Tag: philippine startups

Waiting breathlessly for a co-founder? Just start.

Waiting breathlessly for a co-founder? Just start.

Peter Cauton

Off the top of my head, I could name 10 different people who cannot get their startup off the ground because of the lack of a co-founder.

During the open forum of the last JUAN GREAT MEET in Briggy, there was a flurry of co-founder related questions:

How do you find the right co-founder? Where do you find the right co-founder? Is it right to co-found companies with friends?

What struck me during the proceedings was when someone added to the discussion (I think it was Joey Gurango): okay, so why would you need a co-founder in the first place? 

You know, it’s very clear for me why a co-founder is better than going at it alone: you want have someone to be with in the trenches, someone to discuss things with, someone who will be strong in the areas you are weak in. Because of these very powerful reasons, it’s quite understandable to expect someone to wait for the “right one.”

But only up to a certain point.

If you’ve already spent a considerable amount of time exhausting your network, getting to know even more people, looking under every rock you see, and you just keep hitting a brick wall, then it might be time to throw in the towel and get some work done. At some point, the waiting just becomes counter-productive, so just try to start.

Yep, alone.

For some, this might be a scary thought, as the assumption all along was to form a team.  But perhaps this has become some sort of a crutch, and excuse for you to put off doing what needs to be done.

It doesn’t need to be complicated. Knowing you WILL go at it alone, ask yourself, okay, what’s that next thing that my startup needs to progress?

Are you a someone with an idea who’s been searching for a technical partner for a year already? Then the next crucial “step” (the one you’ve told yourself you can’t do without a technical partner) is to build a prototype, right?

Just start. Create detailed specs – how does your app work? Ask around and canvass for freelance programmers who might do it for a fee. Try to look for and recruit the best one. Begin raising the money that might be required.

Perhaps you don’t need a technical solution just yet. Perhaps you can test the market out by creating a powerpoint mock-up and just doing a “demo” of your product to dozens of potential customers. The info you’ll get is guaranteed to be uber-useful.

I know it might sound intimidating because that “next step” would typically be the precise reason why you’re looking for a partner – the skills required for this next step might not be within your comfort level. But this is what makes an entrepreneur an entrepreneur – she learns, adapts, and just makes things happen.

So stop waiting and start doing. The ironic thing is, once you just go ahead and decide to start, you’re sure to encounter and attract even more people who are interested in what you are doing. Sometimes, the best time to find a partner is when you’re not looking.

The Dangers of Reverse Momentum

The Dangers of Reverse Momentum

Peter Cauton

I haven’t written in around 2 weeks.

Last week, I had an excuse – I was bedridden for much of the time. This week though, I could’ve hammered out some posts earlier, but I just inexplicably refused to do so – it was like I was allergic to the keyboard all of a sudden.

Since I hadn’t written in a long time, it was sort of easier to keep not writing – and it seemed like such a chore to start.

It was reverse momentum! The more I didn’t move, the more I didn’t want to move.

I realize there were so many other aspects in my life that I’ve felt this way about: going back to the gym after stopping for a while, finishing a book I had started, getting back into daily prayer, eating the right food again, sleeping early again, and so on. Sloth does one other deadly thing: it begets even more sloth.

Perhaps there’s an item RIGHT NOW that you KNOW you need to be doing, but can’t seem to muster the effort to do so because its been such a long time.

Some of the good habits we’ve developed WILL end up getting challenged by reverse momentum at some point. If we give in, there’s a danger we lose the virtue entirely. We need to be stronger.

The important thing is to take a deep breath, embrace the resolve that you’re NOT going to let it win, and just do it.

APOLOGIES FOR THE RADIO SILENCE

APOLOGIES FOR THE RADIO SILENCE

Peter Cauton

Apologies for the radio silence these past few days, people. I was struck by a very very very nasty virus last weekend that has rendered me home and horizontal for the whole week. I tried to write, but quickly found I couldn’t form coherent thoughts and just merely looking at a digital screen made me nauseous.

Hope to be back to my normal blog routine by next week, though!

Thanks for the patience!

(Oh and yes, we found A TWO FOOT SNAKE in our kitchen this morning – what a week!)

Two Wunderkinds In a Row!

Two Wunderkinds In a Row!

Peter Cauton

Quick, tell me the last Filipino you know who created a product in his college years and turned it into a business?

I wrote this line last Thursday morning in the (very popular) Wunderkind post.

Who knew I’d meet another wunderkind just a couple of hours after publishing that post? 

I had a meeting with Noreen Bautista of Jacinto and Lirio that very same afternoon. Noreen wanted to get some advice on some HR stuff and scheduled a quick meeting.

Before giving any advice, I always make it a point to learn much about the context of the person seeking the advice. So I essentially asked Noreen to tell me her startup story.

Noreen Bautista of Jacinto and Lirio

Noreen first tells me about the amazing company concept. J&L is a social enterprise which turns an environment pest, the water hyacinth (clogs things up), into fashion products like bags and notebooks.

If this isn’t impressive enough, the enterprise marshalls the help of local communities in areas like Pampanga, Laguna, and Rizal to help i the production of the goods. When you buy fashion items from Jacinto and Lirio, you get to directly help these communities.

I was looking at their website and Facebook Page and noted how they were taking full advantage of social media to reach out to people.

This, my friends, is an example of how a modern-day social enterprise looks like! Galing!

But wait, there’s more!

It turns out, Noreen started this concept with her batchmate/business partner Anne as a college project. Then, unlike 99%  of college business simulation projects, Anne and Noreen had the necessary conviction to push their product out into the real market. They began producing goods, creating distribution channels, and marketing. You can now buy Jacinto and Lirio products in a LOT of sites, both real and virtual:

I was lucky because Noreen was on the way to showcase some samples in another meeting, so she was able to show me some notebooks.

They were gorgeous!

You know, there are some items I’d buy because I’d want to help a cause out. Not the case with the notebooks I was shown – I’d buy them solely because I’d want to buy them.

Oooooh, and the packaging.  I hate it that I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the box packaging a J&L notebook comes in. But you’d get the notebook standing up, inserted on a classy cardboard base. (Dare I say that it was Apple-like!)

Great idea. Greater execution.

Kudos to Noreen and Anne, the wunderkinds behind Jacinto and Lirio!

Continue to inspire us please!

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!

Wunderkind

Wunderkind

Peter Cauton

Yesterday, I had the privilege of giving a talk at the AIESEC Leadership Convergence Summit.

The person who spoke before me was Gian Scottie Javelona and I found his story riveting.

The people at the conference were branding him a “19-year old CEO.” But I think this title sells him short.

Anyone can call herself CEO. Those who get enough votes in their college business simulation companies have that title. Those who inherit Dad’s business at 19 can call themselves CEO (to Dad’s Chairman of the Board).

Quick, tell me the last Filipino you know who created a product in his college years and turned it into a business?

At 19, I was busy going out with my friends, playing video games, and cramming for the next exam. This guy probably does all that as well. Oh, but he’s also creating mobile enterprise software and trying to grow his firm at the same time!

Gian isn’t just a CEO, he’s an entrepreneur.

At 19 years of age, he’s a wunderkind.

Let me tell you the best part of his story for me.

Gian’s company, Orange Apps, has created a customizable mobile portal for schools. It runs on the Android platform.

Gian had one problem when he was trying to develop the app….

He didn’t have an Android phone!

So what did he do? At first, he kept on borrowing a friend’s Android phone. Finding this too slow, he finished building a payroll system for a client, and then used the funds to buy himself an Android firm.

This, my friends, is the very essence of entrepreneurship.

His school, PUP, has since adopted his platform. Gian is now busy getting his product to other schools and expanding.

All while trying to fulfill school requirements for his impending graduation.

Amazing.

Homecourt Advantage: 4 Reasons Why It’s STILL Awesome to Have an Actual Office

Peter Cauton
The new STORM office along Escriva – do visit if you’re in the area

A few of my startup founder friends are deliberately choosing NOT to have a physical office.

Their logic is simple:

  • Smaller utility costs (electricity, water, rent)
  • No travel costs (gas AND cost of time lost to traffic)
  • No furniture costs
  • Mobile technology now allows for free video conference calls across the internet

Last weekend, we moved to our new office along Escriva Drive in Ortigas. It is the fifth office we are moving into. Our original office was in the living room of my condominium, where we used a friend’s second-hand restaurant furniture.

When I think about it, we could save a small fortune NOT having an office and going purely mobile. Here are reasons why we would probably never do this:

1) Actual Interaction Beats Mobile

I’m not talking about production here. There are actually some studies which say that production actually increases when people work from home. What I’m pertaining to is teamwork and a shared purpose.

There’s a reason why training companies (paid billions by companies around the world) do a lot of teambuilding through actual shared experiences. Have you seen any team building activity done online?

The best way camaraderie and teamwork are built? When you are working in the trenches together. When it’s the deadline in a few hours and the guy to your left and the girl on your right are downing Cobras with you and its crunch-time. It’s the pizza and drinks you share as you celebrate beating the deadline the next day. This reasons alone justifies the costs of running an actual office for me.

Hmmm. I can picture a company wiring you money to buy pizza, then you celebrating together with you on Skype – but you know what, I just think it wouldn’t be the same.

I was with a startup company before who chose to do it the mobile route. And I don’t know, there was just less energy and excitement with that route. That company has since closed down – there were a lot of other reasons why it did, but working on a purely mobile environment certainly did not help.

2) Working at Home is Tough

It’s funny. I know a ton of employees who want to work from home. But you know what, I know freelancers and founders who work from home who “want to take the next step” by working in an outside office. It’s not so surprising.

Have you ever tried working at home? Not only is your gaming console there, but there’s also your bed, your very comfortable couch, plus dozens of other distractions. There’s also perhaps your mom who would suddenly want you to buy eggs in the grocery, or maybe your 4-year old kid who needs your help in finishing a stage in Bad Piggies.

 3) There’s Something Gratifying About Having a Home

I remember when Pao and I moved STORM from my condo to our first 20-square office space. We had just bought furniture and we were carrying it in. When we were placing the last table in its proper place, we looked at each other and couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t verbalized, but it was clear – STORM had a home at last, and this was a moment to be remembered.

4) Having an Office Enables Recruitment

Or, more accurately, not having an office cripples recruitment.

After a few months on the job, our new hotshot programmer, Angela told me that she was thisclose to not doing the interview with our company at all. She said that she was standing in front of our door for a good 15 minutes, thinking whether she should ring the bell or not. After all, it was a RESIDENTIAL room.

Angela went on to design and build our first flexible benefits systems – the lifeblood of our firm. Had she not rung, things might have been very different for us.

I remember last year when Applabs (mobile development startup) CEO Ian Atienza was working feverishly on the details of their new office in Eastwood – where every brick went, what piece of furniture went where, how the conference room looked like, how the colors went together. After a few weeks I saw the office and it was amazing. In the next few months, I saw the rewards of what Ian was sweating over: some people were saying yes to his job offer just on the basis of what the office looked like.

Of course, ultimately, what matters would be the type of work and the fit. But you know, having a nice-looking home helps plenty. Unfairly or not, an office adds legitimacy.

Ultimately, of course it will boil down to whether your startup can safely afford the costs of having a home. But as soon as you can financially afford it, don’t hesitate – it’s easier to build with a foundation in place.

1% Membership Requires Conviction

1% Membership Requires Conviction

Peter Cauton

No matter how loud this blog becomes, 99% of people will still choose to go the usual route.

99% percent will still choose to go with the herd.

99% will still play it safe and choose the comfort of a twice-a-month salary.

What differentiates the 1% from the 99%?

What differentiates the 1% from the 99% is conviction.

I have seen this first hand with all the entrepreneurs and founders I’ve interacted with. They believe in their vision. More than that, they believe in themselves. It is an unshakeable, oftentimes illogical belief.

It is this conviction which allows them to take on the big hairy leap to go out on their own. But this isn’t what results in the 1% yet. Perhaps 10% of people will take this courageous leap.

But 9 out of these 10 people who will leap will give up the moment it becomes dicey, when they get punched in the mouth.  Most successful entrepreneurs and startups have had colossal failures marking their timelines. Our hero Steve Jobs very publicly got fired from the company he founded. He could’ve retired with his millions, but instead he used the failure as fuel to mount the greatest comeback in business history.

Unlike with most people, failure doesn’t make any significant dents in the conviction of the 1% – it actually strengthens it. (Failure can create the proverbial “chip on the shoulder” – which some investors love)

I like how the other meaning of conviction ties into this discussion. The other meaning of conviction is “judgement rendered.”

In a sense, this is exactly what the entrepreneur exposes himself to – judgement.

I wrote before at how the leap in people is prevented not by the incapacity of the person to take on risk, but a lot of the time, its “what will other people think?”

“I will leave my 15-year banking career to put up a startup which creates mobile apps for the elderly? OMG! What will my family say? What will my peers say?”

An entrepreneur just leaps in and effectively says:

Hey world, this is me!

You want to be like the 1%?

Then DECIDE.

That decision is the underrated element of the leap. Most people are wishy-washy with their decision, doing a “wait-and-see” versus an actual decision. (you who are guilty of this know what I mean) Or choosing to be in perpetual “data-gathering” mode. Stop talking about it and start doing it.

Can’t resign yet? Perfectly okay. Allot 2 hours a day working on your startup – plan and do. Too hard?

Then you’re in the 99%.

Let me end this post with lyrics from one of my favorite 90’s songs, Conviction of the Heart by Kenny Loggins. If you want to sing along or something, you can click here. (up to you if you want to sing on until the environmental part of the song 🙂

CONVICTION OF THE HEART, Kenny Loggins

Where are the dreams that we once had?
This is the time to bring them back.
What were the promises caught
On the tips of our tongues?
Do we forget or forgive?
There’s a whole other life waiting to be lived when…
One day we’re brave enough
To talk with conviction of the heart.

And down your streets I’ve walked alone,
As if my feet were not my own
Such is the path I chose,
Doors I have opened and closed
I’m so tired of living this life,
Fooling myself, believing we’re right when…
I’ve never given love
With any conviction of the heart.

The Dangers of a Fragmented Life, Part 1

The Dangers of a Fragmented Life, Part 1

Peter Cauton

In grade school, I used to be deathly afraid when my parents would pick me up from school. For some reason I couldn’t understand, I was ashamed of them. I didn’t want my friends to see me with them.

One funny result of this was when people would call me at home (yup, we used the landline to chat then) and look for “Peter,” the people at home thought they were calling the wrong number. You see, at home I was called “Pitpol” or “Popo.”

I was deathly ashamed of these nicknames.

It sounds funny in retrospect, but perhaps the funnier thing is, it turns out I wasn’t the only one who was like this! Turns out a lot of people hide their “home” names, in an effort to separate family life from school life.

Perhaps its not that surprising.  After all, weren’t we all trained and raised to separate the different “areas” in our lives?

Aren’t we so used to saying things like:

“how’s your love life?”

“trabaho lang yan”

“my spiritual life’s been dry”

The connotation is telling. A lot of us live our lives in silos and fragments.

So fast forward to 2005-2006, and upon analysis, my life consisted of these very defined circles:

So, wait…

You know what? Part of me actually liked this set-up. It’s additive. I could check stuff off. I could even mathematically deduce how happy I was in my life!

This month I’m 5/6 happy!

But I’d so hate it when my worlds collided.

When my wife went to a corporate function with me, or when my family would ask me how work was, or when the people in my different circles would meet in a party , I’d feel like my grade school self. There was this weird, uneasy feeling of something like “being discovered.”

The thing was, I DID have something to hide. When I think about it, I was a slightly different person in each world. 

I think this is dangerous because:

1) The anonymity results in lack of accountability, which results in the temptation to be “someone else” in each circle. This lack of accountability can lead to awful choices.

2) Existential angst is created because the question, “who am I” suddenly is difficult to answer

3) There is an uneasiness, a heavy restlessness when the other parts of our life are not in conjunction

Is life truly meant to be lived in such fragmented fashion?

Do we really mean what we say when we say things like:

“I’m really happy. Work really is depressing and demotivating, but, you know, that’s just work! So I’m really happy.”

I think not.

We need to get rid of our horcruxes.

(Continue on to part 2!)

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.