PH Startups Encouraged to Join
The international conference Geeks on a Beach will kick off on August 20, 2015 at the Crown Regency Resort and Convention Center in Boracay. TechTalks.ph founder Tina Amper called on tech entrepreneurs to join the Geeks on a Beach (GOAB) international tech confab. The activity is set for August 20-21 but there are side activities before and after the dates.
According to Amper, TechTalks.ph’s GOAB, is the place to be for Philippine startups or innovation-driven enterprises in Southeast Asia who are looking for prospects for funding, partnerships, networks, and fun-filled learning on technology and entrepreneurship.
“Geeks on a Beach offers startups and related software technology companies great venue opportunities to succeed. Why go elsewhere to find partners or funding on your own? They will all be at GOAB where there is less hype and more action. So be there and find your own destiny,”
added David Overton, CEO of Sym.ph and Chief Geek of GOAB.
GOAB, which had its first staging in the world famous white sand beaches of Boracay Island in September 2013, boasts of having lent a hand in getting attention, mileage, and funding for a long list of tech startups from all over the country.
Filipino startup Cogito.ph credits its getting of seed funding from Kickstart Ventures after an unexpected pitching byCogito.ph founders on a shared taxi cab ride with Kickstart during last year’s GOAB in Mactan Island in Cebu.
Gian De La Rama, CEO and co-founder of InnoVantage Inc., shared that the few minutes pitch his team did while in a cab with Kickstart President Minette Navarrete led to several meetings a few months after that culminated with Kickstart funding Cogito.ph earlier this year.
Another GOAB success story is Philippine payroll service Salarium’s winning of this year’s Seedstars World (SSW) world startup competition in Geneva, Switzerland where the Pinoy startup bested nine other finalists to claim the grand prize of a $500,000 equity investment.
Salarium CEO Judah Z. Hirsch said that his startup’s journey to the Seedstars Grand Prize began when he joined GOAB. “I met the Seedstars Guys at GOAB,” said Hirsch.
Real estate property listing site ZipMatch.com co-founded by Chow Paredes and John Dang also closed a deal with international investors IMJ Fenox and 500 Startups as well as a host of local funders such as IdeaSpace and Hatchd Digital during GOAB.
TechTalks.ph’s Amper said that GOAB’s first three years has gone a long way in bringing much-needed interest for startups in the country from investors, businesses, government and other sectors that can be solicited support even if the local tech community is still in the infancy stage.
She added that it is high time to put a spotlight on homegrown startups through events like GOAB with the Asean integration and the optimistic projections of the Philippines as the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia.
GOAB Chief Geek Overton called on everyone interested to attend GOAB to register for the early bird discount by visiting the websitewww.geeksonabeach.com. For more information, you can follow the Facebook and Twitter accounts @geeksonabeach email hello@geeksonabeach.com.
