Kickstart Startup Mixers is a series of events to get the startup community together for them to share insights, swap stories, and meet some investors and venture capitalists. This is organized by Kickstart Ventures, an angel investment firm providing seed fund to chosen innovative business ideas of our Filipino people.

Vigattin had the chance to listen to the interview of Ms. Minette Navarrete, President of Kickstart Ventures, and Mr. Edgar Hardless, CEO of SingTel Innov8. Kickstart Ventures and SingTel Innov8 are partners in this very inspiring and empowering project of investing on technologies and solutions that can bring great changes to people's lives.

"If we can find a way to tap into the speed in which startups can work and the resources of the big companies, we can actually create something very meaningful."

We have a lot of bright minds and big ideas here in the Philippines. But most of them don't have the capital and the resources to turn these ideas into reality. A lot of them most likely won't push through with their projects. Some of them are brave enough to start out.

And it's very difficult when you're just just a small startup. You don't have connections. You don't have resources. You have a lot of constraints hindering your success.

That's where Kickstart comes in. In bridging the business community and the startup founders, it provides funding, training, coaching, and mentoring to chosen startups. This kind of incubation is on the rise, and it opens doors to our startup founders. This program is also a venue for these startups to meet investors and venture capitalists who may give further incubation and funding for their business.

"We want to invest in Filipino success stories... success stories that we can talk about and be really proud of in true Pinoy fashion."

A lot of our Filipino technopreneurs look up to the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg for inspiration. But as Kickstart envisions it, we will have our very own success stories, Filipinos who will be looked up to by this generation and the next... Filipinos who are molded into success by our genuine Pinoy history, culture, and passion for learning.

"We are not going to recreate Silicon Valley here in the Philippines."

Silicon Valley happened in the US because of very specific circumstances which are not present in our country. Philippines, as a Southeast Asian nation, is very different from the US. We have our own history, culture, and pain points of the society. So, we have to find our own way, the Filipino way, of helping and supporting our technopreneurs.

So, what should every startup think and do to achieve success?

Mr. Edgar Hardless told us a very straightforward answer. He told us that our business ideas should answer these three questions:
1. What is the problem?
2. Why is it worth solving?
3. How are you going to solve it?

It's okay to dream big, he said, but start with small executable steps. Sometimes, our ideas get so overwhelming that it's so difficult for us to know where to start. But with the three questions above, we can shape our idea instead of it being just an abstract.

The Vigattin Team encourages you to join this technopreneur revolution in the Philippines! Being a proactive part of this open innovation will bring huge positive effects to our country. Let your ideas and dreams be realized.

Think. Act. Succeed.