y combinator interviews are coming to brazil, unless covid-19 has anything to say about it
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Contxto – Many hearts skipped a beat on knowing that the Y Combinator would be arriving to São Paulo next May to carry out in-person interviews with entrepreneurs. Naturally, its objective is to search for startups from Latin America to add to its next batch.
It was a big deal when it made the announcement on March 2. And that’s because it constitutes the first time the famous accelerator would scour for startup talent directly in the region. This is as opposed to having the entrepreneurs fly out to San Francisco, as it’s normally played out.
But, guess who’s here threatening to ruin all the fun?
You guessed it: COVID-19. And correspondingly, things are changing.
Last Wednesday (11), Y Combinator announced that its W20 Demo Day would be online. As for its Summer 2020 batch, the accelerator stated on its website, “depending on the circumstances this summer, some or all of the batch may take place remotely over video.”
So depending on how the situation evolves, these scheduled interviews in Brazil may wind up being via video conferencing.
I’m crossing my fingers that the situation improves by then. And if not, startups that are applying for S20 should prepare a pitch that can make the most of Google Hangouts, Zoom, or these other tools.
Related article: All 58 Y Combinator Latin American startups
Coronavirus this, coronavirus that
If you’re reading this a year from now, perhaps all this coronavirus yammer will seem repetitive and irrelevant. But believe me, the disease is wreaking havoc and changing things like we’ve never seen before. Its aftereffects will more than likely shape the current state of your reality.
In terms of innovation, solutions with technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), are being developed to provide some level of relief. And it might be too late to make much of a difference with the current pandemic. Nonetheless, it’ll certainly come in handy in the future.
Whether it’s how healthcare is provided, governmental approaches to disease control, logistical considerations, the microscopic pathogen is changing the way we view and interact with the globe.
Related articles: Tech and startups from Brazil!
-ML
