From Lastarria Studio to Regional Hub: How One Santiago Entrepreneur Built a 200-Person Tech Workforce

In a converted colonial building along Calle Merced in the bohemian heart of Lastarria, something unexpected is happening. While Santiago's unemployment rate sits at 7.8%—above the national average—and many companies are consolidating operations, a homegrown software design and development firm has quietly become one of the city's largest private employers in the tech sector, with plans to double its workforce within eighteen months.

The company, which operates across three floors of a restored nineteenth-century mansion, now employs 200 people, up from just twelve in 2020. What makes the expansion remarkable isn't merely its scale, but its hiring philosophy: nearly 85 percent of new staff come from Santiago's outlying municipalities, including San Bernardo and Puente Alto, where joblessness rates exceed 9 percent. Many employees work hybrid schedules, a model that has proven critical in a city where public transport congestion routinely costs workers two hours daily on average.

The firm's growth reflects a broader shift in Santiago's labor market. According to the Chamber of Commerce's latest quarterly report, tech and creative services sectors have added 3,200 net positions in the metropolitan region over the past twelve months—one of the few bright spots in an otherwise stagnant employment landscape dominated by retail contraction and service-sector wage stagnation. Average salaries in design and development roles now range from 1.8 to 2.4 million pesos monthly for mid-level staff, a 12 percent increase year-on-year.

What distinguishes this particular operation is its commitment to training. The company has partnered with Universidad de Chile's engineering faculty to create a six-month apprenticeship program targeting secondary school graduates from lower-income neighborhoods. Since launching last year, the scheme has produced forty-three full-time hires, with a retention rate above 90 percent.

The pressure on Santiago's job market has intensified following recent global economic volatility. The construction sector, historically a major employer in the capital, has shed nearly 8,000 positions in the past eighteen months. Manufacturing continues its decades-long decline. Yet pockets of genuine growth persist, particularly among companies willing to invest in training local talent rather than importing expertise.

The Lastarria-based firm's success offers a template: invest in infrastructure that accommodates Santiago's geographic realities, develop homegrown talent, and treat employment expansion as a long-term commitment rather than a quarterly adjustment. As the city grapples with persistent inequality and regional disparities, such models may prove increasingly essential.

This article was compiled by AI and screened before publishing. See our editorial standards.