Spark Series goes to UST to revolutionize ideas in the age of disruption

Inspiring next-gen leaders and gamechangers

For the third leg of its campus caravan, the BusinessWorld Spark Up brings the Spark Series to the University of Santo Tomas to talk about “Revolutionizing Ideas in the Age of Disruption.”

The conference centered on modern-day inspirations for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to start their own businesses. The event also empowered future leaders and game changers to create change in the world through innovation.

During the forum, business lead for Voyager Innovations Inc. Martin Mauhay shared the three qualities of a game changer: being a rebel, being prepared, and being powerful.

“At Voyager, we are encouraged to think outside the box. Think outside the norm, to be bold, to be rebellious in our ideas,” he said.

Mauhay also emphasized that respect should be exercised.

“You owe it to people around you to help them. That is what being empowered is all about. There is responsibility behind it. Because you’re gifted with the talent that you have right now. But always remember to help the people around you and find the cause,” he noted.

He also implored future game changers to be prepared for criticism and failure since these will surely arise when one is attempting to change the industry and to disrupt the norm.

When asked about the best trait he sees in future leaders of our generation, Mauhay mentioned their fearlessness and how this can incubate new technologies and launch them into the market.

Accenture’s innovations lead Shubhabrata Sengupta echoed this sentiment as he talked about investing in innovation.

“What you do here, and what you’re going to do in the next couple of years, is going to change your life,” Sengupta said.

“One thing that can definitely make you a very successful person in your career, in your well-being, is if you can do something like innovation,” he added.

For Sengupta, who has been working on turning Singapore into a smart city, an innovator’s paramount concern should be the community; that an innovator should not only think about his well-being but also that of people in the community.

“If you don’t take any action, nothing will happen,” Sengupta said.

“And if you take action, you might fail. You may fail the first time, second time, ninth time, but you will pass. And when you pass, you will be there,” he ended.

Sisters Cristina and Pauline Guanzon, for their part, talked about purpose and heart in any business venture. Cristina, who is born profoundly deaf, is the main proponent of the Early Action Response System, a device that alerts deaf people about incoming dangers they might not be able to detect because of their condition.

“I decided to make my research on technology, devices, design, and human behavior.” Cristina told the audience. “I went through a lot of concepts and built a lot of prototypes to make this idea come to life.”

She shared that the main purpose of EARS is to help the deaf community. The sisters first tried the prototype on deaf communities in Manila and Cebu.

UST alumna themselves, the sisters encouraged the people to start with a pain point. “This will be your hugot,” Pauline said.

Many things were said about failure during the conference as being part and parcel of the process of innovating, but Pauline noted: “Do not be afraid to fail; fail fast but fail forward.”