Silicon Valley firm eyes Filipino technopreneurs

Feb. 4, 2010 - PRLog -- Silicon Valley firm Plug and Play Tech Center is sponsoring a pitch competition for budding Filipino technopreneurs, whose business ideas deserve attention from venture capitalists looking for people who can handle the rough-and-tumble crucible of the IT world.

The goal is to “bridge the top Filipino technopreneurs to Silicon Valley,” said Jojo Flores, Plug and Play’s Co-Founder and VP for Operations.  “We also felt that [enabling the success of] international Filipino-owned companies complements the country’s objectives of building and strengthening its BPO and IT industries.”

Since 2006, entrepreneurship-centered Plug and Play has served startup tech companies by providing them the resources necessary to accelerate their growth: from office space, data and telecommunications services, networking events, recruiting services, and perhaps most importantly, a network of fellow startups and potential investors. To date, the Center has been able to build a community of more than 300 tech startups, more than 70 angel and Venture Capital (VC) investors, and has raised an excess of $500-million dollars in venture funding.

Said pitch competition will be held on the second day of the 10th e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition, set on February 8-9 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, Philippines. Major sponsors include Globe Telecom and the Philippine Emerging Startups Open (PESO).

Through an “elevator” pitching competition, the “Startups Take a Pitch” track allots the best of the country’s tech contenders a maximum of 4 minutes each to pitch a business proposition or idea to a panel of judges, from which 3 winners will be chosen from a shortlisted 30. Included in the panel would be Filipino venture capital firms, Silicon Valley-based Filipino technopreneurs, a representative from major sponsor Globe, as well as two representatives from Plug and Play itself.

By launching through e-Services, the competition serves to improve the image the Philippines has long been known for – that of a voice-based outsourcing haven – and serves to give legs to the industry through the development of competitive global citizens, regardless of whether the 3-month mission succeeds. “At Plug and Play, I want to build the name and reputation of the Philippines, not only as an excellent service provider, but also an excellent inventor, entrepreneur, and technologist. And the only way to do this is to bring the best to the best in the world,” added Flores.

Filipino start-up companies involved in technology (including consumer web, internet, mobile, wireless, social media, gaming, software, hardware, clean and biotech), who have an idea or an existing product that aims to solve a real and urgent problem, looking for funding and/or globalization, are eligible to join.

At stake is a chance for the winners to be aided by Plug and Play as they get exposed to the cutting-edge resources and environment of Silicon Valley via a 3-month VC fund-raising mission. They will also be under mentorship of Plug and Play’s pool of industry leaders in residence, as well as be featured in other Plug and Play events.

Resources and exposure are what Flores believes to be the sought-after enabler to the Filipino technopreneur’s brimming well of talent and ingenuity. “First, resources – we need smart capital from investors with a high tolerance for failure, easy access to large potential partners and customers, [and] experts who can advise us. Second, exposure… In order to be a truly global and successful company, [startups] must change their mind-set, add more zeroes to their numbers, and basically dream big… dream the impossible and have the courage to pursue it.”

Organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), an attached agency of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), e-Services is an annual exhibit and conference that converges local ICT/BPO players and the country’s targeted investors in one high-class venue.

e-Services partner agencies include the Board of Investments (BOI), the Foreign Trade Service Corps (FTSC), the Regional Operations and Development Group (RODG), and the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT).

For more information on the competition, log on to www.plugandplaytechcenter.com or email Jojo Flores at jojo@plugandplaytechcenter.com for details.

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The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) is an export promotions arm of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry.