Pinoy startups told to change mindset

CEBU, Philippines - More than applying the best strategies they can get in order to achieve a successful start-up business and attract investors, young Filipino geeks were told to change their mindset and adopt the "Silicon Valley" state of mind.

Khailee Ng, a young Malaysian whose company 500 Startup based in Silicon Valley, said that the Southeast Asian culture of "scarcity" mindset and a bit in a pessimistic level, could be one of the greatest barriers why Asian startups, despite their talents and brilliant ideas could not take off and compete against the rest of the world's startup community.

During his talk last Friday, before the participants of "Geeks on a Beach" event held in Boracay island, he said that Silicon Valley's abundant state of mind should be practiced or adopted by the Asian brilliant geeks, particularly Filipinos.

Aside from giving strategies on how to succeed in the competitive start up environment, Ng preferred to inspire Young Filipino technology innovators to look at the positive side, rather than wallowing on the concerns and problems starting up with their business.

"Something else is missing within the Southeast Asian region, it is not the lack of good strategies on how to succeed, we can find them in the internet, but it is the 'belief system," Ng said relating his personal story on how he was able to touch the "success" level and capitalized on his creativity by adopting a change in mindset.

"You sometimes get what you wish for," he said adding that in Southeast Asia in general, "belief system" is very weak, while the "feeling of scarcity is as if nothing is going at all," is very strong.

What makes Silicon Valley people successful, he said is the overall culture of positivity and dynamism, and the high "state of abundance" energy.

Ng challenged Filipino startups to shift the belief system, from "see it to believe it," to "believe it to see it" mindset.

This positive line of thinking, he said could much affect in the fund raising requirement of startup companies in the region, specifically in the Philippines.

Ng's company, 500 Startup, has been giving funding as venture capitalist to several startups in the Philippines and in Asia, like Payroll Hero, TwitMusic, VIKI, among others.

"Tweak your mindset a little bit," he said stressing that accessing the global market will not depend on capital scarcity, government policies, but it is largely an "inner game".

In fact, he said opportunities are swelling within the Asian region for startups, the reason why the world VC community is looking at this region because of its fast growing economy and sizable market.

Certainly, he said unlocking the success door, is not dependent on the outside circumstances, but it will depend on the determination and mindset of the innovator.

In the Philippines, despite its talented pool of technology innovators, a lot of good concepts are stuck and remained idle or considered as "prototype", while creators often discouraged by lack of funding to continue and properly launch their creations to the market, and other identified concerns.

Ng, on the other hand downplayed these constraints, saying mind setting plays a very critical role in achieving success in any project, creations or business.

"If you don’t wanna see it, you're not gonna see it. Sometimes, you get what you wish for," Ng stressed.

Ng was one of the many successful startups from Silicon Valley and other countries like Israel, who flew to the Philippines to help Filipino startup community attain its potential, and even build another "Silicon Valley" in Asia.

The "Geeks on A Beach" event, is a first of a kind event being held in the Philippines, to primarily encourage brilliant technology innovators to launch their own businesses online, or using the world wide web to make them world class technopreneurs./JOB (FREEMAN)