Brilliantly bullish on business in Bogotá

Toby de Lys (l), & Tigre Haller (r), the brains behind Bogotá Brilliance. (Delaney Turner)

Pioneers, Entrepreneurs, Impresarios. Toby de Lys and Tigre Haller are men of many hats. Originally from New York, the dynamic duo left their respective careers in architecture and risk management to resettle in the Colombian capital.

In the 13 years since, they’ve thrown their energies into changing perceptions of Bogotá as a travel destination, creative capital, and investment opportunity.

They’re the founders of the Bogotá Brilliance Web site and authors of  the best-selling Bogotá: A Bilingual Guide to the Enchanted City. 

Bogotá was unaccustomed to receiving foreigners when you arrived. What were your first impressions of the city?

Toby: I knew it was a worldly city before coming. I had read a lot about its history and knew the narrative wasn’t what everyone thought.

But I was still blown away by the range and sophistication of what you could do here. The restaurants and cultural scene were tremendous.

Tigre: We were planning to move to France at the time but when we came here on vacation, within two days we looked at each other and said, “This is where we should be.”

We’ve never hid who we are. People had a true respect for us as people and as a gay couple. Even the older, more religious generation was welcoming.

Colombia was the first Latin American country to have an advocacy group for the LGBT community. The country has even legalized gay marriage and adoption.

Toby: This is the safest city we’ve ever lived in. It’s hard to convince the traveling LGBT community to visit here, but we’re trying. This is almost a safe haven for LGBT people.

Tigre: Colombia has changed significantly for the better. Historically, Bogotanos have viewed newcomers as foreigners – even Colombians from other cities.

So to come here and see and experience this wave of immigration and repatriation of many Colombians is remarkable and refreshing.

You arrived before the guidebooks did. What was it like to pave your own way?

Bogotá (C.A. Press)

Tigre: Being a pioneer is a hard road because you’re leading the way for everyone else. But after about a year and a half we were tired of the negativity about Bogotá – not only from foreigners, but particularly from affluent Colombians.

Their views didn’t align with what we were experiencing, so we started the Web site as a love letter and to say, “This is our vision of the city.”

We started with some basic facts, working from sunup to way beyond sundown, investing a lot of time and energy and money into the project.

Over time it became the most-viewed English Web site about Bogotá, which led to the contract with Penguin to write the guidebook.

It was never our intention to create a tourism Web site. But at the time there was a severe lack of information about the city.

The few things you could find in English were horrid. Now, there are dozens of English-language sites and tours, which is great.

We still try to be on the vanguard of what’s happening and people come to us for that information.

You bring American investment into Colombia. How do you combat the negative perceptions of the country?

Toby: I give people the facts: The country has seen over eight decades of continuous growth. It’s never been in the red. Colombia’s economy is comparable in size to that of South Africa and growing at a faster pace.

I give people the facts: The country has seen over eight decades of continuous growth.

I also stress the distinction between Colombia and Latin America. Colombia has always outperformed Latin America. It’s never had its currency devalued or had periods of hyper-inflation that most other Latin American countries have experienced.

The hardest part has been convincing our audience to step onto a plane to visit. Colombia is still a high-risk country in a lot of peoples’ minds. From a distance it’s difficult for them to understand the reality and the opportunities here.

We’ve had interest from investors whose employers won’t let them visit the country. The recent positive press has made my job a bit easier, but shows like Narcos don’t help.

Tigre: I worked in risk management for the insurance industry. I spent my time studying kidnapping and ransom policies in various countries.

Colombia has never had its currency devalued or seen bouts of hyper-inflation.

I continually argued with the underwriters that Washington, D.C. had a higher kidnapping risk than Bogotá. But they didn’t see it like that – they followed the U.S. State Department advice.

What cultural differences does an investor need to navigate to be successful here?

Toby: Business culture in Bogotá is more European than American. Business here depends on personal relationships; trust is extremely important.

Tigre: Some investors think they can impose their way of doing business onto the Colombian system. But the American approach to business – getting right down to it – is extremely abrasive. Colombians will be cordial in the moment, but your proposal will go nowhere.

An initial coffee is mandatory. Impatience is rude. Do not talk business first. Appearances are critical.

An initial coffee is mandatory. Do not talk business first, ever. Impatience is rude. I’ve seen foreign investors get impatient with the woman serving coffee because it takes time away from their pitch. That gets noticed.

Toby: Appearances are critical; Bogotá is a very formal city: suit and tie and proper posture. There are protocols. It’s very common for businessmen to embrace each other or to kiss women lightly on the cheek. If you put up a wall, that’s seen as a sign of mistrust.

Business depends on personal relationships. Trust is extremely important.

Tigre: In-person meetings are also important. You can’t do business on the phone.

Toby: It may seem overly conservative, but it’s actually a wonderful fusion of business and culture. It also makes business relationships more solid.

I can understand the frustration if you’re not from here, but you won’t win unless you understand and respect Colombian culture.

There seems to be a growing undercurrent of entrepreneurialism in Bogotá. What are you seeing on the ground?

Toby: The first wave of Colombians who left 20 or 30 years ago have built lives in other countries.
It’s hard for them to pick up and come back; many still don’t believe that things here have changed.

Those Colombians who left more recently are coming back; the ones with money are very entrepreneurial. Most gallery owners have either lived and/or studied abroad.

They’ve brought that knowledge back to Colombia to create very successful enterprises. Espacio KB and Beatriz Esguerra Art are just two examples.

Bogotá’s annual art festival, ARTBO, showcases Colombian artists. (Delaney Turner)

Argento & Bourbon hit on something that was needed at the right moment and were able to make it a success. Independent fashion design fairs are popping up all over.

Tigre: I think there’s always been a great entrepreneurial spirit in Colombia. It just hasn’t been viewed as such. For me, the person selling fruit on a street corner is an entrepreneur, as is a traffic light busker, as is a shoe shiner.

For forward thinkers who aren’t afraid of Colombia, it’s an unexpected paradise.

Toby: The most beautiful part about being an entrepreneur here is that people aren’t judgemental. As long as you’re showing passion for what you’re doing with the resources you have, you’ll be respected.

I’m also surprised by how many foreigners are coming here. For forward thinkers who aren’t afraid of Colombia, it’s an unexpected paradise.

Tigre: We’ve done things here that we’d never been able to do in the U.S. We’ve started an investment company. We’ve created an English-language theatre company.

Telenovelas are the dominant form here, so options for English-speaking actors are limited. I started The BAT (Bogota Anglo Theater) to give professional English-speaking Colombian actors the chance to act on-stage in parts they wouldn’t otherwise be considered for.

We’ve been able to work with some of the top actors in the country to help them reconnect with why they went into acting in the first place and to create something really exciting. Thankfully the reception has been really enthusiastic.

Do Colombians themselves appreciate the cultural richness they have here? 

Toby: Colombians are so used to consuming foreign products, they don’t realize how much they have. We’re working to correct that perception.

Tigre: That’s a real issue. Some artists have had to leave the country and then return as an import to be successful.

Toby: People still don’t understand how rich the music scene has been here. There are more musicians here than in London or New York.

In 2012 Unesco named Bogotá a City of Creative Music. That’s a huge honor and potential business benefit. Any other city would capitalize on it to the tune of millions of dollars. Here they’ve done nothing.

What’s the biggest barrier to Bogotá really breaking through? 

Toby: Indoctrination. Colombians need to stop believing what their parents told them. Bogotá was peaking after the Second World War and many people were angry at the country for the violence that happened shortly thereafter.

A lot of people lost their property and personal wealth. So they told their children to go abroad and not to bother coming back. Those children are now in their 40s and 50s – they’re the hardest to convince that things have changed. That’s my daily battle.

On the other hand, kids under 19 love their country and don’t want to leave. That’s a first.

Tigre: They need to open their eyes and see what’s here. Colombians who travel abroad come back and say “I never knew what we had here until I left. My country is really something special.”

The youth are growing up in a country that’s very different from their parents’. They can’t lose sight of the pain and bloodshed the country went through, but they also need to take the initiative to make the country better.

Toby: Nothing breaks my heart more than hearing a Colombian with money thinking it will be fun to go to Florida. Colombia has beaches, and they’re a lot better.