Colombian, Maria Lucia Bermudez, formed a community of entrepreneurs and experts, connected through multiple initiatives, and aimed at the internationalization of their businesses across the world, especially in European countries.
Linked to advertising and marketing, the young woman from Bogotá created her first agency, named Expresión Medio, a few years back, which supported several NGOs based in her country and social movements such as the Red Colombiana de Jóvenes and Colombia Soy.
After completing her Master’s degree in Business Communication and Digital Media at the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands, she founded the marketing and strategic business communication company, 7days2Go, aimed at helping and guiding people to bring their products and services to the Dutch market.
In addition to offering knowledge about the culture and functioning of business activities in the European nation, the company provides information about procedures and networking. According to the latest report from Startup Genome, Amsterdam offers attractive financing opportunities and tax benefits.
In 2019, Maria Lucia Bermudez, along with other key players in the “ecosystem,” created the Here2Start Fest, whose essential purpose is to provide a platform to showcase the work of people in the countries where they live and their contribution to the economy.
The second edition, held virtually in July, included talks, live seminars, panel discussions, networking opportunities, an online business roundtable and the exchange of experiences in four key categories: Make it Happen, Community, Business Landing and The Future.
In the first of these, experts and entrepreneurs discussed the practical approach to starting, growing and expanding a business abroad, from obtaining a visa, finding new clients on the Linkedln network, to ways to launch and obtain funding, tax and legal requirements, and business training.
The main emerging enterprises, international community leaders based in the Netherlands, success stories, initiatives and companies such as: Picnic, Corona Party, Women in Analytics, International Creative Woman, Rotterdam Venture Café and Business Breakfast were also presented.
The Festival, which reaches more than 15,000 entrepreneurs, had Colombia as the first guest country. It also included “business landing” advice. This category consisted of the exploration of opportunities for small and medium businesses in the Netherlands and Colombia.
The new pandemic situation implies an analysis of future entrepreneurship, so speakers and participants talked about sustainable mobility, the international perspective of education, the post-COVID-19 workspace and the reinvention of coworking.
For Maria Lucia Bermudez, Here2Start Fest represents a starting point in the context of a global crisis, where it is essential to rethink life and business. “We believe that unity is our strength, so being and consolidating a community is the way to move forward and build a better tomorrow.”
