IdeaSpace has been under our radar in the past 4 years. The foundation, which was put up and supported by MVP’s conglomerate of companies, enables and inspires startup entrepreneurs in the Philippines.
IdeaSpace presents ten new startups as part of its 2016 cohort that will join the acceleration phase. In photo (from left) are startup founders Andrew Cua (Tralulu), Rio Ilao (Tarkie), Ruel Amparo (Cropital), Oskie King (Cleaning Lady), and JC Bisnar (Investagrams). They are joined by IdeaSpace Executive Director Diane Eustaquio (rightmost), who shared how diverse the startup teams are for this year’s competition.
IdeaSpace recently concluded their 4th startup incubation and acceleration program and competition. During an event held at IdeaSpace HQ in Makati City, IdeaSpace Executive Director Diane Eustaquio announced and introduced the 10 winners of the aforementioned competition. The winners, according to Eustaquio, will receive equity-free funding worth PhP500,000 and non-cash benefits such as housing, transportation, incorporation, office space, communication, software support, trainings and classes, as well as mentoring from executives of companies under First Pacific.
“We’re quite proud of this year’s batch of IdeaSpace startups. They’re a testament to how the Philippine startup ecosystem is maturing, where founders now see a clearer path from their ideas to executing them in the real world and bringing their products to customers. We are glad to support Filipino startup entrepreneurs as they begin to make a dent in helping the growth of the Philippines,” said Diane Eustaquio, Executive Director at IdeaSpace.
Allan Abaca and I sat down with Ms.Eustaquio before the event, and she said that the keys to successful startup business are passion and execution. “You have to put your heart on the venture, and your passion must be burning,” she added. The 10 winners of IdeaSpace 2016 bear these salient ingredients, and therefore deserving of the foundation’s support.
Hundreds of startups tried out in the competition. The pool of participants was later whittled down to ten diverse finalists. The winners when through 6 weeks of incubation where they validated their initial startup ideas, learned the ropes of startup business and developed prototypes on top of PhP50,000 initial grant.
5 among the 10 winners were present during the event, and got the chance to present their pitches and to answer questions.
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Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
