Innovation, progress, ambition—this is how a thriving startup ecosystem can influence a nation’s economy. The Philippine startup ecosystem is young but flourishing, and the last five years have witnessed tremendous growth, record-breaking deals, and the rise of startup superstars. From 2017 to 2020, Philippine startups raised $877 million in equity investments, but in 2021, the bar was raised when total funding ballooned to $1.03 billion in only one year. Some might call this the Golden Age of Philippine startups, but we know the best is yet to come.
The startup industry’s success is the story of the Filipino entrepreneur—one of grit and determination. Every new round of funding and every closed deal are a contribution to the greater startup economy as Filipino founders and entrepreneurs prove that their ideas and businesses are worthy of recognition. While we’re not (yet) Silicon Valley, we take pride in the startups we call our own and the founders and investors that made it happen.
With that, we present the 70+ most influential people in the Philippine startup scene in Esquire’s inaugural Trailblazers List. These are the men and women shaking up the industry, the investors and thought leaders directing the conversation, and the startup founders who’ve become Filipino success stories.
Post a Comment
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Roland Ros and Rexy Dorado of Kumu
They met through LinkedIn, neither of them predicting that their brainchild would one day be the Philippines’ second top-grossing app, just behind Facebook. Kumu co-founders Roland Ros and Rexy Dorado were Esquire’sCreators of the Yearin 2021 for Kumu’s impact on the Philippine creators community. The two made being a creator a viable income-generating career possible in the Philippines thanks to Kumu’s generous, pro-creator business model.
Kumu takes pride in being the largest startup not backed by a major conglomerate, and with Ros and Dorado at the helm, the startup became one of the handful of Philippine startups that has completed a Series C round. In an effort to cultivate the growing Philippine startup ecosystem, Ros is also one of the champions of Sinigang Valley, a community of entrepreneurs that have established a startup hub in Poblacion, Makati.
Steve Sy of Great Deals E-Commerce
When Great Deals was founded in 2014, founder and CEO Steve Sy knew his startup would only succeed if it was “built to last, not built to sell.” In the startup’s early years, Sy was bootstrapping his company, which is not unheard of for budding entrepreneurs. The end-to-end e-commerce enabler, solutions provider, and online distributor eventually secured Series A and Series B funding, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down.
CONTINUE READING BELOW
watch now
Sy’s strategy of sustainability pulled through, and Great Deals is now the brand that empowers other brands on leading e-commerce platforms.
Raymond “ER” Rollan of Growsari
Sari-sari stores have long been overlooked by the greater business community, but Growsari quickly identified an opportunity to address a pain point and help uplift these mom-and-pop store owners. Co-founded by CEO Raymond “ER” Rollan, Growsari is a startup that borders on social enterprise. Its mission to support and sustain the humble sari-sari store is a point of inspiration for many aspiring entrepreneurs.
Rollan worked in Singapore for years at multinational FMCGs before answering the call to return to the Philippines. The last two years have been particularly eventful for Growsari after it raised Series B in 2021 and Series C in 2022.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Francis Plaza, Jaime Hing, Luis Sia of PayMongo
The first Philippine fintech startup to be incubated by the prestigious Y Combinator, PayMongo is currently led by co-founders CEO Francis Plaza, chief technology officer Jaime Hing, and chief commercial officer Luis Sia. PayMongo is already a dominant player in the local fintech industry, enabling thousands of MSMEs in the Philippines to process payments quickly and efficiently through the startup’s unique APIs, plugins, and products.
With ties to Silicon Valley and a Series B round in the bag, Plaza, Hing, and Sia set the standard for up-and-coming fintech startups in the Philippines. PayMongo’s leaders are also paying their knowledge and success forward with an accelerator program targeted at empowering local SMEs, and the founders have also set up the early-stage 335 Fund that invests in “crazy early-stage founders.” Their recent investments include IT educator Avion School and collegiate esports organization AcadArena.
In photo, left to right: Jaime Hing, Francis Plaza, Luis Sia
Gab Dizon and Beryl Li of Yield Guild Games
Dizon and Li are the co-founders of Yield Guild Games, a gaming collective that invests in NFT assets, such as Axies on Axie Infinity. It was communities like YGG that led to the NFT craze of the last couple of years and Axie “shopping spree” in the Philippines in the same year. Founded only in 2020, YGG is now a global player in the NFT gaming world, with Dizon and Li leading the charge as influential entrepreneurs in the growing NFT space. Dizon was recently named the 40th most influential person in Fortune’s NFTy 50 list, which recognized personalities such as Beeple and CryptoPunks, while Li was recognized by Fast Company for her unique position as a powerful woman in the Web3 world.
Prior to YGG, Dizon co-founded mobile game developer Altitude Games in 2014 and gaming and blockchain solutions company Alto.io in 2018. Meanwhile, Li worked as a consultant at UnionBank of the Philippines’ fintech platform UBX.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Nichel Gaba of PDAX
PDAX is gunning to be the Philippines’ leading crypto exchange, spearheaded by founder and CEO Nichel Gaba. PDAX, which stands for Philippine Digital Asset Exchange, is the leading Filipino-made crypto exchange in the country. It’s up against big competitors like Binance and Coinbase, but it’s selling point is that it lets users trade digital assets like Bitcoin directly against the Philippine peso.
After securing Series B, Gaba is becoming a leader in the small but growing local crypto community as the Philippines steadily catches up with crypto trading.
Ernest Cu of Globe and Martha Sazon of GCash/Mynt
It’s impossible to separate GCash from Globe, so we’ve decided to list their leaders together. What began as a simple mobile wallet concept has now become a titan among Philippine startups. GCash, wholly owned by the Ayala Group’s Globe Telecom, is the Philippines' biggest startup success story and the country’s first official unicorn. GCash is a part of almost every Filipino’s daily life, and its exponential growth is credited to the guidance of Globe CEO and president Ernest Cu and GCash CEO and president Martha Sazon.
The last two years have been stellar for GCash, no doubt thanks to Sazon who left Globe after 11 years to head Mynt, which is the parent company of GCash. During the pandemic, under Sazon’s leadership, GCash’s user base grew from 20 million by the end of 2019 to 51 million by the end of 2021. GCash now counts 70 percent of the country’s adult population as users.
Orlando B. Vea of PayMaya/Voyager Innovations
Orlando B. Vea is one of the country’s most successful digital entrepreneurs, having founded several leading tech companies in the Philippines. In 1991, Vea co-founded Smart, which was eventually acquired by the PLDT Group. Over the years, he’s assumed leadership positions in a number of PLDT subsidiaries until he co-founded PayMaya, a leading digital payments company, and Voyager Innovations, the fintech company that owns PayMaya.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Since its founding, Voyager has consistently raised sizable equity investments under Vea’s leadership and its trajectory has set an example to follow among aspiring digital entrepreneurs.
Greg Krasnov of Tonik
Leading the Philippines’ first-ever neobank is Greg Krasnov, founder and CEO of Tonik. Before his venture into the Philippines, the serial entrepreneur ran a number of Asian fintech companies like FORUM and Credolab, and worked in banking and private equity in Europe. Kraznov founded Tonik in 2019 and secured its first round of funding in 2020. In the months that followed, when COVID was its peak and Filipinos were migrating to digital banking, Tonik bagged Series A and two Series B rounds in quick succession.
With big investors like Mizuho Bank and Sequoia Capital behind Tonik, the neobank has firmly established itself as a popular digital bank in the Philippines’ banking space.
Stephanie Sy of Thinking Machines
Data guru Stephanie Sy began her career in the Bay Area after graduating from Stanford and working in Silicon Valley. She moved back to Manila to start Thinking Machines, a leading data technology consultancy company that’s expanded its operations to Singapore and Bangkok. Using AI and cloud data, Thinking Machines helps transform companies in logistics, retail, and the social sector by educating them on how to use and interpret data.
When it's not working with big clients like Globe and LBC, Thinking Machines carries out a public service by publishing in-depth data journalism pieces. From its analysis of Metro Manila’s urban planning to its forecast of the Philippines’ greenhouse gas emissions, Stephanie Sy has shaped Thinking Machines into a national thought leader in everything data-related.
Post a Comment
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Franco Varona, Jesse Maxwell, and Mark Kooijman of Foxmont Capital Partners
Venture capital in the Philippines is not easy, but Franco Varona, Jesse Maxwell, and Mark Kooijman are committed to growing the startup ecosystem. Together, they run Foxmont Capital Partners, a leading Filipino-based and Filipino-focused venture fund that invested in 15 Philippine startups in 2021 alone. While they focus on early-stage funding, the firm also participated in Kumu’s Series C round.
Aside from Kumu, Foxmont has invested in Podcast Network Asia, Etaily, Locad, Edamama, Alternative Housing Group, and many more.
In photo, left to right: Jesse Maxwell, Franco Varona, Mark Kooijman
Minette Navarrete, Dan Siazon, and Joan Yao of Kickstart Ventures
The Ayala-backed Kickstart Ventures Inc. put together a star-studded team to usher in the next generation of startups. A fully-owned subsidiary of Globe, Kickstart is led by its president Minette Navarrete, senior vice president and treasurer Dan Siazon, and vice president Joan Yao. Kickstart Ventures was one of the first venture capital funds backed by traditional conglomerates. The fund takes pride in connecting its chosen startups with Ayala and Globe’s network of facilities, experts, and consultants. In its early years, Kickstart Ventures invested in Kalibrr, Wattpad, and Sprout Solutions, and the latest additions to its portfolio are NextPay and Edamama.
In photo, left to right: Dan Siazon, Minette Navarrete, Joan Yao
Jojo Malolos of JG Digital Equity Ventures
Heading JG Summit’s corporate venture capital arm is Elmer “Jojo” Malolos, the CEO of JG Digital Equity Ventures Inv. (JGDEV) and Data Analytics Ventures Inc. (DAVI). He joined JG Summit mid-2020 and is leading the conglomerate into a digital future with JGDEV’s startup investments. Where JGDEV focuses on investing, DAVI supplies the data analytics to incubate digital businesses.
JGDEV’s portfolio includes Growsari, Etaily, Darwinbox, Snapcart, and more. As a corporate VC, Malolos directs JGDEV’s interests toward startups that can integrate themselves into the JG Summit ecosystem. When he’s not leading the conglomerate’s VC interests, Malolos wears another hat—as the president and co-CEO of GoTyme, JG Summit’s new BSP-licensed digital bank.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Paulo Campos of Kaya Founders
Kaya Founders is a newly-formed early-stage fund that’s focused on local and regional startups. The VC is led by Paulo Campos III–co-founder and CEO of Zalora, angel investor, and thought leader. Together with fellow angel investor Lisa Gokongwei, Campos streamlined their investments under the Kaya Founders banner.
Prior to Kaya’s founding, Campos participated as an angel investor in the seed rounds of Locad and Kraver’s Canteen and the pre-seed round of Peddlr.
Manny Ayala of Endeavor Philippines
Manny Ayala leads Endeavor Philippines, the third-largest affiliate of Endeavor in Southeast Asia. Endeavor is a global network that connects high-impact entrepreneurs with investors, matches professionals with the right positions, and trains and mentors the top tier of entrepreneurs in the country. Its investments are focused on the people—the founders who make up the startup scene. Locally, members of Endeavor include the founders of Kumu, Growsari, and Great Deals.
Carlo Delantar, Jason Gaisano, and Ken Ngo of Gobi-Core Philippines Fund
Gobi-Core Philippines Fund is the joint venture of Core Capital, a Manila-based VC, and Gobi Partners, a leading VC in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, and North Asia. Core Capital co-founders and partners Delantar, Gaisano, and Ngo teamed up with Gobi to build the Gobi-Core PH fund, which has supported startups like Tier One Entertainment, Flowerstore, Edukasyon.ph, and more. Aside from its investments, Gobi-Core takes meticulous records of every movement and investment in the startup industry. The Philippine Startup Ecosystem Report by Gobi-Core is a comprehensive resource for startup insights, observations, and analyses for future founders and investors to enjoy.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
In photo, left to right: Jason Gaisano, Carlo Delantar, Ken Ngo
Mark Sng of Gentree Fund
The Gentree Fund is the newest conglomerate-backed VC in the Philippines. Run by the third generation Sys of retail behemoth SM, Gentree is a private investment vehicle for the family, which is focusing its interests on B2C and B2B companies. Aside from financial backing, Gentree provides its startups with practical guidance, advice, and a connection to SM’s expansive commercial network. Vice President Mark Sng is currently the face of Gentree Fund, which has invested in the likes of NextPay, Edamama, AQwire, and Mosaic Solutions.
Katrina Chan of QBO Innovation Hub and Ideaspace
Katrina Chan is a familiar face in startup seminars and conferences. The executive director of QBO, Chan leads the country’s first public-private partnership initiative that specializes in growing Philippine tech startups. QBO is a collaboration supported by the Philippine Department of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, IdeaSpace Foundation, and J.P. Morgan. As the executive director of Ideaspace, Chan oversees incubation and mentorship programs, growth strategies, and networking events.
Quenby Go of the Manila Angel Investors Network
Led by executive director Quenby Go, MAIN is the Philippines’ biggest private investors network that connects early-stage startups with investors, mentors, and experts. As its name suggests, MAIN is made up of select high net worth private individuals looking to invest in promising local startups. Over the years, MAIN has participated in pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds, focusing on the tech startups that show potential. Some of the network’s early investments were in Kumu and Booky, and the latest additions to its portfolio are 1Export, Talino Venture Labs, and MadEats.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Vince Yamat of 917 Ventures
Another Globe-backed entity on the list is 917 Ventures, which is headed by its managing director Vince Yamat. 917 Ventures describes itself as a “startup factory” that provides funding, acceleration, and mentoring. The corporate venture “builder” concentrates on pre-seed funding, and the latest additions to its portfolio include Benta.TV, KodeGo, and Fanlife. Its other startups, namely GCash and AdSpark, are part of the Globe and Ayala ecosystem. When the pandemic arrived, 917 Ventures doubled down on health tech with its teleconsult services KonsultaMD and HealthNow.
Constantin Robertz of Locad
Angel investor and startup founder, Robertz wears many hats. His latest one is as the co-founder and CEO of Locad, a cloud-based solution for the global e-commerce industry. A leader in logistics, Robertz previously worked as the managing director of Zalora Philippines and helped build the popular fashion commerce site. He was also CEO and president of Entrego, which began as an in-house logistics platform for Zalora but eventually evolved into an independent B2C logistics company. When he’s not running startups, he’s investing in them. Robertz recently invested in the local fitness app Rebel and end-to-end e-commerce solution Etaily.
Brian Cu of SariSuki
After seven years of leading Grab Philippines, Brian Cu has become a bonafide thought leader in the Philippine startup ecosystem. From country head to startup founder to angel investor, Cu knows the ins and outs of building and sustaining a startup in the Philippines. After stepping down from Grab, the entrepreneur went on to found two companies, Byahe Transport and SariSuki, the latter of which recently secured $10.7 million in Series A funding. Cu co-founded the startup with colleagues Philippe Lorenzo, Bam Mejia, and Angelo Lee. SariSuki is certainly a startup to watch, as are Cu’s other recent investments: cloud kitchen Kraver’s Canteen, bookkeeping startup Lista, and HR tech HireQuotient.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Ron Baetiong of Hustleshare
Ron Baetiong is the founder of media startup Podcast Network Asia and his position as a thought leader is indisputable. Long before Baetiong secured seed funding for PNA, the entrepreneur was running Hustleshare, a Philippine business podcast that hands the mic over to the influential men and women in the Philippine startup ecosystem.
Over the years, Hustleshare has become an authority on all things startup-related as it updates listeners on who’s who in the industry. Baetiong is a master host, encouraging startup founders, angel investors, and leading businessmen to open up like never before, sharing their best practices and honest opinions on what it takes to run a startup.
Katrina Razon
Razon, the CEO and founder of KSR Ventures, is funneling her VC’s funds toward her lifelong advocacies: sustainability, environmentalism, and conservation. Razon’s KSR Ventures is the country’s leading sustainability-minded VC, with a special focus on startups that address social and environmental problems. Her most prominent investments include education tech platform Edukasyon, OFW-focused fintech TANG app, and hydroponics agritech NXTLVL Farms.
Miguel Encarnacion of ICCP SBI Venture Partners
Miguel Encarnacion is the managing partner of ICCP SBI Venture Partners (ISVP), a partnership between ICCP Venture Partners and SBI Holdings. ICCP prides itself as the Philippines’ longest-operating VC, while SBI (formerly Softbank Investments) operates one of the largest venture capital funds in Japan. Together, they form ISVP, which invests in tech companies in Southeast Asia and the U.S. ISVP’s recent investments in the Philippines include Growsari and PayMongo, but before joining ISVP, Encarnacion helped fund health tech app AIDE as an angel investor.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
John Januszczak of UBX
UBX is a UnionBank Philippines fintech platform that champions the concept of “Open Finance,” which gives customers more control of their banking data and provides access to greater financial inclusion. UBX president and CEO John Januszczak explains that UBX is both building and investing in open platforms, and the latest tech startups in its portfolio are ecommerce enabler Prosperna and crypto trading platform PDAX.
Kevin Tan of Agile Digital Ventures
Megaworld joined the corporate venture capital space with AGILE Digital Ventures, its digital investment arm that focuses on food, retail, and hospitality startups. AGILE is headed by Megaworld chief strategy officer Kevin Tan, who is also managing the allocated three-year CAPEX of $5 million to build its first startup projects over the course of three years. Its first investment is in Pick-A-Roo, a local grocery and food delivery service that sets itself apart from its competitors with its specially curated selection of merchants and brands.
Robina Gokongwei-Pe of Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc.
Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., the billion-dollar retailing arm of Gokongwei group, is growing its venture capital portfolio after participating in Growsari’s Series A and B rounds and Edamama’s 2021 seed round. RRHI was one of the early investors in Growsari before the startup became one of only two Philippine startups to reach Series C. RRHI is spearheaded by its president and CEO Robina Gokongwei-Pe, who also sits on the board of JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Cebu Air Inc.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Ron Hose of UnionBank
The co-founder and former CEO of Coins.ph, Ron Hose exited his successful startup after it was acquired by Indonesian powerhouse Gojek for $95 million. Hose is now an independent director on the board of UnionBank of the Philippines and an angel investor whose portfolio includes rising Philippine startup Expedock. As an angel investor, Hose remains an influential thought leader in the banking and finance sectors.
Nix Nolledo
An early player in the local startup ecosystem, Nolledo is best known for founding the now-listed tech company Xurpas. After Xurpas, Nolledo became a regional angel investor, and was one of the first investors in Gabby Dizon’s Altitude Games way back in 2014. He served on the board of Rappler and founded the nostalgic website Pinoy Exchange. Nolledo is staying low-key nowadays, but he’s always someone to watch.
Post a Comment
Aldrich Tan and Don Pansacola of NextPay
Founded by former university classmates amid the pandemic, NextPay simplified financial tools and services for the regular Filipino entrepreneur. An alum of the prestigious Y Combinator Program, NextPay secured seed funding from global and local investors including the Sy Family’s Gentree Fund and Singapore-based venture capital firm Golden Gate Ventures. The startup gained much traction in 2021, when it processed over P1 billion in total transaction volume backed by a strong customer base that grew by 20x.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Georg Steiger of BillEase
Banking on the demand for buy now, pay later (BNPL) payment options, Georg Steiger founded BillEase, a mobile app that enables users to shop for their needs and wants with ease by spreading payments into simple and manageable installment plans. BillEase, which has just secured a Series B round, will use its funds to double its engineering team to further develop more products tailored to the Philippine market.
Alexander Friedhoff of Etaily
The e-commerce industry in the Philippines and the broader Southeast Asia is expected to balloon to $175 billion by 2025 and this outlook drove Alexander Friedhoff to build Etaily. The startup offers companies an integrated end-to-end brand building solution—from channel management to warehousing and fulfillment—across all digital services, making it easy for them to execute e-commerce initiatives easily, efficiently, and with flexibility. Among its investors (the amount of investment is still undisclosed up until today) are Foxmont Capital and Magsaysay Logistics.
Stefano Fazzini of MetroMart
A serial entrepreneur and digital visionary, Stefano Fazzini's sense of innovation got him to launch on-demand grocery service MetroMart. In 2020, during a time when most consumers had limited mobility, MetroMart gained much traction, expanding its offers from fresh produce to more products such as baked goods, electronics, pet care options, and more. And Fazzini is not done yet. MetroMart plans to further expand its reach and services in the Philippines and raise funds through the stock exchange. So far, MetroMart has closed a Series A deal, but an IPO is not an impossible future.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Nel Laygo of Peddlr
Peddlr was inspired by similar bookkeeping apps elsewhere in the world like Khatabook in India and Bukukas in Indonesia. Founder Nel Laygo realized the simplicity of a digital accounting app would benefit micro-entrepreneurs like sari-sari store owners the most and help them keep track of sales and things like inventory. After launching in July 2021, the app recorded over 250,000 downloads less than six months later and is targeting one million in 2022. The Samar-based startup recently closed its seed funding round led by Patamar Capital and Crestone Venture Capital, the latter of which was founded by former Lazada Philippines CEO Inanc Balci.
Bela Gupta of Edamama
Established amid the pandemic, Edmama is an e-commerce platform that caters to the specific needs of mothers and their kids. Bela Gupta D’Souza saw the potential of the niche market and developed a platform to address the demand for trusted quality products for children. Since it was launched, the TikTok-friendly platform has used its seed funding from investors to expand its services to include a gift registry feature and a diaper subscription service in partnership with Procter & Gamble’s Pampers.
Dennis Velasco of Prosperna
Fueled by his passion to empower the nation’s lifeblood–the micro, small, and medium enterprises or MSMEs–Dennis Velasco founded Prosperna in 2016 to help growing businesses build and design their own online stores, accept payments, and automatically book shipping to streamline their operations. Since it closed its seed round in 2021, the startup has enabled more than 1,500 merchants to transact over $3 million worth of products and services.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Kevin Gabayan and Earl Valencia of Plentina
Guided by its mission to democratize financial services to emerging markets, Plentina formally introduced its services in the Philippines in October 2021, offering credit lines to Filipino users.
Founders Kevin Gabayan and Earl Valencia, both data scientists, found that while there are 100 million people in the Philippines, less than five percent of the population has access to credit. With Plentina, consumers are able to transact with various merchants and e-commerce platforms using digital credit.
Victor Lim, Eric Dee, and Victor Mapua of Kraver’s Canteen
Cloud kitchens are the future of food, and Kraver’s Canteen is leading the charge in the Philippines. The startup was founded in 2020 by Eric Dee, the president of Foodee Global Concept, Victor Lim, Zalora and Coins.ph alum, and Victor Mapua, founder of PTC Group of Companies. Among its seed round investors are industry titans Lance Gokongwei, Brian Cu, Paulo Campos, Christopher Po, and George Pua.
Kraver’s Canteen has partnered with other cloud kitchens, like GrabKitchen and Bench Food Group’s Tonkastu Maisen, to bring more brands to food consumers. Kraver’s hopes to build 100 cloud kitchens around the country and expand its hubs to Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, and Davao.
In photo, left to right: Victor Lim, Eric Dee, Victor Mapua
Kimberly Yao ofCloudEats
Co-founder and CEO Kimberly Yao believes that the food delivery market in Southeast Asia will continue to experience explosive growth, and such a scenario will allow her startup CloudEats, a cloud restaurant company, to carve a space and “win the market.” After securing Series A in late 2021, Yao is set on turning CloudEats from a Philippine-based startup into the largest online food group in Southeast Asia.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Crystal Gonzalez of Pick-A-Roo
Wanting to capitalize on the ultrafast-growing internet economy in the Philippines, Crystal Gonzales founded Pick.A.Roo, a premium all-in-one lifestyle delivery platform that now serves over half a million users with its spectrum of offers from 1,300 brands. Backed by Kevin Tan’s Agile Digital Ventures, Pick.A.Roo serves 21 cities and counting across the National Capital Region, Cavite, Batangas, Pampanga, and many more.
Renz Chong, Jeth Ang, and Nicolo Odulio of BreederDAO
The play-to-earn phenomenon has become a buzzword in the country over the last 12 months. Seeing its potential and the opportunities in the growing space, Renz Chong, Jeth Ang, and Nicolo Odulio founded BreederDAO, an early-stage blockchain startup focused on breeding, crafting, and creating the best play-to-earn digital assets in the metaverse. Only a few months old, BreederDAO just closed a Series A funding via a token sale led by venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz and Delphi Digital. It seems that the future is bright for decentralized Web 3.0-focused organizations.
In photo, left to right: Nicolo Odulio, Renz Chong, Jeth Ang
Alodia Gosiengfiao and Tryke Gutierrez of Tier One Entertainment
Passion for gaming entertainment brought Alodia Gosengfiao and Tryke Gutierrez to co-found Tier One Entertainment. Together, they sought to take the esports arena in the Philippines to the next level by developing relatable and brilliant talents. As a professional esports powerhouse, Tier One has over 1,000 talents and currently manages three teams under the Blacklist International label. In 2021, the startup raised an undisclosed amount for its Pre-Series A round. TierOne plans to expand its footprint beyond the Philippines, and enter new markets such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar and Japan.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Ariane Lim, Kevin Hoang, and Justin Banusing of AcadArena
With its primary focus of building grassroots esports communities of students and youth in the Philippines, three-year-old startup AcadArena is leading the campus gaming and esports education in the Philippines. Founded by Ariane Lim, Kevin Hoang, and Justin Banusing, AcadArena enables students to develop their skills for esports—from competition, streaming, commentating, backend management, coaching, marketing, and design. AcadArena closed its seed round in 2021 and can count the founders of Twitch and Axie Infinity among its investors.
In photo, left to right: Justin Banusing, Ariane Lim, Kevin Hoang
Saul Molla of FlowerStore
The belief that ordering flowers should be affordable and effortless led Saul Molla, an aerospace engineer with an e-commerce finance background, to launch FlowerStore. The company made ordering flowers, stuffed toys, and chocolates easier and more affordable for consumers in key cities in the Philippines, supporting local communities of growers since its inception in 2018.
The demand for flowers is so high that from a staff of three, FlowerStore now employs over 100 team members in key warehouses in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao. After securing pre-Series A funding in late 2021, FlowerStore expanded to Thailand in early 2022.
Kevin Zhang of Inteluck
As the Southeast Asian internet economy expands, the demand for logistics solutions also continues to grow. This drove Kevin Zhang to build data-driven, end-to-end logistics service solutions startup Inteluck, which leverages technology and data to support the logistics needs of its customers, including full truckload transportation, warehouse management, freight forwarding, cross border transportation and other bespoke supply chain services. Inteluck is backed by Hong Kong-based venture capital firm MindWorks Capital, Infinity Venture Partners, and on-demand logistics startup Lalamove.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Bryan Giger, Jan Benedict Tiu, Martin Gomez, Miguel Gemotra, Philbert Tan, Weston Lim of Dashlabs.ai
Health tech continues to be a priority for VCs as Dashlabs.ai is the latest Philippine startup to bag a major investment in its latest round of funding. The team behind Dashlabs.ai is digitizing, automating, and processing RT-PCR tests in real time. They claim to have processed over five million COVID-19 tests and also helped bring saliva tests to the country. Dashlabs.ai is the first Filipino health tech company to be backed by Silicon Valley’s Y Combinator.
In photo: Bryan Giger. Not pictured: Jan Benedict Tiu, Martin Gomez, Miguel Gemotra, Philbert Tan, Weston Lim
Peter Ing of Blockchainspace
With the explosion of play-to-earn games in 2021, tech entrepreneur Peter Ing put up BlockchainSpace, a hub for guilds in the metaverse. BlockchainSpace enables P2E guilds to scale up in the metaverse by providing them with tools that empower gaming communities and run academies to spot economic opportunities in games. Ing’s goal is simple: to embolden the next generation of P2E gamers and guild owners to become successful entrepreneurs themselves by equipping them with essential digital tools and financing to scale.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW
Ronald Robins of Mineski
From being a college team of online gamers, Mineski has transformed into an organization of over 200 employees that aims “to gamify the world and bring out the gamers in everyone.” Led by Ronald Robins, Mineski now houses a variety of services that is disrupting the esports and gaming industry in territories such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Singapore.
Gabriel Benito Nexplay
Nexplay is arguably the most popular esports team in the Philippines. And behind Nexplay’s esports team is Gabriel Benito, who envisioned a company that integrates talents, technology, and tournaments into one digital esports ecosystem. Across its platforms, Nexplay boasts 250 million viewers per month, a 35 million-user fan base, over 50 strategic partners, and 150 esports talents.
Methodology
The individuals featured in The Esquire Trailblazers List were chosen based on influence, power, reputation, and advocacy. The individuals mentioned in the list fulfilled three criteria: Is he/she improving Filipino society? Is he/she admired by his/her peers? Is he/she contributing to the local startup industry? Currency of impact, innovation, and sustainability were prioritized. Only founders of companies operating in the Philippines and investors based in the Philippines and focusing on Filipino startups were included.
We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on Esquiremag.ph. By continued use, you agree to our privacy policy and accept our use of such cookies. Find out more here.
