected through the internet, you could encounter a situation when a traveler from a different part of the world was considered abnormal. Fortunately this has changed a lot; the internet has helped people become aware that there are others that think and look differently. Unfortunately, we still find many people that still find it hard to accept those differences.

How boring this world would be if we all looked the same, had the same skin color, hair and eyes. The beauty of our human nature originates from the diversity caused by tiny changes in our DNA, changes that give us color and shape. How boring this world would be if we all believed the same, if we all had the same costumes and agreed to a single way of understanding the world. We must accept the fact that we are not identical, and that there’s not an absolute true for anything. You have to be a fool, an ignorant or lazy person to not even try to understand why others think and look differently. Several human lives could have been saved already if we all had empathy, putting ourselves into other’s shoes, trying to respect and understand why others disagree on what we believe is logical. Open your mind and heart to understand others, try to see the world through the eyes of those who disagree with you. Explore other paths, other cultures; do not be afraid of being  in their shoes.

A person’s life is shaped by experiences, some tougher than others. Our families, surroundings, the date and country where we were born, create a particular set of conditions that define most of what we are. You can not judge a person without even trying to consider their origin.  Your human nature makes you biased to what seems comfortable to you. You were taught in a certain way that seems right to you, but perhaps others that were taught differently might have other great insights to offer you. 

Tolerance is powerful weapon that has helped different ethnical groups become accepted in our society. If you tolerate the ideas of others and accept that we are different by nature, then, and only then, we will be able to create a better tomorrow for the upcoming generations.

To the Crazy Ones

Some time ago, I read an interesting quote about crazy and wise people: “There are more crazy people than wise, however in every wise person there is more craziness than wisdom”. You might think that craziness is a quality that you don’t want to have, but sometimes it can allow you to think out of the box and see things differently. The fact that you go against what seems obvious might be seen by others as being crazy. But we owe thanks to those who questioned what we were taught, who questioned the vague perception of the world through our senses and intuition. Because of them, big changes happened that made the  world a better place to a certain extent *.  

Galileo, with his Heliocentrism theory, totally changed the perspective of the world at that time. Darwin, with his theory of evolution, proposed a scientific and rational explanation for the origin of the species (which is still seen as crazy by many today). Several other intellectuals have proven through history that being crazy can bring a lot of sanity to our lives. They found explanations beyond average perception; solutions that lie right in front of our eyes but we were too blinded by our sanity to see them.

Do not judge those who seem crazy to the rest of the world, but try to put yourself in their shoes. Understand their point of view, be crazy yourself and see how it goes. “Crazy people are not crazy if one accepts their reasoning.” -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

*There is still a lot to improve, perhaps our consumerist habits? A more equal and fair distribution of the wealth, food, resources, knowledge and education? 

The Power of a Community

A community can be defined as a group of individuals who share the same values and have common goals. Communities have the potential to build things that you cannot do by yourself. Every individual has a different set of  skills and perspectives that can help. For example, you can see a football team as a community that has the goal to win a game. Every player on the field has a responsibility that contributes to the team’s win. If you play a game without a goalkeeper or defence, your opponent has a higher chance to score against you. On the other hand, if you don’t have strikers or midfielders, your chances to score are also very low. In the end, you will never be able to win the game without a team with the right skills.

We find all kinds of communities in our society. However, there’s one particular type of community in the Software world that I find very interesting; perhaps you haven’t heard of it yet but actually benefit from it. Communities of this type work with a very interesting model known as Open Source. Open Source projects are started usually by a small group of developers, or even a single person, who want to solve a specific problem and are willing to share their solution with the world for free. Many of these projects have become enormous and complex applications that shaped much of the technology that you are using right now while reading this blog. 

One of the interesting things about Open Source projects is that people from different locations, who speak different languages, and have totally different backgrounds collaborate together and create amazing products. 

Being part of a community that does good for the people is a great opportunity to learn something new, to gain some work and other experiences, and to help the world and others that we don’t even know. 

I encourage you to find and contribute to a community that does something of your interest. In many communities, you will always find interesting people willing to share their knowledge and help you to get started.

Some interesting Open Source organisations that perhaps might have some interesting projects to offer you:

• Mozilla
• Libre Office
• Apache

I also encourage you to share with us if you know any other interesting communities or projects.


Thanks!