Category: ANNOUNCEMENTS

FULLY BOOKED for Juan Great Meet on October 27 at the Briggy

FULLY BOOKED for Juan Great Meet on October 27 at the Briggy

Peter Cauton

I totally forgot to post this!

More than 50 people have confirmed for our meet at the Briggy this Saturday, October 27, at 130pm! This effectively makes the event fully booked.

I’m pretty excited about this! There’s a variety of people coming in: new startup owners, startup legends, newbies – all across different industries and specialties.

Gonna be a blast!

For those who confirmed, let me remind you of my usual note: please don’t flake 🙂 

For those who missed the cut, the next one will be in November, so stay tuned!

Help Needed For Talim Island

Peter Cauton
Talim Island, Rizal

Unbelievably, we have not seen the last of the floods brought about by the habagat two months ago.

In the middle of Laguna de Bay is an island called Talim. Due to unique conditions and continuous rain in the area, 1500 families are still affected by flooding. The local parish priest has been calling out for more help.

Our community, Living Hope, is organizing relief efforts for Talim and shall be distributing them on Oct. 20, 2012 (next Saturday). We have already collected funds for relief packs good for 200 families. Please help us collect more so that we may reach even more families.

There are several ways you can help:

1) You can sponsor a family pack for P400 each.

2) You can help us pack the goods on October 14 at 24 Amsterdam Street, Provident Village, Marikina.

3) You can help transport the goods to the Cardona Port on October 20.

4) Spread the word so more people can help!

If you do want to help, you can reach me at peter@juangreatleap.com/09178277029 or Karla at 09178122597.

Thanks so much!

10 Slots Left – Juan Great Meet, October 27

Peter Cauton

People, there’s 10 slots left for the 50-person JGL meetup at The Briggy Hall on October 27. Those of you who are planning to go, you might want to sign up here now.

  • P150 entrance fee for food
  • 130pm-430pm,  October 27
  • Open to everyone in whatever stage of the startup process: veteran startup owner, new startup owner, thinking about leaping, bored to death with corporate

Seeya!

The 2nd Juan Great Meet is on October 27. 50 slots.

The 2nd Juan Great Meet is on October 27. 50 slots.

Peter Cauton

Okay, at the heels of the last meetup, the next Juan Great Meet is on October 27, 2012, from 1:30pm-4:30. There will be a P150 entrance fee for food and drinks. I’m excited to say that we’ll be holding the event on the premises of a cool,  food retail startup, Briggy Hall.  This is located at East Capitol Dr. Brgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig City. I’m excited to get to see the place!

To grab one of the 50 slots, quickly sign up here. 

The agenda will be much like how we did things in the first meetup:

1) Startup News, Current Events, and Announcements

This includes announcing ALL startup-newsworthy events (like a new product launch, or a new incubator, etc) happening in the area, JGL updates (planning to have quick updates on the 3-4 startups founded here in the FB group), and the like. Around 10 mins.

2) Open Floor

This is the main gig! This is where people could present or ask questions to the group. This includes anything from questions about one another’s startup, announcing a need for co-founders, asking what the group thinks about an idea, etc. We did this in the first meetup and it was a blast – people learned a lot! There would be 2 minute limit per idea for the one asking the question/pitching the idea.

3) Informal Networking

Usual free for all, food, brainstorming, and pocketmeetings. There’s 50-slot limit because of the venue constraints and the event agenda (the open floor format doesn’t lend itself where to huge crowds).

Attending JGL events like is also now the ONLY way you could get an invite to the JGL Group FB community.

Seeya on the 27th! Do sign up fast.

Note: Let’s just semantically define things.

Juan Great Meet – this is the smaller “meetup”- style event where what we’re after is the sharing of ideas, insights, and opportunity.

JGL Conference – the bigger one we have (last one in Ayala Technohub attracted over 200 folks), centered more on en masse learning.

All events are geared towards both existing entreps and those who want to take the leap.

Electrifying JGL Mini-Meetup Last Night!

Electrifying JGL Mini-Meetup Last Night!

Peter Cauton
In the midst of the now-signature Juan Great Leap event rainshower, around 25 people from the Juan Great Leap Facebook Group met up for an evening of ideas, energy, and collaboration.
The format was simple. We started with 5-10 minutes of news (in the JGL Community and the larger local startup community). Then we did an Open Floor, where each person had a chance to pitch ANY question or ANY idea for 2 minutes to the whole group. The group would then chime in with their thoughts. At first, people were a bit shy, but after a few minutes the floodgates opened and people began fielding in questions like:
What do you guys think of this startup idea?
We’re thinking of having this price for this service, would you buy?
What do the tech people here think about this problem?
I need a co-founder who can do ________, would you or anyone you know be interested?
It was fun, engrossing, and energy-filled. It was crystal-clear that people wanted to help one another and listen – and this was a sight to behold.
After the Open Floor, there was free-for-all networking and pocket-meetings between people who had startups cooking from the JGL Facebook Group (there are 3-4 now).
Now that we have this one under our belts, we’re thinking of opening this up (announcing it in this blog) and doing it twice a month. It was a very good mix of people who want to take the leap, new startup owners, veteran startup founders, tech startups, non-tech startups, scalable startup businesses and lifestyle businesses – it might be good to check out the next one we’re having no matter where you are in the startup process and no matter what sort of “startup” you’re developing.
These “Mini-meets” would be different from the bigger, JGL Conferences (like the one we had last August in the Ayala Technohub). It would be more intimate, and geared towards direct sharing and collaborating.
Good start for these Mini-meetups! Excited to see where this goes!
Early birds! Estelle Osorio and Ulysses Cruz of Biz Whiz, Glenn Santos of Memokitchen, Ari Bancale of TAP, Ruffa San Pedro of PLDT, Noreen Bautista of EcoIngenuity, and (well, half of) Ryan Salvanera of Oracle
Someone’s sneaking out and going for the Cheetos
Noreen of EcoIngenuity talks about her advocacy, social enterprises, during the Open Floor
Gino Caparas of Stream Engine surrounded by bald guys
My head illuminating the proceedings
Allan Verzo of BITS
Ruffa G. shares her (super-awesome) startup idea with the rest of the folks
Randy Tan of LookingFour during the Open Floor
Angelica Lim of Gohunt.ph speaks during the Open Floor
Join the Super-Engaged JGL FB Group!

Join the Super-Engaged JGL FB Group!

Peter Cauton

 After the first Juan Great Leap (JGL) get-together last March, I decided to create a Facebook group (separate from the JGL page) for the growing community to get to know one another better, have a venue to exchange ideas and concepts, and simply to better help one another.

There were around 30 initial people in the group. I asked the group if they wanted to open up membership to everyone. It was collectively decided that the criteria for accepting members would be either: a) registration to a Juan Great Leap event, or b) subscription to the blog.

After the second Ayala-sponsored event a month ago, membership swelled to around 130.

Its become a pretty engaged group, with people tossing and sharing ideas very freely.

Since the Ayala event, there have been around 4-5 meetings between people who were passionate with the same startup concept. Some startups are being conceptualized/built as we speak.

It’s really awesomely exciting!

Be part of the discussion (and don’t be just a lurker)! There are some really helpful people in the group who can give you great insight about your startup (for free).

And no, again, I won’t spam you with a thousand emails or sell your address if you subscribe. I would never do that. What you’ll receive is the weekly newsletter from me talking about the posts here and some updates. That’s it. 

Join the group here! (and subscribe first)

Social Enterprise Updates, Startup Saturdays, and August 29 Keynote Clips

Peter Cauton

It’s been an awfully busy last few days for Juan Great Leap. I just want to loop you in with some important updates:

1. Cowboy Social Enterprise Planning

Last August 25, twelve Juan Great Leap readers took part in a “Cowboy” Social Enterprise Advocacy Planning held at the fourth floor of Amber Place in Pasig. The office was still being renovated, so the group went cowboy and just sat on the floor. Amazingly, almost everyone brought food to share with the group.

It was a very fruitful planning session. The group obviously shared the same passion as far as trying to make a positive difference for the country and its development. The prevalent theme was “starting small and thinking big.”

Ultimately, it was decided that an event be planned sometime November which will shed more light into social entrepreneurship and hopefully spur more people to explore founding one.

Do you want to help out? Please just email me at peter@juangreatleap.com so I can invite you to the current online discussions being done.

2. Startup Saturdays Slots

I usually talk to 2-3 entrepreneurs / would be entrepreneurs every Saturday morning, at the Starbucks in SM Masinag in Antipolo around 10am. The next open slots are for Sept 8 (1 slot free) and Sept 22 (3 slots still free).  I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the chance to meet and share ideas with so many good people. Suffice it to say, this is free. If you want to reserve a slot, just send me an email at peter@juangreatleap.com

3. August 29 Keynote Clips

I spent the weekend editing the footage of the August 29 event. Found below is an abridged version of the keynote address divided into 5 videos. Apologies as the audio isn’t so clear. I’ll be sharing the keynote address, but I won’t be sharing footage from the great panel discussion we had – I do want to create a clear advantage for people who go directly to the events.

Here they are: (ADDENDUM: If you’re watching ONE video, choose the third one – Peter)

Opening Prayer, Starting Out, and the Birth of Juan Great Leap

Money and Meaning Do Not Have To Be Mutually Exclusive Anymore

The Practical and Philosophical Reasons Why You HAVE To Start With A Passion

The Modified Three Circles and How We Can Easily Build Rovios

If You Aren’t a Samurai, You’re A Rice-Picker

Juan Great Time on August 29!

Juan Great Time on August 29!

Peter Cauton

Reminiscent of August 8, it was once again raining hard, traffic was bad, and some people were missing that crucial u-turn along commonwealth leading to the Technohub, but that did not stop around 200 people from turning the Ayala-sponsored Juan Great Leap Startup Event into a rousing success.

Thank you.

Thank you so much to the Ayala-TBI team and Globe for sponsoring the event. Michi, Tina, Carl, and Rhea were amazing to work with on the ground. Special thanks to Carl for making the 200+ nametags by hand. 

Thank you to the amazing, amazing panelists. Howard Go, Denton Chua, and Glenn Santos were everything you wanted in a panel: differing opinions, thought-provoking answers, and excellent delivery. Special thanks to Denton (and his wife Anne) for celebrating his birthday with us, Juan Great Leap – style!

Thank you to all 200 people – and now I feel I know most of you  – for gracing the event.

As to what happened, let me post here recent blogposts from people who attended:

Ryan Salvanera’s blog 

Rachel Davis’s blog

Also Twitter reactions here.

Personally, I had such a blast! I actually had trouble sleeping last night because of the resulting adrenaline rush. It’s such a thrill for me to meet and hear the stories of different people. Thank you for trusting me with your stories. It was great seeing people from the first Juan Great Meet and how some of them have progressed with their startups (let’s go Katipunan Craft Beer!) It was also a thrill seeing some people I’ve met in Startup Saturdays in the room.

I was overwhelmed with the response, and I’m even more inspired to reach out and help more people.

Thank you for this honor and privilege.

Now, let’s strive to take even more leaps for Juan! Seeya in the next event!

August 29 Juan Great Leap Startup Event Is Just Around The Corner

August 29 Juan Great Leap Startup Event Is Just Around The Corner

Peter Cauton

Just a quick reminder! The August 29 event, Ayala Foundation Presents: Juan Great Leap, Transforming Your Idea Into Startup Success is definitely pushing through next Wednesday, August 29, 630 pm at the Ayala TBI Offices at the UP-Ayala Technohub in Diliman, QC.

Again, two quick reminders for those who are got reservations! Nametags (by tonight) and taking that tricky service road as you u-turn along near Iglesia ni Kristo/Tandang Sora. Do try to leave your offices as soon as you can so we can start on the designated time.

Super excited to meet all of you on Wednesday!

BizKitchen Launches Its Newest Startup: Mobile Academy!

BizKitchen Launches Its Newest Startup: Mobile Academy!

Peter Cauton

BizKitchen is proud to launch its newest firm: Mobile Academy!

Founders Macky Cruz, Howard Go, myself, and my STORM co-conspirator Paolo dela Fuente built Mobile Academy with one thing in mind: to give creative-minded and ambitious people tools in building the next great mobile app.

We see no absolutely no reason why the next Angry Birds or Instagram couldn’t come from the Philippines!

I want to take you a bit through how this company was made, in the hope of somehow providing some insight.

The need: We saw a pretty clear need in the market: there was a dearth of good mobile developers, in particular iOS developers. Not surprisingly, there was also a dearth of iOS training providers.

Idea Development: The need was clear, but we wanted to be something much more than a run-of-the-mill training provider. First, we decided we wanted to get the absolute best faculty we could have. The best of the best. Ultimately, this was going to be the difference maker, so we needed to roll our sleeves and recruit like the Pied Piper. Second, we noted a number of modern learning theories we wanted to incorporate in the curriculum. In particular, we wanted to incorporate theories centering on learning by doing and learning through community. Third, we wanted to help not only the programmer, but the non-programmer as well.

Idea Refinement: Our recruitment efforts were rewarded. We ended up with 6 great, great iOS faculty members with varied backgrounds: startup owners of successful mobile development firms, a couple of CTO’s of larger companies, successful indie app creators. Most importantly, these guys can teach. We were calling them “iOS Avengers” at one point. What a blessing.

Working closely with the iOS Avengers, we developed the curriculum carefully. Designed with lesser lectures and much more exercises, the curriculum slowly took form. We incorporated a “demo day” at the end of the course, where participants would get to present their “app-thesis.” We incorporated a mentorship program. It took awhile with very passionate founders and faculty, but soon, we had a rough curriculum – our minimum viable product.

Idea Testing: Would the curriculum work? Woud the non-programmers mix well with the programmers? How many days would it REALLY take to deliver the material? One way to find out. We released our MVP to a limited number of people. We spread the word with some of our friends in the mobile development industry – we were going to do a pilot! In just a couple of days, we filled the 12 slots with participants. Our Batch Zero. Starting July, we held classes every Saturday in STORM’s conference room. We were very conscious of surveying the each participant at the end of every session.

Funding: At first, we went around trying to raise money from different sources. If you could imagine, fixing up a nice-looking Apple training facility would require a significant sum. However, investors wanted a grand portion of the equity, and as entrepreneurs, we just couldn’t agree to the terms being handed out. So we did some creative financial planning and got the number down to a more palatable amount. Then the founders just plopped the sum.  Mobile Academy is a totally bootstrapped startup.

Iteration: We tweaked and iterated the curriculum after gathering data from every session. We are still tweaking and iterating the curriculum. We will always tweak and iterate for the better. It has come to a point though where we feel quite comfortable with what we have for a soft launch.

Like all startups, Mobile Academy will need a lot of care, time, and feedback. I’d appreciate any help and/or feedback regarding this new baby. Just email me at peter@juangreatleap.com if you got some. Also, if you like the concept and think its a good idea, please do give us your support by liking MA on Facebook  and following us on Twitter.

Thank you so much.

So…Are you interested in making the next great mobile app? Whether you are an experienced programmer or a total newbie, Mobile Academy is the game-changer for your career! Apply now!  Classes will start on September!