It is around ten in the morning when Sebastián Fuenzalida connects to the video call. It doesn’t take him long to make it clear which word has most marked his career: decision.
He speaks with the tranquility of someone who has been entrepreneurship for more than two decades, but also with the certainty of having profoundly changed the way he builds companies. During the conversation, stories appear about his first businesses, the mistakes he made, the evolution of Bheed, and a health crisis that completely transformed his way of leading.
“Very rarely does an entrepreneur end up doing what he started doing.”
The phrase summarizes a good part of his career. Because before leading one of the fastest growing technology platforms in Latin America, Fuenzalida went through different businesses, changed models several times and learned that entrepreneurship has much less to do with holding on to an idea than with knowing when to change direction.
The beginning: when entrepreneurship was more natural than looking for a job
Long before founding Bheed, Sebastián had already discovered that he liked to build things. First he took apart computers to understand how they worked. Then he began to assemble and sell them and at the age of 17 he opened an Internet cafe and a small computer store that quickly began to grow, allowing him to sell equipment to institutions in the health sector and finance a large part of his university studies.
While studying Civil Engineering in Computer Science – later complemented with Engineering in Administration –, it was already clear to him that his path would not be in a single company.
He founded Support24 and, since then, practically his entire career has been linked to entrepreneurship.
At what moment did you discover that you wanted to start a business?
«The truth is that this started a long time ago. I always had a great facility for technology and my first venture was around 17 years old. I opened an Internet cafe, built computers, sold them and it did very well. Thanks to that business I was able to pay for a large part of my university and from then on I always knew that I wanted to do parallel things.
“I think I was born with entrepreneurship in my blood,” says Sebastián.
From managing buildings to building a technology company
Bheed’s story didn’t start as a software company either. More than a decade ago, Sebastián and his partners managed buildings until a conversation with a management committee completely changed the direction of the business. While analyzing a leak in a pipe, one of those present proposed repairing it with a simple industrial adhesive.
More than the improvised solution, what caught Sebastián’s attention was the enormous technical information gap that exists in the real estate industry.
They left building management behind to develop technologies that solved problems the market was not yet addressing. First it was a platform for real estate after-sales; Then solutions were added for housing delivery, maintenance, inspections, digital concierge and community management.
Each new development was born because a client faced a different need, allowing the platform to grow organically until it integrated more than 25 modules and 7 applications.
What problem did you see in the market that led you to create Bheed?
«The first thing we understood was that the information was completely fragmented. There were many companies solving part of the problem, but very few that accompanied the entire process.
“We never thought about making a giant platform from the beginning; it was our own clients who showed us the way,” says Sebastián.
As the company grew, the way Sebastián understood entrepreneurship also changed.
If in its first years decisions were born mainly from intuition, today it ensures that each new project responds to a much more structured process, a methodology that it even shares in universities and MBA programs.
What changed in Sebastián from 10 years ago and today?
«Before it was much more from the heart. If he thought an idea was good, he left immediately. Today, I have a structure to decide. I analyzed, validated information, studied the market and only then took a step. The big difference is that before I went where the wind blew; “Today I have an architecture to decide which endeavors really make sense for me.”
For Sebastián, that philosophy explains a good part of Bheed’s growth.
The platform was designed to adapt to the needs of each client, not to impose a unique illusion. Analyzing the problem before developing the technology continues to be, in his opinion, the company’s main competitive advantage.
The cost of building a startup
The growth also came at a personal cost. During the pandemic, as the real estate market faced a sharp slowdown, Sebastián began to suffer the physical consequences of years of working at the limit.
He slept only 3 hours a day, gained more than 15 kg and developed an illness that kept him practically unable to get out of bed for several months. Still, I was still connected and working.
How did that experience change your way of leading?
«I understood that the problem was not working long hours. The problem was wanting to solve everything at the same time. I started to worry about my health, sleep, and mental well-being and I realized that you perform much more when you work focused. Today entrepreneurs talk a lot about growing, but little about taking care of themselves, and I learned that lesson the hard way.
This process changed his way of understanding leadership. He incorporated habits that he did not consider important, such as taking care of rest, practicing yoga, and establishing boundaries between work and personal life.
He also sparked an interest in projects related to mental health, convinced that the well-being of entrepreneurs continues to be a poorly addressed topic within the ecosystem.
The transformation also came to Bheed. Today, with operations in Chile, Peru, Argentina, Colombia and the United States, the company has automated a large part of its internal processes under a simple premise: if they develop technology for others, they must also be the first to use it.
look forward
At the end of the conversation, one last question appears: what is Bheed’s biggest dream? Sebastián smiles and immediately corrects the word. A while ago he stopped talking about dreams. Now he prefers to talk about goals.
What is the main goal you have for Bheed?
«My goal is that between this year and 2027 we will be the most powerful technological platform in Latin America. Then we want to consolidate ourselves in the United States. We have a very clear roadmap and we are going step by step. I’m not talking about dreams anymore; I’m talking about goals.
The answer summarizes the entire course of the interview. That young man who opened an Internet cafe to pay for college still enjoys building companies, but today he no longer runs after every opportunity that appears.
After more than 20 years of entrepreneurship, Sebastián Fuenzalida learned that the best companies are not born solely from a good idea but are built decision after decision.
