I connect entrepreneurs in Chile, China, California, and beyond — especially through translation, training, and trade.

I grew up in Silicon Valley, the daughter of two serial startup veterans. I prefer burritos or hot pot over meat ‘n potatoes.

Photo by Kyle Hepp. Taken at Bloque Diego Portales, Santiago de Chile.

After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Latin American Studies, I took the most obvious step: I moved to China to teach English at a university near Shanghai.

Jiaxing University in China's Zhejiang Province.

For four of the next five years, I gained experience in many industries, including advertising, consulting, corporate social responsibility, and education — all while learning Chinese.

I consulted for well-known brands — including Anglo-American, Bayer, Lenovo, and Suzlon Energy — and worked alongside entrepreneurs exploring China’s vast but challenging market.

In mid-2011, I was ready to pursue my interest in Latin America again, and a great opportunity arose. I moved to Chile to take part in Start-Up Chile, a government-sponsored entrepreneurship program.

Chile’s emerging innovation ecosystem has inspired me to build Tricontinental Advisors, to connect Chile, China, California and beyond, in three key areas: translation, training, and trade.

I have provided specialized translation (Spanish-English) and interpretation (Chinese-Spanish and Spanish-English) services to clients in Chile’s energy and mining sectors.

I transform non-native English into polished, persuasive prose.

Almost every day Chileans ask: “What are the best ways to import clothes / equipment / shoes / toys from China?” This has become my key research question. Stay tuned!

I enjoy giving speeches in Spanish all over Chile, including at the Viña del Mar Meetup, World Entrepreneurship Day Iquique, INACAP La Serena, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, and more.

I spoke to university students about the Business Model Generation Canvas. For this particular talk, the slides were in English but I taught in Spanish. We discussed the value propositions of quirky toys.

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday, because I love costumes and chocolate, and I love the spirit of self-reinvention.

I invite you to subscribe to my blog, follow me on Twitter, leave a comment, or simply write to me at leslieforman @ gmail .com or leslie @ leslieforman .com 

I look forward to hearing from you!