Last Two Days for Early Bird Rates for Pitchcraft!

sign

Hey people! At midnight tomorrow, May 15, the early bird rate for Pitchcraft: How To Develop a Killer Pitch for Raising Capital and Recruiting will expire.

For the content it provides (great speakers, killer panel, chance for real pitches in front of institutional investors), I think this is a great deal, so you might want to grab tickets now.

You can do so here. 

How to take your consulting/freelancing gig to the next level

levelup

I know quite a number of freelancers and consultants, engaged in a variety of services: design, HR Consulting, programming, writing, training, fitness, and so on.

These guys are cool – they are able to live the dream of being their own boss and at the same live comfortably.

Some of them are perfectly content with their lifestyle and current circle of clients. I remember one of them telling me recently:

“Why should I complicate my life getting more clients?”

(For me, this is awesome.)

Some of them though, want to expand and are constantly seeking ways to do so. Some have opted to hire an employee or two to help them grow. Maybe more.

If you are among the latter category, this article is for you.

Most of the freelancers, consultants, and consulting firms I know offer a whole list of services.

For a web design consultant, a typical menu of services would look like this:

Hey guys! I can do all these things for you! One-stop-shop-I-am!

– Website design

– SEO

– Website Management

– UX-UI

– Logo design

– WordPress design

– Marketing paraphernalia

– Print design

– Flash animation

– business card design

Moving onto another field, an HR Consultant’s list of services may look like this:

– Training and Organizational Development Consulting

– Performance Management Consulting

– Recruitment Consulting

– Talent Management Consulting

– Onboarding

– Workforce Planning

– Job Analysis and Design

– Job evaluation

– Salary Scale Development

This is all well and good. The intention and logic of offering many things are clear: more services, more chances of getting clients, right?

Here’s the problem.

Go to Linkedin. Search for “web design freelancer” or “HR consultant.”

(go ahead, I’ll be right here)

See the problem?

EVERYONE’S profile will look like mirror images of what I just typed above.

This strategy will NOT make you stand out and attract a market beyond your friends’ friends.

Here’s one branding strategy you can do.

one thingPick ONE thing in your list.

One thing you know you can do very, very, very well.

Then drop everything else. Build your brand about this ONE singular service. Make it the only thing to appear on your website.

OMG, Who did THAT Video? 

In a time when one-stop-shop wedding services were the rage, Jason Magbanua changed the game by delivering JUST wedding videos. Oh, and during that time, I think he even ultra-focused on just doing videographies of the Church wedding (to be shown a few hours after during the reception – I was just stunned the first time I saw this).

Armed with this intense focus, he managed to create his art – magnificent, awe-inspiring videos with a hip soundtrack.

Now, he’s a household name, and arguably created his own local industry.

I’m sure Jason could have offered the typical menu (photography, the album, stills, video editing, videos of the reception, maybe even the floral arrangements and coordination). But choosing but ONE service made him stand out.

The numerous advantages of ONE THING:

1) You stand out

What’s more memorable, saying:

I do consulting in performance management, recruitment, training, organizational development, job analysis, job evaluation, onboarding, HR policies, and Workforce planning,

or saying:

I am THE onboarding coach?

(onboarding – the process of making sure an employee is oriented properly and completely when he first starts in a job)

You can now name your consulting firm something like ALL ABOARD! and get a memorable url like http://www.allaboard.ph. Your website can contain interesting facts  and tips about onboarding. You can position yourself as THE onboarding expert.

Now, everytime someone thinks, “I’m having trouble with onboarding,” she will now think of YOU, and not think about about the kajillion other generic HR freelancers around.

Even if a couple of people in the kajillion might actually be better than you in onboarding expertise, guess who takes the credit for being the best?

If you were the client and you need onboarding consulting, would you go to a one-stop-shop or an onboarding expert?

If you are a startup and you need a lawyer, woud you go to a typical law firm offering generic “corporate legal consulting?” or a focused “startup lawyer?”

If you wanted to do a video on your website to explain your product, would you go to an all- around production house, or Stream Engine Studios, whose website very prominently states:

Hi. We’re STREAM ENGINE STUDIOS, and we make kickass animated explainer videos.

One thing makes you stand out.

2) You are forced to become great in that one thing

Since you are now focused on a single service, you can rally all your resources around making that one thing great. Yup, there is pressure in doing absolutely GREAT work in doing your one thing – this is how you have chosen to brand yourself.

But you know what? That is good pressure. Doing one thing great gives you a larger chance of recognition and success versus doing 10 “good enough” things.

Instead of keeping up with trends and continuously improving on TEN different things, you can just focus on getting better on one thing – which surely will cause radically faster progress.

3) Better scaling

Generally, consulting doesn’t scale very well – if you plan to grow you would need more and more people. Still, “one-thing-consulting” can still scale so much better than a one-stop-shop, where you need to think about multiple services and processes.

Let’s say you offer 5 different services and you manage to get 50 clients. What will happen is you will have, say, 12 clients you are doing one service for, another service for 8 clients, and so on. Can you imagine growing your company that way? It’s like growing 5 startups.

One service across the same 50 clients? Much easier to digest and build efficient processes for.

One last tip 

Building a brand takes time (and is so much worth it). Once you have an established brand which focuses on one thing? Expect a ton of passive referrals.

But what do you when you are just starting?

You can still offer the long list of services, but offer these privately to your immediate network (friends and friends of friends).

For example, if you were a design consultant, you could still offer the service buffet table to your current clients. Logo design for this client. SEO for this other client. And so on.

Your plan, however, is to be the business card design king.

So what do you do? While doing all your other projects, you have to simultaneously be working on building your brand around your one thing – build the focused website, learn a ton on business card design, survey the business card market, think of the amount of innovation you can do in the business card industry.

Then one day, when your business card profits are enough, you can drop everything else. You can truly focus on being the Jason Magbanua of Business Cards.

Gotta have that one thing.

(apologies – any spontaneous One Direction LSS is unintended)

 

Is There a Superman Your Clark Kent Can Become?

clark kent

In this early 2005 interview with Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder described Facebook as:

“I mean, I just really want to see everyone focus on college and make a really cool college directory product…there doesn’t necessarily have to be more…”

Zuck was intent on just focusing in colleges. He was ecstatic with his 3 million users.

Then, somewhere along the way, he realized he was sitting on a goldmine. Now? He’s just passed his first BILLION users.

Sometimes, all we need is a fresh look at our business to experience an epiphany. 

Pao and I experienced the same thing in STORM around 2 years ago. (at a lesser extent than Zuck, obviously) We were making most of our money off of the monthly retainer we were charging our clients for using our flexible benefits system. It was evergreen. It was paying the bills. We were okay.

Then we that saw our online Flexible Benefits system was enabling a particularly large amount of transactions per annum.

Epiphany.

It was time to change our business model. We wanted to do it fast, so we went for broke and raised investor money (for the first time) to allow us to go after our strategy. Hard.

What is the big-league alter ego of you current startup? Is there a Superman your Clark Kent can become? 

The greatest enemy of a business owner is complacency. Even at the peak of your company’s powers, you should always ask yourself – how can I do things better? These new tools coming out – how can I use them to power my business? How can this idea be BIGGER?

You need to think about it carefully and plan.

Thinking of doing a bakeshop? Perhaps you can be the first social-media powered bakeshop – where you can tweet people that they HAVE to come over – because a fresh batch of pandesal is about to be taken out of the oven. (can someone please do this – freshly baked pandesal is just heaven)

Are you a database programmer who wants to put up a business? Instead of doing database consulting, perhaps you should look at big data opportunities in different industries and try to look for a real-world problem where data can be a solution. (there a lot – recruitment, cellular data, enrollment data, government, etc…)

Think bigGER!

LAST CALL! DON’T MISS THE JGL OPEN COFFEE AT 47 EAST THIS SAT!

JGL OPEN COFFEE2

It’s OPEN COFFEE TIME again this March 23, 930 am at the 47 East Facility at Loyola Heights.

We’re inviting all startup-minded folk – veterans, startup newbies, and especially those who wish to take the leap – to drop by this awesome venue to both learn and network!

For those new to this monthly gathering, the format of OPEN COFFEE is pretty unique – everyone will have a strict 2 minutes to make a pitch. A pitch could be ANYTHING – a business idea, a call for advice, a call to partner, a recruitment pitch, etc…

(Well, anything EXCEPT doing a hard sell of an existing product or service)

And as those who’ve been to past sessions can attest – these sessions are AWESOME.

Do reserve your slot by clicking on the Eventbrite button below:

Eventbrite - JGL MARCH OPEN COFFEE

As per tradition, we shall be holding the event in a startup-related venue.

This time, it will be in a newly constructed co-working space near the Katipunan University belt – 47 East. (I was there a couple of days ago – it looks fantastic! Pictures below.)

See you there!

47east1 47east2 47east3

Startups Unplugged. Wow.

In a lot of ways, it was like launching a startup.

The concept (sorta-kinda-like group speed dating) had never been done before and it was either going to be AMAZING or a complete, fiery DISASTER. No in-between.

We thought it was a great way of creating better impact with a larger crowd than the usual conference/panel format. It was like holding a candle to a moth. We had to do it.

It now fell on the capable shoulders of Matt Lapid to execute.

So how did it go?

People coming in
People coming in
instructions
Prayer, The non-keynote, and instructions

At around 230, we started with a prayer, a sorta keynote (I felt totally unworthy doing a keynote, so I instead just went with some reminders), and then I painstakingly went through with the instructions – which were crucial.

First bell – transition, 5 minutes.

Second bell – settle down, 1 minute

Third bell  – start, 20 minutes

Five rounds of this.

The first bell sounded and people began going around with their maps (which people were also using as checklists).

Screen Shot 2013-03-06 at 10.25.40 PM

Second bell sounded. People were settled in their chosen areas.

Third bell sounded. No need – people were starting!

And there it was – energy!

I walked around the designated areas. People were nodding heads. Entrepreneurs were passionate.

Odell "I could've gone on for more rounds!" Ramirez of Looloo
Odell “I could’ve gone on for more rounds!” Ramirez of Looloo
Luis Buenaventura of Infinite.ly
Luis Buenaventura of Infinite.ly
I managed to sneak in one of  Maoi's sessions - she's brilliant! (plus, i think she can do stand-up comedy)
I managed to sneak in one of Maoi’s sessions – she’s brilliant! (plus, i think she can do stand-up comedy)
anna meloto-wilk
Multi-awarded Anna Meloto-Wilk explains her journey with Human Nature

Soon, the second and the third rounds were commencing. I started to allow myself to smile while walking around – we had managed to pull of a unique, amazing event!

It was evident how much people were LEARNING from the format and these marvelous entrepreneurs.

By the fifth round, the entrepreneurs were visibly tired, but incredibly, still just as passionate. It was amazing to see them give so much. EVERY entrepreneur wanted to make each of their answers (even if some of the questions repeated) as unique and as special for the person in front of her asking.

Some immediate reactions from Twitter:

Drei Alquiros ‏Fun and learning a lot here in @juangreatleap ‘s #Startupsunplugged

paula nierras Reaffirming, inspiring, and goosebumps-inducing afternoon c/o@JuanGreatLeap. Thanks and congratulations! #startupsunplugged

Zar Castro  Had a blast. Learned a lot. Thanks @JuanGreatLeap!

Jairuz A ‏ Thanks to @JuanGreatLeap @PeterCauton for organizing a very successful #startupsunplugged event today… See you on the next event!

Renelyn Tan ‏ Amazing event by @juangreatleap this afternoon. Thanks for all the inspiring entrepreneurs who shared their experience.

Yas Coles ‏ Great way to spend a Saturday afternoon: meet startup superstars to get going. Looking forward to more @JuanGreatLeap

Kazumi Shiroma ‏ “Be shameless with failure, be critical when you want to help.” -Reese Fernandez-Ruiz | Well spent Saturday afternoon with@JuanGreatLeap 🙂

Maria Rona Beltran  @JuanGreatLeap learned a lot of building an #entrepreneur attitude and startup stuff last saturday!

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

For those who attended, let me repeat the most important thing: I hope you not only learned from the experience, but I sincerely pray that you USE whatever motivation and/or information you were able to garner.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Our major sponsors:

Ayala Foundation: Thank you so much to Michi and her team for the beautiful venue, all the logistical help, and introducing us to some of the entreps!

Kickstart: To Minette and her team – for all the help and support! If you have a startup and you need funding, you have GOT to talk to Minette and her team.

Co.lab: Especially Chesa for helping us design the whole event, and for lending us Danella, who agreed to celebrate part of her birthday weekend as one of our awesome 20 entreps!

Velprint: For all your printing needs, be sure to check out the awesome, high quality work which Velprint can provide.

Thank you so much to our minor sponsors as well:

Gonuts Donuts for the awesome pastries!

Starbucks for the perfect cup of coffee (and water) you served (and boy, did it go splendidly with the doughnuts!)

Rocket Concepts for producing ALL the marketing/event collateral we used.

Human Nature for the awesome giveaways!

Stream Engine Studios for the great video introduction of our 20 entreps!

More pics! (for even more pics, check out the facebook page)

justin garrido talks about socialproject.ph
justin garrido talks about socialproject.ph
Reese Fernandez-Ruiz of Rags2riches
Reese Fernandez-Ruiz of Rags2riches

 

Gian Javelona of Orange Apps
Gian Javelona of Orange Apps
tbi
The ayala-TBI hallway
Group Shot! So proud of these 20 entreps!
Group Shot! So proud of these 20 entreps!
I dated the guest usher (shown here) after the event.
I dated the guest usher (shown here) after the event.

The Starstruck Guide to Startups Unplugged

Girl with Stars Over Eyes

I’m starstruck.

Looking at our line-up for Saturday, I am humbled, excited, giddy, honored, and super-thankful all at the same time.

I cannot over-emphasize the fact: Saturday will be a TREMENDOUS LEARNING EXPERIENCE.

You just have to take advantage of this rare opportunity to gain access to some of the most innovative and compelling startup founders in the country today.

There will be a brief keynote, and then the main “group speed dating” activity will transpire.

The rules are simple:

  1. Each entrepreneur will have his own “nook” with 12-15 chairs each. These chairs shall not be moved. 
  2. A first bell will ring to signal the start of the proceedings. You can now go and sit on one of the chairs of your chosen entrepreneur. This is musical-chairs type. If the seats are filled for one entrep, you have to proceed to go to a vacant chair. 
  3. A second bell will ring to signal that people should now ALL be seated and settled down. 
  4. A third bell will ring to signal that the sessions can begin. You are now in arms length to your entrepreneur of choice. SEIZE THE DAY. Ask your questions. 
  5. The bell will ring again to signal that the session has ended and that the next one will begin. You now need to look for your next entrep. 
  6. This will go on for FIVE rounds. 

Two very obvious suggestions then:

  1. PLAN ON WHO TO TALK TO. This will save you time. Plus you only have 6 rounds.
  2. PLAN YOUR QUESTIONS. Without your questions, the whole concept falls on its behind.

Now, here’s my very biased, star-struck, and informal guide to WHY YOU HAVE TO TALK TO EACH ENTREPRENEUR.

Ready? Let’s do it. In no particular order:

1. KAREN YAO is dear friend I had known since my HR days. Karen has had what I would call a very organic journey into entrepreneurship. She’s simply one of the best HR practitioners I know. And of course, when you’re as good in your field as she is in hers, a very obvious choice is to go consulting. She established a great solo consulting career before realizing it’s a great advantage if you build a company around your consulting practice. She founded Congruent Partnerships  in 2010, a company which provides the world-class HR outsourcing services to SME’s. Karen’s taught me some real valuable lessons: that doing great work results in the freedom to CHOOSE who to work with, and that BIG isn’t necessarily always GREAT. 

Those of who who are interested in B2B’s, bootstrapping, transitioning from consulting into running a firm, functional consulting, and anything HR – TALK to Karen!

2. There’s a reason why TEMBONG YAMBAO‘s face was plastered in a big EDSA ad promoting an entrepreneurial event some years back. This guy is an awesome entrepreneur. He’s founded a couple of huge distribution firms already, including Apollo, which I think is the largest independent pharma distribution company in the country. Tembong is one of the most animated and charismatic “let’s do it” guys you’ll ever meet, which sometimes belies his keen entrepreneurial mind.

If you are interested in serial entrepreneurship, retail, “brick and mortar” business, and learning about the art of networking (oh wow, I think Tembong is the best networker I know), then you should talk to this guy. 

3. Babypips is a forex trading website with a GLOBAL audience. ODELL RAMIREZ is one of the guys behind that. Have you heard of the awesome Looloo review app which was recently launched? This guy is also behind that. I had a chance to talk to Odell in a startup event some months ago and he is just an awesome conversation!

Interested in building a startup around an online community? Doing a great mobile app? Serial entrepreneurship? Doing an online training platform? Odell’s the guy to approach!

4. Filipino startup legend JOEY GURANGO needs no introduction. He is not only one of the most decorated startup tech entrepreneurs in the country, but as you will surely find out, also one of the most gracious. Joey has been an early supporter of Juan Great Leap, and we always look forward to hearing his sage wisdom during events. He is a very active supporter of tech startups

Doing a tech startup? Interested in LEAN METHODOLOGY? Want to know how you can market your tech products abroad? Just want to hear plain kick-ass startup wisdom? You can’t go wrong with allotting one of your 6 slots to Joey. 

5. I wrote about NOREEN BAUTISTA a few months back. Fresh off college, she founded EcoIngenuity, wit its flagship brand, Jacinto and Lirio, which creates fashions items from the (pest) water hyacinth. It’s a brilliant idea, which is brilliantly executed by Noreen and her team. Noreen has created a solid distribution for her products, uses great branding strategies, makes a profit, and most importantly helps uplift impoverished communities. Noreen, I find, is also a great young networker and pours herself into her advocacies.

If you are interested in social entrepreneurship, retail, fashion, doing a startup right after college, bootstrapping, networking, and about (very) young people doing startups, talk to Noreen!  

6. I don’t know MARK RUIZ personally, but he’s one of the people I’m really very excited to meet and learn from on Saturday. Mark took the leap from corporate to become one of the most renowned and awarded social entrepreneurs in the country. His firm, Microventures, launched the popular microfinance program Hapinoy back in 2007, helping thousands.

If you are interested in social entreprises, microfinance, business incubation, enacting massive social change, taking the leap from corporate, and even tech stuff, Mark’s your guy. 

7. Of course, Mark gets to marry ANOTHER multi-awarded social entrepreneur in REESE FERNANDEZ-RUIZ. Reese is the President and co-founder of Rags2Riches, a social enterprise that has drawn worldwide attention for its eco-ethical approach to style. Reese was one of five inaugural Rolex Young Laureates by the Rolex Foundation in Switzerland for recognition of her work.

If you are interested in social enterprises, retail, style, making waves across different countries, sustainable fashion, and helping communities, be sure to approach Reese!

8. I’d say DAVID CRUZ is one of the most underrated tech entrepreneurs in the country. Heard about the PLDT telpad? One of his firms, Neugent Technologies, made it. The same firm which has has been developing surveillance systems and exporting to more than 40 countries worldwide. A former corporate salesperson turned serial entrepreneur, David has founded other firms engaged in hardware and gaming. Can’t wait to hear this guy’s insights – he founded his first firm when he experienced an epiphany in a visit to Korea – where he saw college kids form tech startup ventures.

If you are interested in serial entrepreneurship, tech (particularly hardware), jumping from corporate, scaling firms, working for big clients, and building global distribution channels, then David’s your guy. 

9. DANELLA YAPTINCHAY is an ex-globetrotter who has found a living in developing startups which cater to startups! Her firms include  startup hangout Co-lab, startup service provider Full Suite, and the recently launched startup publication, Homegrown. You will surely enjoy talking to Danella with her global mindset, in-depth knowledge of the Filipino startup scene, and on-point insights. It’s also her birthday on the 2nd, so be sure to greet her!

If you are interested in: b2b’s, service firms, firms which cater to the SME/startup industry, want to know more about the Philippine startup founder and how they think, co-labbing, and globetrotting, be sure to visit Danella’s nook!

10. I met ESTELLE OSORIO in one of the earlier Startup Saturdays I’ve done. I found someone so open, insightful, and compelling! Another corporate leaper, Estelle went fulltime into her startup, BizWhiz Business Training and Consultancy, back in 2010. Estelle runs and organizes both public and corporate training courses and now has numerous renowned clients who are happy to call her a business partner. Estelle herself is an awesome public speaker and trainer!

If you are interested in: building a b2b business, building a training business, building communities, bootstrapping, training, (very) young people running startups, and public speaking, go talk to ESTELLE!

 11. You have probably seen GIAN SCOTTIE JAVELONA in TV or in an article (I did an article on him months ago – which easily became one of the most popular posts ever) somewhere. Why, you ask? Well, he’s a startup founder (Orange Apps). Oh, and he’s also going to be a senior in College NEXT YEAR. Wow. Great Scott indeed! Go visit his area!

If you are interested in mobile apps, developing a tech startup, and (very, very) young startup founders, this is your guy!

12. Where do I start with NIX NOLLEDO? Nix is one of the most awesome entrepreneurs I’ve ever met (and I’ve met quite a lot). Period. Nix is a serial startup entrepreneur/ investor, having built and invested in numerous highly successful startups like Havoc Digital (responsible for the likes of Pinoy Exchange, myayala.com), Rappler, and mobile startups like Fluxion and Xurpas – both of which operate on a global scale. Nix is refreshingly down-to-earth and low-key WHILE clearly being a big-idea guy who can see possibilities years down the line. Oh, and Nix is another spectacular networker with an eye for entrepreneurial talent.

If you are interested in: e-commerce, super-serial entrepreneurship, startup funding, tech entrepreneurship, mobile, building global firms, and long-term strategy, then talk to Nix!

13. The multi-awarded MAOI ARROYO is a Filipino trailblazer. Her firm, Hybridigm, is the first biotech consulting firm in the country. Hybridigm has become a game-changing startup incubator, having facilitated over $3.5M in biotech investments, trained over 15,000 aspiring entrepreneurs, and now, raising seed capital for 4 startups and series A funding for 3 companies. I had the privilege of meeting Maoi a few weeks back, and wow, she makes quite the impression with her wit, intelligence, trailblazer outlook, and humor.

If you are interested in: biotech, doing a startup based on the life sciences, startup incubation, startup funding, and R&D, you should go talk to Maoi!

14. We have Human Nature products in our home. My wife raves about them. Human Nature co-founder ANNA MELOTO-WILK  takes a lot of pride in her company’s pro-poor, pro-environment approach, as well as the fact that she has led her company’s growth to around 200 employee in just under 4 years. Anna is another multi-awarded, globally recognized entrepreneur we should all be proud of. She recently got selected as one of DEVEX 40 Under 40 Award for international development leaders.

If you are interested in: retail, brick-and-mortar startups, social entrepreneurship, and scaling fast, talk to Anna!

15. You already met JUSTIN GARRIDO in Matt’s recent post about him. Justin combines his social entrepreneur side with his tech sensibilities in creating the crowdfunding website for local social-impact projects, socialproject.ph

 If you are interested in: the crowdfunding concept, social enterprises, e-commerce, and social change, be sure to talk to Justin!

16. LUIS BUENAVENTURA is a cool dude. He has a wide range of interests, is very outspoken, and knows how to tell a story (a talent). He’s also one of those rare programmer/designer hybrids which comes in quite handy in doing startups. Oh, and Luis is also brilliant entrepreneur. He managed to sell his startup Syndeo way back in 2008. He’s now running Infinite.ly, a startup which helps non-tech people build awesome websites, and also is a very passionate advocate of tech startups, helping run the tech bootcamp, Hack2Hatch.

If you are interested in: tech startups, design, serial entrepreneurship, the Philippine tech startup scene, bootstrapping, young people doing startups, young people SELLING startups, then Luis is your guy. 

17. MIKE GO is the founder of Trese, a silkscreen printing and sewing enterprise based in GK Blue Eagle Village in Payatas 13. Since its registration in 2011, Trese has produced over 100,000+ items while engaging out-of-school-youth, nanays, and other community members in Payatas 13. He also currently serves as the Social Enterprise Development Head of Human Nature.

If you are interested in: social enterprise, community development, social entreprise incubation, and agriculture-based startups, Mike’s your guy!

18. Raffy Taruc, Kiyo Miura, Miguel Buling & Brett Lim – I first met these guys (well, two of them), early last year. There were still trying to figure out their execution strategy. They did bring beer to the meeting for us to sample. Now, I don’t really fashion myself as some “beer connoisseur,” but they brought some GREAT TASTING beer. I’m happy to say their great beer can now be found in different establishments around town!

If you are interested in: retail, building your own consumable-product from scratch (R&D), food-and beverage startups, bootstrapping, building a distribution channel, and of course, BEER, well, you have to talk to these four. (I’m sure you’ll it will be a fun conversation – guess who the stand-up comic is among the 4)

WHEW! That’s 3-4 hours of writing! But it was worth it!  Do check these guys out on Saturday! They’re going to be there for YOU.

Eventbrite - Juan Great Leap's Startups Unplugged: Get Personal with 20 Startup Founders

JGL@THEBOBBERY PODCAST IS OUT!

I had a grand time chatting up a storm with Franky and Jay at theBobberycast last night!

With a Battlestar Galactica backdrop, we talked about Juan Great Leap, the role of the academe in the startup ecosystem, how to get more students interested in startups,  the startup Bottleneck, the sudden boom of the Philippine startup scene, how funding can help the 30-something would-be-entrepreneur, my Chikka experience, and so much other stuff.

You can view the video here. 

Only 100 Seats Left For STARTUPS UNPLUGGED, Register NOW!

Event Poster (Facebook)

100 Seats Remaining

With eight days left till the March 2 event, only around 1oo seats remain. From experience, these seats tend to get gobbled up fast a few days before the actual event – so we advice that you click on the button below NOW and reserve your slot! Eventbrite - Juan Great Leap's Startups Unplugged: Get Personal with 20 Startup Founders

Don’t Flake! 

Also, for those who already have reserved their slots, please don’t flake! We’ve exerted all effort to make this a free event for all those who want to attend, so if you think you already know you cannot make it on the 2nd for some reason, please just reach out and tell us so we can give your slot to someone who can make it! (email us at peter@juangreatleap.com or matt@juangreatleap.com)

Prepare Your Questions! 

For those going, please don’t forget to prepare your questions! This event is all about sharing experiences in a very comfortable setting – so please take maximum advantage by knowing beforehand WHO to approach and WHAT exactly to ask!

Can’t wait for March 2!

Eventbrite - Juan Great Leap's Startups Unplugged: Get Personal with 20 Startup Founders

Juan Great Leap Presents: Startups Unplugged – Get Personal With 20 Awesome Startup Founders!

On March 2, we’re having a MAMMOTH Juan Great Leap event!

We’ve invited a who’s who of 20 young startup movers and shakers across a variety of industries. Our objective? We want you to be able to learn from them in a very personal and unique way. I can best describe it as “Group Speed Dating.”

Those questions YOU’VE always wanted to ask? The stories YOU want to hear? The problems and solutions that’s relevant for YOU?

Well, simply put, you can just go around and ASK THEM yourselves.

This will be on March 2, Saturday (yep, we heard all those requests not to do it on a weeknight), at the AYALA TBI Office at the UP-Ayala Technohub in Diliman.

(This will be awesome. And you just HAVE to go)

300 FREE seats, so grab ’em at the link below. Now.

Eventbrite - Juan Great Leap's Startups Unplugged: Get Personal with 20 Startup Founders

Check out the very gracious entrepreneurs who have already agreed to contribute and help out:

David Cruz

Industry: Technical (Hardware)

Blackfort Electronic Surveillance Systems Corporation; Mistral Global Gaming; Neugent Technologies; One-Touch Communications

Joey Gurango

Industry: Technical (Software)

Gurango Software Corporation

Nix Nolledo

Industry: IT (E-commerce)

Havoc Digital; Xurpas, Fluxion

Mark Ruiz

Industry: Microfinance

Microventures Inc. (Hapinoy), Rags 2 Riches Inc.

Noreen Bautista

Industry: Retail (Fashion)

EcoIngenuity (Jacinto & Lirio)

Justin Garrido

Industry: Social

socialproject.ph

Danella Yaptinchay

Industry: Business Services, Publishing

Co-lab; Homegrown Media Inc. (Homegrown.ph)

Estelle Osorio

Industry: Consulting

BizWhiz Business and Training Consultancy

Karen Yao

Industry: Consulting

Congruent Partnerships 

Raffy Taruc

Industry: Retail (Beverages)

Katipunan Craft Ales

Mike Go

Industry: Retail (Apparel)

Bagong Payatas Community Ventures Inc. (TRESE)

Luis Buenaventura   

Industry: Technical (E-commerce)

Infinite.ly, HACK2HATCH

Gian Javelona 

Industry: Technical (Application Development)

Orange Apps

Tembong Yambao  

Industry: Retail

Apollo, Urban Chef

Maoi Arroyo 

Industry: Biotech

Hybridgm Consulting

Odell Ramirez

Industry: Finance, Tech

Babypips, Lulu

Reese Fernandez

Industry: Retail

Rags2Riches

Anna Meloto-Wilk

Industry: Natural Personal Care

          Human Nature

 

Event Poster

Are You an Entrepreneur? Check Out Homegrown.ph Now!

I’ve written a couple of times recently that the amount of startup support that has locally sprouted over the course of just the last 12 months has been amazing.

One recent development has been the rise of the online Filipino startup magazine Homegrown.ph

There are a couple of articles I’ve written on the site (you can check the latest one here), but I highly encourage you to check out the other articles, if you haven’t yet. They are really quite helpful, especially for new startup founders. Topics range from the practical (How to renew your business permits) and strategic (Choosing the right team), to the the compelling (This season of resolutions).

Do check homegrown.ph out!

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