Editor's Note: The San Antonio Report is pleased to feature Weekly News. big city small town Podcast hosted by Report co-founder Robert Rivard. We publish a quick synopsis of the podcast every Tuesday.
When it comes to technology, San Antonio startups operate in silos.
“If you have the screws and I already have the tires, why not put them together and build a car?” Tech Bloc CEO Ileana Gonzalez says on the “bigcitysmalltown” podcast episode with Robert Rivard He said this:
Gonzalez, a Guadalajara-born millennial who came to San Antonio to attend UTSA, believes San Antonio's tech ecosystem is learning to collaborate better instead of “reinventing the wheel from scratch.” He said he was there.
A recent delegation from the tech bloc visited the Monterrey Tecnológico in Nuevo León, Mexico, to learn what's going on in the tech megacity. Tec, a non-profit private university in Monterrey, is known for boosting entrepreneurship, from business incubation to business integration, to encourage entrepreneurship and an innovative ecosystem.
“They're always looking for innovation outside of their own company, so they're always asking… 'Who else can I meet for XYZ?'” Gonzalez said. It was a very interesting structure that I had never seen in San Antonio.”
But Tech Bloc is growing and reaching out to different groups, modules and clusters in San Antonio to share the same mission and vision, Gonzalez said.
San Antonio'sAmbiente familiar” Rivard said it could be a way for the city to connect Tecnológico de Monterrey's campus to come here.
“We have a cultural comfort level, and I think that's very important in building trust. In my own experience in Mexico, you have to have a strong personal relationship before you have a strong business relationship.” “We understand that and that's how we operate here,” he said.
Gonzalez said San Antonio's tech scene will be a blend of culture and an “American mindset” to attract young entrepreneurs from Mexico seeking venture capital and support for startup ideas. . It would also be an alternative for people with family members launching startups, she said.
Gonzalez added that he believes San Antonio's tech ecosystem will attract “a new wave of Mexican kids and entrepreneurial kids.” But San Antonio residents will have to learn to accept the transplant.
Visit “bigcitysmalltown” to listen to episode 47 with Tech Bloc CEO Ileana Gonzalez or listen via the link below.
