Argentine tech entrepreneurs united for children

With the unbeatable setting of the sunset seen from the terrace of the tenth floor of a skyscraper in Brickell, the financial center of Miami, 22 Argentine tech entrepreneurs met at the Lazo facilities. The objective: raise funds for the Ricardo Gutierrez Children Foundation (RGCF), an NGO that works from the United States collaborating with the Cooperator of the Children’s Hospital of the City of Buenos Aires.

In keeping with the relaxed style of the event, but without losing the Argentine touch, the menu was provided by The Cooking Quarters and Pieras Cakes, companies that regularly accompany solidarity initiatives of the Argentine community in Miami.

There were empanadas, alfajores and beer, but above all there was an air of novelty: never before had developers of technological solutions come together to help, with the flag as a common denominator.

“The truth is that those of us who come to this city to start a business fight every day to make our way (…) Miami is very expensive, and one cannot take one’s eyes off the company’s accounting, but when there is a call to lend a hand We do everything possible to be present,” explained Rodrigo Irarrázabal, CEO of Illow, a platform that offers privacy management on websites and which won Endeavor’s pitch competition this year.

In a similar tone, Agustín Di Luciano, CEO of Nexton, pointed out “we Argentinians who are undertaking in the United States, in my case with technology and art, have in Miami an enormous critical mass of Argentineness, of talent, projects and opportunities that link us with our origins, and helping the kids who need it most unites us more.”

Night was falling, and the weather was pleasant. The Argentine consul in Miami, Marcelo Gilardoni, also supported the initiative. The presence of the representative of the Argentine State among the tech was another novel detail in an area that is usually managed far from public entities.

Gilardoni highlighted “one of my main objectives is to support the synergy between companies and non-profit entities like the Foundation. In these types of meetings we can put ideas on the table that win-win for all parties. As a Consulate, we are interested in Argentine startups positioning themselves as best as possible in Miami (…) and on the other hand, of course the health of Argentine children is a cause that moves us, in the same way that there are many strong solidarity organizations here , like Manos del Sur, for example. I am convinced that the Argentine community in Miami is uniting more and more and that bond must be strengthened.”

In the various conversation groups, the members of the RGCF also exchanged views on the moment the country is going through, highlighting the richness in the exchange of experiences between entrepreneurs from Miami and Argentina, comparing scenarios and opportunities.

Around 8 o’clock, the organizer of the event, Juan Manuel Barrero, expressed satisfaction with this first call and the opportunity for Argentine startups to generate joint projects – Lazo is an all-in-one SaaS platform for tech startups that plan to land in United States – and gave way to the brief presentation of Norberto Spángaro, Director of RGCF.

Spángaro especially appreciated the presence of “young people, with enthusiasm and new ideas” and recalled the polio outbreak that Argentina suffered in the mid-1950s, for which the Hospital Cooperator was created. “From those same intentions to lend a hand, in 2020, it emerged to create this Foundation here, in the United States, with which we can help a lot with the problems of the country that gave us everything,” he reflected.

Finally, members of the RGCF thanked Lazo for the call, and explained that the Foundation is the link between the Argentine community in the United States and the Hospital Cooperator. “With the intermediation on our part, Today the 300 thousand Argentines who live here can donate and the money goes to the Cooperadora, which has been doing magnificent work for 65 years.” Spángaro closed.