Farewell 2013, hello 2014 🙂
The Large World was born at the start of 2013 and it’s been such a gratifying experience for me. Oddly enough, I made this blog to help other people the best way I can, but it’s ended up benefiting me much more. I’ve come across so many inspiring people, got the opportunity to join activities I never would have known about, and gained a changed a perspective in what “work” should mean.
The year’s been kind of a roller coaster for me though and I admit this blog has been under some neglect. So here’s me resolving to myself and to you that I’m gonna do my best to kick this site back into life 🙂
To start it off, I thought it would be a good idea to look back at the year that was for startups and to hear it from the people working at it everyday. Here’s a few nuggets of insight from my friends who live and breathe startup.
Jonathan Conanan, Zeaple: (On his most important learning this year) Different mindsets are needed at different points of growth in a business. When you start out in a business, you have to be hands-on. You do what you can do in order to reduce costs. When you start to grow, this thinking has to be replaced with a new one. You should learn to delegate and trust your team.
Rachel Davis, Homegrown: I think we’ve seen the rise and success of many social enterprises. It seems that many of our entrepreneurs are realising that the Philippine market is more open to social enterprises and their products. We are really seeing startups want to give back and build communities… (On her most important learning this year) our market/business landscape is still transitioning in many ways, and startups need to learn how to adjust while the market does as well.
Danella Yujuico Yaptinchay, Homegrown: … on being a startup in general: there is no one else responsible for your business but you. So, even if you don’t understand numbers, don’t like sales or can’t figure out social media — you’ve got to do all of the above, somehow. It can mean trying to do them yourself or partnering with or hiring people (you trust) who will take charge of those areas so you guys can succeed… I actually believe that we have a fairly healthy startup scene in the Philippines. My concern is sustainability, which is why I work with both Full Suite and Homegrown. We want these companies to survive beyond the idea, the hype, the excitement and the romance. We want to arm them with services, tools and knowledge so they can make the right decisions at the right times for the interest of their businesses. Of course, there’s also a community-building aspect. I hope to see more and more startup founders interact with each other and show support for what they’re all doing.
Ian Joseph Corpuz, Yapak ITG and The Spark Project: (On what he thinks the startup/SME community needs to scale up in 2014) First is changes in government services. It is still difficult to setup a company in the Philippines. Registering is a huge pain and dealing with the BIR and some LGUs is punishing. A good thing is there are groups like Consulting and Business Services who are trying to address this from a different approach by providing their expertise to budding enterprises.
Second is for the startup community to build a support network. There were a lot of events held this year, mostly focused on meet ups and hackathons. This was good since it is key for everyone in the community to know each other. I believe that the next step is to have a program that would mentor new startups so they could focus more on building their products.
Armand Sazon, OnMedia Pro: Dumami sila (SMEs/Entreps) which means nawawala na konti konti yung psychological barriers of starting your own in our society – maybe it’s also because dumarami na rin yung resources at opportunities for millenials. (The SMEs and entrepreneurs are increasing which means bit by bit, the psychological barriers of starting your own in society are falling away – maybe it’s also because the resources and opportunities for millenials are growing.) …You need to invest in your own IT infrastructure moving forward, take advantage of existing technology and software, maybe even create your own.
Paolo Narciso, Amplify.ph: (On the improvements he’s seen in the music production industry in 2013) I’ve noticed that for the smaller local productions who set up gigs and the like, they’ve mostly become very conscientious about shows starting on time – at least compared to the prods 5-8 years ago… (On where startups can go this year) My mind is always on digital and like I’ve said in the past: the minute you go digital, you go global. I believe that scaling up will happen by consciously considering how to market these services globally.
Hope this gives you something to think about and build on. Will add more to this post as more people chime in!
It’s January – we’ve got 12 months to create, innovate, aid, and inspire 🙂
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