In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Juan Ciapessoni, a globally awarded visionary inventor and serial entrepreneur focused on creativity and innovation using applied technology. He's a pioneer in the development of the internet in his native country, Uruguay, where he created one of the country's first ISPs. He co-founded and leads The Electric Factory, a global leader in creative technology and innovation for the world's top brands.

Juan has received more than 100  awards from organizations as diverse as South by Southwest (SXSW), Fast Company, the London International Awards, and Cannes Lions. One example of his many collaborations is The HY Project—a unique way to implement sound in electric and hybrid vehicles that integrates with the environment and stimulates plant growth—which is preserved in the archives of MOMA in New York as the Innovation Winner at the AICP Next Awards.  He's been recognized as one of the most influential people in leadership, creativity, and innovation in Uruguay.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Please share more background about your first venture and how that led you to pursue even more interesting, innovative opportunities across the whole world. (2:04)
• Tell me about The Electric Factory. (4:25)
• Why have you been so successful? (6:15)
• Almost every student in Uruguay has an electronic device for education. Tell me about this. (11:29)
• Have you gotten a lot of publicity? (13:46)
• What's attracting companies to Uruguay? (14:42)
• How have you been able to really elevate your profile? (18:18)
• Can you share a story of when you have failed and overcome a challenge? (23:16)
• What’s your final advice? (26:34)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Juan’s early business beginnings (2:24)
• About The Electric Factory (4:28)
• Juan’s secret to success (6:35)
• Uruguay’s “one laptop per child” initiative and other technological programs (11:44)
• Uruguay and PR
• Attracting companies to Uruguay (14:47)
• Juan’s secret to elevating your profile (18:33)
• Juan’s failure story and how he overcame it (23:33)
• Juan’s final advice (26:49)

Quotes:

“Curiosity is not getting too deep into a piece of knowledge, in particular, to be more like a tourist of the world, to be an observer to see all the time, different angles, and not knowing too much about a certain topic. Because if you know too much about something … you lose perspective or the other points of view. I am that kind of guy that's always above the line, always above the layers. And when I start to feel a little bit lost about doing the same thing all the time, I'm all the time jumping into learning more about other disciplines.”

“You're always gonna find people who can get the expertise you need into that discipline, but you need to be someone like a sponge. This is my quote:  “The length of our life is finite. Sooner or later, we're going to die. But the width depends on us, and how we want to live our life depends on us.”"

“We need to be more human, more empathic with each other. And I think that's where Uruguay can win because we are passionate. We have passion. We enjoy life.”

“The only way to achieve long goals is by achieving small (goals).”

Connect with Juan Ciapessoni:
The Electric Factory
Juan's LinkedIn
Bachata

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