Techshake Radio

QBO is a Filipino Innovation Hub and startup platform, created to transform the Philippine startup ecosystem by serving as a center that will facilitate connections and enhance collaboration among stakeholders; provide access to capital, resources, information and expertise; develop the entrepreneurial talent pool; as well as showcase Filipino ingenuity to a global audience. They aim to be the catalyst that helps local startups succeed, creating substantial wealth and job opportunities for Filipinos. At the very head of this initiative is Rene "Butch" Meily, the President of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation and former President of the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce of New York. Armed with experience as an executive both locally and internationally, Butch aims to be part of the driving force the transforms the local startup scene. This interview was done some months ago and QBO has been taking major strides towards supporting startups since then. Butch was also recently appointed as

Innovantage is a B2B cloud solutions company that specializes in building product ecosystems with their own brand of innovation and creativity. Gian de la Rama, the Co-founder and CEO, walks us through the different startups he put up before establishing Innovantage. This includes the many victories and challenges he had to go through along the way, culminating in a difficult decision that threatened to end his company. This was an inspirational talk that could help startups encountering roadblocks of their own. He ends it by emphasizing the importance of resilience for startup founders. Learn more about Innovantage by visiting their website at www.ivantageapps.com

Earl Valencia is a Co-founder of IdeaSpace, one of the first incubators/accelerators in the Philippines, as well as Geeks on a Beach, an annual get together of the startup community set in the most beautiful locations in the Philippines. In our podcast with Earl, we talk about how these companies started and look back on the experiences he went through to get to that point. We also talk briefly about how the title "C.E.O" i usually taken lightly, whereas it should be something that is earned. To hear more from Earl, you can head over to his linkedin account www.linkedin.com/in/earlmartinvalencia where he maintains a blog.

The On-Off Group marries human-centred design with technology to develop innovative products and services and create signature service experiences across multiple channels, devices, platforms and media. Phil Smithson, Director of the On-Off Group, gives us a small taste of their process when conducting customer experience studies. He also talks about Learn Tagalog Fast, a startup that he founded (seemingly by accident) that teaches foreigners how to speak the local language and his responsibilities as a mentor to teams in Ideaspace, where he brings his UX-experience to the table. Learn more about human-centered design by visiting www.onoffgroup.com and if you are in need of some tips on how to learn Tagalog fast, drop by their website at www.learntagalogfast.com

AVA is the Philippines' only curated online store of premium, well-loved brands and design objects. In this podcast we talk with its founder, Oliver Segovia, on how he started AVA with no fashion experience, whatsoever. He didn't treat that lack of knowledge as an impediment, but more of a challenge to overcome and an opportunity to learn. It's this no excuse attitude, which he finds important for entrepreneurs to have. This was a short podcast, but a must-listen for those who are struggling to get their startups started. Visit www.ava.ph to check out the latest in fashion deals and Oliver's blog at www.oliversegovia.com