This is the story of Clément, a Frenchman by birth but Colombian in spirit and heart.

He came to Colombia more than 3 years ago with plans to spend only two months on vacation, but he realized the cultural richness and the cool people that are here. In addition, the country gave him the opportunity to take a tourist and work visa and of course: Clément took the opportunity. For this reason he began to take Spanish classes in Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena. After a month and a half, he returned to Bogotá and realized that he liked the city because it is big, with different environments, restaurants, cultural activities and bars, with which no one will ever get bored. So he decided to stay in the capital without a specific objective, but with some plans in mind for which he was postponing the return to his native country.

During his stay, Clément had some ideas that he was able to carry out during the time the Peace Process was being signed in the country, a process that gave him the confidence to settle here. Initially, he started working with a foundation and later set up his first business that it's called "Mo'chillin”In direct association with a community of 80 houses in Media Guajira (an area with low tourist demand in the region that is located in Ranchería Mañatu). The purpose was to export the backpacks that these people produce manually to France doing a fair trade. They started in France, and then went to Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium to sell digitally and physically. But this is a passion that our Colombian heart has, because it is a business in which the real price of the product is very expensive, so it sells the cheapest backpacks to favor the purchase, and thus generate income to the community. Currently, this business works with the legal company in France.

However, this is not the only thing that Clément does in Colombia, as he has a second business that he started a year and a half ago. And how did it start? He had to move to Bogotá and was with some friends thinking that it was very expensive and complicated to move, and that in France there are platforms that allow us to get private workers with all the necessary characteristics. His friends did not know people who did this work in Bogotá, which allowed him the birth of this idea. In addition, he identified that in Colombia there is a very large market due to the mistrust that exists among some Colombians. Therefore, he wanted to give Colombians the opportunity to create a new confidence through his business.

Thus arose From Don, a platform that allows users and providers to have confidence in the provision of different services at home. For this, he partnered with a Colombian who handles the technical part of development, and they assembled this business with 70 categories of different services such as maintenance, cleaning, moving, private classes, animal care, among others. The objective is that the people who offer the service inform what they can, what they know and what they like to do, since they have a capacity or a passion that is not necessarily part of their profession.

Currently, they have more than 200 workers and are located in Bogotá in the urban area, from Soacha to Chía. Although the idea is to grow, they focus on working in Bogotá because it is a more digitized city, with young people and a large population that may be more open to a platform.

Like all people who want to start a business, Clément had doubts at the beginning about replicating a business that already exists in other places, since he had to know well how the local culture works. He knew that in France the service is offered from individuals to individuals, but there is no occupation that in Colombia is known as a “todero”, which is the person who knows how to do everything and does it full time. They did not anticipate this type of work, so they had to adapt the plan a bit and know the laws that govern it. He also had to take into account the cultural aspects of the time to be able to realize his project, although the people were always very open and participative. And despite the difficulties that a business can have, none of this has prevented the growth of From Don.

Now, in terms of clients, the interest is on the part of Colombians, since 90% of the clients are local, and only 10% are foreigners who live here. Most of the people from Bogotá use these services because they have some urgency all the time.

In addition, our entrepreneur considers it essential to learn Spanish Because it helps to understand the people with whom you work as it is not common to find people who speak English or French, and otherwise you would need a translator. For this reason Clément studied 7 intensive weeks in Nueva Lengua and he acquired a level of Spanish with which he could communicate and from which he could speak very Colombian Spanish. She really liked the learning experience because in addition to the classes, she also found contact with people from other cultures who have the same interest and from whom she could learn by sharing in the same group. It doesn't matter if they were from Brazil, Switzerland, Australia or France, he always spoke with his friends in Spanish, especially in Bogotá because it is a business city.

For this reason, Clément recommends the experience of coming to Bogotá to learn Spanish and why not? to start a new business, as it is a place with a lot of diversity and where something is always happening. In addition to this, it was interesting for him to be able to talk more with the locals because it is a city in which tourism is not so visibly concentrated and you can get to know the culture better with the locals.

Finally, Clément tells us that his favorite area in Bogotá is Quinta Camacho, since you can find restaurants, bars and places with new concepts, as well as the G zone, the Macarena or the city center.

This was the story of a French entrepreneur in Colombia. A story that you too could enjoy if you venture to live this experience. If you want to receive information to schedule your visit to Colombia, you can write to us at contactenos@nuevalengua.com and you will get a reply soon.

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