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Future Pinoy tech billionaires?

Over 150 young entrepreneurs wanting to become Filipino billionaires within a few years gathered at the University of San Carlos to actively participate in the 3rd Startup Weekend in Cebu City last June 7-9, 2013.

These are not the type of entrepreneurs who are into setting up small or medium enterprises like stores or even the next hot resto bar. We are also not talking about BPOs especially call centers.

We are referring to entrepreneurs who intend to build hot high-growth businesses based on the software or apps. Who knows, we might soon have a Filipino-owned company joining the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Zynga.

And entrepreneurs of these type gather, thrive, and bloom in innovative ecosystems now known as Startup Communities. The famous startup ecosystem known as Silicon Valley began in the 50s. Through the years, startup communities spouted in various cities in the United States and even in Iceland driving innovation, creation of new businesses, opening new jobs, and stimulating economic growth.

Advocacy

The seeds for startup communities in central and southern Philippines have long been sown even before the first Startup Weekend in Cebu City last May 2012. Since then, aspiring mostly young entrepreneurs of potentially fast-growing Internet businesses in the Visayas and Mindanao emerged from the shadows in various Startup events in Cebu and Davao cities.

For prworks inc., the growth of innovative communities of fast-growing global companies should drive faster economic growth not only in Cebu but the whole central and southern Philippines. The public relations agency has been helping startup events in Cebu and Davao as an advocacy.

“Since early this year, we have been helping organize the ‘Geeks on a Beach’ event in Boracay this September 26-27, 2013,” said Doris Mongaya, managing director of prworks inc. Mongaya was with Tina Amper of TechTalks for the initial planning of the event in Boracay — the famous beach and party destination south of Manila — last January 2013.

Boracay

“The emerging Startup Communities especially in Visayas and Mindanao needs exposure with mainstream and traditional media,” noted Mongaya.

“Online, these Internet savvy individuals can easily network and market. But building a vibrant innovative ecosystem for potentially high-growth Internet businesses need much offline attention, awareness, and cooperation. They need newspapers, radio, and television to cover their activities,” she explained.

With this advocacy perspective, Mongaya is planning to form a media advocacy group for startups.

“I am thinking of forming a media group to support startups. The bigger community needs to understand the challenges and difficuties of being a startup entrepreneur. We need to develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem for startups to thrive and bear fruit. The bigger community and that includes government also needs to understand what can we look forward to when startups succeed,” Mongaya said.

Links and Related Stories

Launch your startup in Startup Weekend Cebu (Sun.Star Cebu)

Hack2Hatch Reunion
Hack2Hatch Website
Startups in Hack2Hatch to get P100,000 seed money
From hacker to founder in Cebu (Rappler)
Grad school for startups (Sun.Star Cebu)

Geeks on a Beach
Geeks to meet in Boracay (Sun.Star Davao)