100x Launches Initiative Seeking to Foster Out-of-The-Box Visionaries
The Icon Class aims to build the next generation of visionaries amid a global talent crisis.
by JV Ordoñez
Published on Jun 3, 2026
The Manila-startup fellowship program 100XVC.IO has spearheaded a new initiative that bets on the future of global talent development through Filipino founders.
100XVC.IO CEO Andre Yap calls the program Icon Class, which is a 100-day skilling and credentialing platform that matches what it calls "Iconic Talents" with seasoned leaders seeking founder-caliber hires. The pioneering class starts in July and runs until October this year, with tuition being free and the application deadline for aspirants on June 30.
In case you haven't heard, the Philippines is quietly becoming the most relevant investment place in Asia right now, according to 100x partners and local startup stalwarts.
100x got its name from the shared vision for startups to ensure a 100x (100 times) return of investment for founders and investors once these businesses take off and a 100x impact on the country’s business environment and customers.
"The last truly great generation of Filipino startups was born post-war," he said. "They built household names, 100x-type businesses from nothing," Yap earlier said, referring to the aimed 100x (100 times) return on investment and the overall impact for founders, investors, and the Philippine business climate as businesses take off.
"We're in a very different context but presented with the same generational inflection point."
Now back to Icon Class, the platform is centered on what is called meta-skilling, or the capacity to learn, adapt, and apply skills across contexts rather than siloed expertise.
"In the earliest stages, where we (both Kaya Founders and 100XVC) come in, we are investing primarily in talent," according to early-stage VC firm Kaya Founders Managing Partner and Icon Class advisor Paulo Campos.
"The founder and the team are our primary assets, since everything else (products, customers, revenues, etc.) are in the earliest stages. The caliber of our talent makes or breaks our investments."
Yap and Campos stress the need for out-of-the-box thinkers who aren't afraid to fail.
On the employer side, Icon Class is positioning itself as a direct pipeline to senior decision-makers, a lot like what Yap and co-founder Danielle Nakpil describe as leaders with mandates that conventional hiring ecosystems aren't designed to fulfill. Nakpil has a diverse background in major media and influential platforms such as Rappler, CNN Philippines, Deloitte, and even the United Nations.
The penultimate goal is to establish the Philippines as an exporter of a new class of global talent instead of narrowly skilled specialists.
Icon Class aims to foster these so-called "Meta Talents": people built to operate at the intersection of systems, people, technology, and consequence.
Info sessions are set for June 6 and June 13. If you're interested in joining the program, visit the designated website here.
Esquire PH's resident music scribe, wristwatch disciple, and essayist fluent in niche internet subcultures and Philippine politics.
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