Meet alumna Esthefany Moscoso

By maria [dot] johansson [at] ehl [dot] lu [dot] se (Maria Johansson) - published 19 June 2022

In 2021, Esthefany Moscoso decided to leave her seven-year long career in HR to pursue her studies in the master's degree programme in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at LUSEM. When leaving her current career, she feared the uncertain future. However, Esthefany had no reason to worry. Three weeks before graduation, she landed her dream job at the worldwide incubator Bridge For Billions. Today, she works from Guatemala City supporting and empowering entrepreneurs in Latin America.

Esthefany, you graduated from LUSEM with a MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation in 2022, what have you been up to since your graduation?

One of my biggest fears when I decided to quit my job at a multinational and go to study in Sweden was to be unemployed for a long time. However, I worked hard not to make it a reality, and I was lucky to be hired at my dream job three weeks before graduation. At that time, the worldwide business incubator Bridge For Billions (originally from Spain) was looking for a Program Manager in Guatemala City to support them in running their new programs in the region (yes, it all got aligned!). That is how I got hired as a Program Manager for LATAM for Bridge For Billions, where we support early-stage entrepreneurs in developing their business plans through a learn-by-doing methodology.

Around August 2022, I returned to my home country, Guatemala, to achieve the main goal that made me pursue my master’s in Lund, which was supporting and empowering entrepreneurs (especially women in Latin America) to overcome the so-called “Valley of Death curve” in entrepreneurship. The Valley of Death describes the period in the life of a startup in which it has begun operations but has not yet generated revenue. As a Program Manager, I had helped more than 150+ entrepreneurs by running programs in the whole Central America region for important banks to public and private companies, for example, Coca-Cola. All of this has definitely contributed to my life and professional goals, especially because I have had the chance to consolidate the entrepreneurial support for Central America.

Around August 2022, I returned to my home country, Guatemala, to achieve the main goal that made me pursue my master’s in Lund, which was supporting and empowering entrepreneurs (especially women in Latin America) to overcome the so-called “Valley of Death curve” in entrepreneurship.

In addition to my role at Bridge, I also wanted to keep enrolled in the academic field. That is how I got the chance to be a professor for the new bachelor’s called Sustainable Businesses and Innovation at the university I graduated from in Guatemala. It was an honor to help create the course content for this bachelor by bringing to this side of the world things I learned in Lund and helped develop the entrepreneurial mindset here in Guatemala. Furthermore, I wanted to keep in touch with Lund and especially with my master’s colleagues; that is how, with Natalia and Gema, we started a podcast called “Generation Entrepreneurship,” which you can find on Spotify, where we interview high-performing entrepreneurs to learn from them. And that is how a whole year since my graduation has gone by.

Alumna Esthefany Moscoso lecturing in front of people. Photo.

What are the take-aways from your studies LUSEM that you found most useful when working for Bridge For Billions?

My professional and personal life changed after my studies at LUSEM. With the people that I met and the great experiences I had; I couldn’t choose anywhere else to study.

I can say that one of the aspects that helped me the most was that Lund is super international; only in my master’s, we had more than 20 nationalities. This opened my mind to new ways of working, ways of communicating with others, and, for sure, new ways of innovation. While studying, I also got to talk with founders, co-funders, investors, and key actors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. These experiences helped me to deal with different clients around the world, and I am sure it helped me also to get the position I have now in such an international start-up.

While studying, I also got to talk with founders, co-funders, investors, and key actors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Furthermore, I’m sure that all the opportunities I found within the Swedish entrepreneurial ecosystem shaped the entrepreneur that I am today and the support I offer through my work. I remember that while studying at Lund, each week, I looked for events related to entrepreneurship in Malmö and Lund, and I always found one. I attended and got inspired by all of them. The entrepreneurs I met showed me how important it is to fight for what you want and that the entrepreneurial journey is challenging but fulfilling.

In addition, my master’s mentor, Rita Lousa, helped me to find the potential and confidence needed to come back to my home country and support entrepreneurs. I remember she always encouraged me to challenge myself and think outside the box; now, I am trying to do it for my bachelor's students and the entrepreneurs who enroll in our programs. I could find a friend in my mentor and the support and empowerment any entrepreneur needs when developing a business.

Reskilling and upskilling have become an area crucial for being able to meet the changes of the future. What are the skills that you feel you would like to learn or develop in your working life?

I recently experienced a massive reskilling while studying at Lund University. Before pursuing my master’s in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, I was enrolled in the Human Resources field, and I worked for seven years in related positions. But I got passionate about entrepreneurship and improving entrepreneurial support in Latin America. That is how I chose Lund to study and prepare myself to do a different job after my graduation.

On the other hand, in terms of upskilling at this new phase of my professional life, I have identified two aspects that I plan to learn and develop in the upcoming years.

Project management: each entrepreneurial program that I start and close needs all the steps that the project management methodology encourages to do. I want to master the fundamentals of the PM methodology to find new and efficient ways to run our programs.
Digital Marketing and E-commerce: I want to learn more about how to create content for social media platforms, how to manage the most important social platforms, and how to do great advertisements. I plan to learn and practice these new skills to become a Digital marketer consultant for entrepreneurs and continue supporting them.

I’m sure these skills will help me to foster my impact and continue escalating in my professional life in my new entrepreneurial career.