Pinoy innovation set to conquer Silicon Valley

Manila, Philippines -  A few months from now, a Filipino start-up tech company is set to conquer Silicon Valley  the world’s largest technology hub  armed with its innovative prototype that hopes to be the “next big thing” in the global IT scene.   

This year, 13 emerging Filipino tech companies are competing for this rare opportunity via the ON3 2012 Pitching competition organized by no less than the Science and Technology Advisory Council-Silicon Valley (STAC-Silicon Valley). 

ON3 is the nationwide start-up tech search and business plan competition launched by STAC Silicon Valley in 2011 that is conducted in various locations across the country.

This competition is supported by Novare Technologies, a global provider of strategic consulting and IT services to leading financial services and telecommunication companies.

The grand prize for ON3 is a three-month Silicon Valley immersion package sponsored by Plug and Play (PnP) Tech Center in Sunnyvale, California.

The finalists are Agile Technologies, Braille G4, X2Wave, Groupjump, Technominds, Guestlist.ph, Levitan Software, Xamun, Spell Dial, Payroll Hero, Straps, Udrics, Xnyn, and Segworks.

“ON3 is a key ingredient for promoting the start-up culture in the country. It makes everyone aware of the untapped potential of the companies and ideas being started here,” said Roberto Benares, chairman of Xamun, who is one of the competition finalists.

He said, “Companies like Xamun, if selected, will have a great opportunity to launch a product in the Silicon Valley and prove to the market that innovation and bold products are also being built out of the Philippines, in addition to the success that the product itself can bring.”

For quite some time, many budding Filipino technopreneurs have struggled to make their business plans get noticed by potential investors due to lack of funds, network, and avenues for exposure.

But with competitions like ON3, finalist Adrian Flores of X2Wave hopes that it will give them proper exposure and hopefully provide funding support for potential projects and innovative products.

“This will steer us hopefully to faster growth and increase personal motivation to reach out to other younger, ambitious entrepreneurs. The impact of this is huge. We shall then strive to be role models as innovators in the society. And for our country, we strive to become the next success story,” Flores added.

Margarita Angela Dumlao of Payroll Hero supported Flores’ statement, saying, “Contests like ON3 are effective strategies to expose the Filipino tech community globally and to create wide networks. Plus the experience the winners will have in Silicon Valley is next to none.”

The pre-selected business plans range from communications solutions, Facebook applications, to various software that aim to make life easier, and things done faster and better.

A call for the industry

While there are opportunities such as ON3 being granted to the country, local innovators still think that the support they are getting from various sectors are still thin, given the demands for technology in today’s fast-paced world.

According to Alvin Tan of Technominds-Easco Inc., the major challenge that they are facing now is that many good programmers are being pirated by the more established multinational companies in and outside the country which can give a better compensation.

“Another challenge is the lack of government support since majority of the livelihood projects, especially in the rural areas, are focused in backyard industries. The Philippines is the text capital of the world, so why don’t we maximize it?” he added. 

Likewise, for Samuel Matunog of Segworks, they hope that more opportunities would come which would develop the capability of young entrepreneurs to pitch their products to investors before a live audience.

“The country also needs investment in talent development and in start-up projects to further uplift its status as a booming tech hub in Asia,” he said.  

But before this happens, co-finalist Albert Padin of SpellDial thinks that what needs to be “developed” now, other than business plans and innovations, is the belief and support for the Filipino Technopreneur.

Padin said there are currently very few investors who are willing to take on the extremely high short-term risks involved in investing in early-stage Filipino tech start-ups in exchange for the long-term returns of a booming tech hub in the country.

He said, “Investors who want to create a booming tech hub in the country need to look beyond the short-term and start investing with a broader perspective. That’s why we need exposure to investors, mentors, product and idea validation, partnerships, and experience.”

Although the ON3 Pitching competition just started last year in the Philippines, it has however already attracted thousands of local tech geniuses to build innovations, in the hope of becoming the next Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg of the world.