On October 19 and 20th, we will be staging our second NewCo Festival in Mexico City. Over 60 innovative businesses will be opening their doors and sharing their experience and insights on tackling meaningful problems. Contrary to those who would build border walls, the NewCo movement believes solutions can come from anywhere, and there are great groups of people inside companies all over the planet working to bring these solutions to market. I’m looking forward to getting up close and personal with innovators south of the border. Below is where I’ll be.
Wednesday, October 19
9:00 AM: Tu Canton
Roughly translated as “your village,” Tu Canton is bringing a new approach to real estate transactions. They are working to create a more transparent and accessible housing market. Obscure property rights is a big area of focus for the Blockchain Trust Accelerator. I’m looking forward to learning how the problem is being addressed in Mexico.
11:15 AM: Uber
My colleague John Battelle refers to Uber as Silicon Valley’s Rashomon. I’m curious to hear how Uber presents it’s global expansion to members of that community.
1:15 PM: Enlight
The majority of humanity now lives in cities. Mexico City was one of the first mega-cities to grow in an emerging market. I suspect they learned a thing or two about hacking infrastructure to support such a population crush. Enlight is working on the smart grid of the future. I’m looking forward to learning more about how they generate and distribute electricity in Mexico City.
4:30 PM: Centro de Technologia e Innovacion
NewCo Festivals always feature shared work spaces and business accelerators. Such entities have become required support structure for local innovation scenes. I’m looking forward to seeing how that model is implemented in Mexico.
Thursday, October 20
9:00 AM: The Hidden Kitchen
NewCo Festivals are not just a way to meet interesting businesses, they are also a great way to truly experience a modern working city. A thriving tech scene always goes hand-in-hand with a thriving artistic and entertainment scene. The Hidden Kitchen is a start up restaurant that is going to share their new take on the traditional breakfast. This session was a no-brainer because my wife who happens to own a breakfast restaurant in the Bay Area is joining me on this trip!
11:15 AM: kubo.finacerio
There are many example of innovative financial services models in emerging markets. kubo.finacerio enables peer to peer lending. I’m looking forward to learning more about the bleeding edge of financial services in Mexico.
1:15 PM: Asociacion Mexicana de Vento Online
I previously led marketing at Walmart.com and am involved with a bunch of start ups in the retail space. I’m looking forward to getting an overview of the ecommerce landscape in Mexico.
4:30 PM: Victoria147
Fostering diversity in the tech industry is a global imperative. Victoria147 is an accelerator for female entrepreneurs in Mexico. I am looking forward to learning how to foster a more inclusive environment for innovators.
We are going to bookend our experience at the Kickoff and Wrapup gatherings. I will be tweeting my experience @Brionic. Tickets are still available. Hope to see you there!