PLDT group leads support for PH startup ecosystem at ‘Geeks on a Beach’

“While ideas are useful, execution is critical, and efficiency comes with sound execution. Too often we see startups being built with useless bells and whistles, with founders deploying funds on useless things,” Azzola said, adding that execution, and not “sushi and comfy chairs” as one of his mentors put it, is the most important component of a startup.

Azzola highlighted the need to collaborate with other startups, even among competitors, so that they may be able to build the ecosystem together. “No matter how smart and driven you are, if you go alone, you will fail alone,” he added.

IdeaSpace Foundation President Earl Martin Valencia, meanwhile, pointed out how 2015 is a pivotal year for the local startup ecosystem as more groups from here and around the world pour support for startups in the country, from idea stage up to expansion stage.

IdeaSpace, a tech incubator and accelerator for early-stage startups supported by companies under the First Pacific Group including PLDT and Smart, has for one received a record-breaking 1,028 ideas for its national startup competition this year. “Many are now realizing that the Philippines is a good market to start a business. The fact that many of these ideas came from various regions around the country is a testament that the ecosystem is growing way beyond major urban cities in the Philippines,” Valencia explained.