11. HIT Sports Venues, @hitsportsvenues
https://www.facebook.com/hitsportsvenues
HIT Sports Venues provides a platform wherein people can book sports venues and activities they’d like online without them having to actually go through the hassles of directly contacting the venues for their booking needs. (It’s basically like Airbnb, but for sporting venues and activities. The team is composed of Tyron Manuel, Roselle Enriquez, Carlos Adorable, Karl Batungbacal, and Julius Anastacio, all fresh graduates from different universities brought together by a common love for sports and fitness. Understanding the importance of time and energy in everyone’s lives, their current mission is to make sports and other related activities more accessible and less frustrating by taking on the responsibility of booking the venue.
The idea came up in February 2017 when Tyron was in an Ultimate Frisbee tournament and a friend asked where he could find his stats for the tournament. “I just stared blankly towards the sky and thought: “Why are sports (in the public setting) very manual and outdated in terms of stat sheets, equipment, etc.?” From then on, I knew I wanted to find ways I could help people be more into sports by using technology,” Tyron shares. HIT Sports Venues currently only serves the Manila, Makati, and Quezon City areas, but are continuing to expand their coverage area. They are also open to partnering with people who own sporting venues, companies for team building-related activities, sports event organizers, and other startups/businesses that they can help grow alongside them.
10. Mr. Butler Home Services, @getmrbutler
Mr. Butler Home Services has been providing handyman, cleaning, and errand services to the South area of Metro Manila since 2017. They also recently added services that include groundskeeping, porch and garage cleaning, and home service carwash. Mr. Butler aims to professionalize blue-collar jobs and provide trustworthy services to households, much like having a butler without having to spend on one.
9. Kahon.PH, @kahonph
https://www.facebook.com/kahon.ph
Established in 2017, Kahon.PH is the first tech-enabled full service storage solutions provider in the Philippines. Unlike traditional self-storage facilities, they seamlessly integrate technology with logistics and storage expertise to create a more convenient, reliable, and personalized storage solution. Packing, pick-up, storage, and return – they’re there every step of the way. The best part? This can all be done from your computer or mobile device for maximum convenience.
Nick Padilla, CEO and Space Captain of Kahon.ph, and Carlos Domingo, co-founder and COO, came up with the idea when they serendipitously met on a surf trip years after first meeting in college. Both have extensive experience in their respective fields and combining their backgrounds in the industries they separately worked in has brought to life. As founders, Nick and Carlos aim to provide a service to deliver storage in the easiest way possible to anyone anywhere. Since the beginning of the startup, they’ve had 2,000 square-meters stored and have managed over 6,000 of their customers’ items with 51 5-star online reviews organically so far.
8. Baybayen
https://www.facebook.com/baybayenph
What started with a different name and different team – D&Y Arts and Crafts – in 2016 now envisions itself to be a community of different Filipino artisans. Baybayen is just an artist name – a persona of a Filipina who proudly represents her country, promoting not just Filipino craftmanship but our history and values, re-living it through Baybayin first.
Baybayen started thinking about this since 2016, the year she started to learn calligraphy. “Since I was in elementary, I have a heart to encourage Filipinos to embrace and celebrate our identity by understanding our own culture and values first,” she shares. “So, when I started doing calligraphy, I asked myself: “Why do I have to apply it through English alphabet if I can do it through our own script? We can revive our very own script – an important part of who we are now as a country.” Overall, Baybayen aims to promote Filipino craftmanship both locally and internationally.
7. Be Our Guest Theatricals, @bogtphl
https://www.facebook.com/bogtphl
Be Our Guest Theatricals is a team of professional theater and film practitioners based in Manila that was founded in March 2019. Their goal is to boost the presence of Philippine theater in the international realm and bring home and share their learnings with Filipino professionals and school-based theater companies at the same time. To achieve this goal, they create and produce shows for different international theater festivals. “The pride of carrying the Philippine flag for the international theater communities to see is one major drive for us to continue this path,” they say.
What started with a 7-Eleven conversation, BOGT now plans to run for two more international theater festivals, which will all have fundraising shows in Manila to help with flight expenses of the delegates. They also offers shows for events, photo/video shoots, and workshops, where part of the proceeds will also be allocated to the 13th of September and future shows for international theater festivals.
6. PoweredRecovery, @poweredrecovery
https://www.facebook.com/poweredrecovery
PoweredRecovery is a network of Sport Science Coaches and Licensed Physical Therapists with the same vision to uplift how athletic training, recovery, and rehabilitation should be. They were athletes before and have seen how Filipino athletes strive in sports locally and abroad. The idea started when Paul Robert Saladar, PTRP, GradDipManTher (founder) was exposed to CrossFit, Olympic Weightlifting, and other strength-based sports. “When it comes to this fairly new sport where Filipinos can excel globally, Physical Therapists practicing in sports and Orthopedics need more understanding of pain, recovery and training methods,” Paul points out. “I further enhance my practice by doing and engaging into these sports.”
PoweredRecovery is committed to provide athletes and the general public services that cater to their different training and recovery needs that is easily accessible and at par with the current practice here and abroad, including home visits recovery, advanced electrotherapy, compression boots, spinal manipulation or mobilizations, sports massage and stretching, muscle decompression, and performance optimization. Since traffic is a major problem in Manila, PoweredRecovery offers their services at the convenience of your home or your training grounds, so they can accurately assess your movement and make necessary adjustments in real time. Their sessions are also individualized based on PT evaluation and assessment.
5. Anteriore
https://web.facebook.com/AnterioreInc
Anteriore is a young company that has been in the industry since January 2018. Since its birth, Anteriore has been focusing on providing quality technology for every problem they are exposed to. “We ensure that when a client has a problem, not only do we give the best technological solution, but we give them what they truly need,” they exclaim. “Our goal is to be a company that provides technology for the Filipinos by the Filipinos. We want to change the narrative that there are no technological innovations from the Philippines.” As the company continues its growth; creating websites, mobile applications, and systems have now become their specialty. They are now moving towards the creation of mobile games and bigger systems, never compromising their core beliefs.
The idea for Anteriore came about when their founders discussed the idea of creating a smart city back in college. However, they knew reaching that goal was not going to be an easy task. To be able to build achieve that goal, they were going to need to start somewhere and they all agreed that the core of any smart city was in technology. This led them to create this company to show the possibilities of technology and slowly build towards the goal of a fully technology-enabled city.
4. Aral Trip Coworking Space, @araltrip.ph
https://www.facebook.com/AralTrip
Aral Trip Coworking Space was made by students for students. They officially opened their doors in October 2019. The startup is called “Aral Trip” because they believe that learning is a never-ending journey. Whether you’re an SHS student studying for an exam, a college student writing your thesis, a freelancer working on your deck, or even a corporate worker discovering a new hobby; Aral Trip is a safe space where everyone is free to learn something new. After all, learning doesn’t end inside the four walls of the classroom.
The idea of setting up Aral Trip was born one Sunday evening over dinner between former high school best friends Hershey Neri and Aubrey Libardo, who recently pursued their Master’s at the Ateneo de Manila University. “While we were talking about how our semester was going, we stumbled upon the topic of how challenging it was to look for a place that’s very conducive to studying,” Hershey shares. “We were looking for somewhere peaceful and quiet—sans the distracting sound of the blender in the background. We looked at each other and just knew it—we wanted to set up a place for students of all ages.” Every month, they also host workshops and events for their community. Watch out for fun, exciting workshops on Baybayin writing, calligraphy writing, film photography, abstract painting, makeup 101, and more!
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And now here are our top 3 Filipino startups:
3. Mainline Power Philippines, @mainlinepowerph
https://www.facebook.com/mainlinepowerph
Mainline Power revolutionizes the way of accessing power. Mainline Power Tracks will upgrade your power source in a safe, organized, and flexible way. You can add, remove and reposition power sockets as long as there are power tracks installed in the space. The Mainline Power Track can handle up to 32 amperes. For example, it can power your microwave, coffee machine, toaster and blender all at the same time. The Mainline Power System is mostly installed in kitchen splash boards and countertops since it is splash-proof.
It is also fire-safe, since it is made out of self-extinguishing material. The most unique feature of the track is that it is child-safe. Prying fingers of children will not be electrocuted since the copper wires are properly sheathed inside the track. Even if you try inserting metal spoons in the track using your bare hands, you still won’t get shocked.
The startup is running since 2015 and Mainline Power has already installed several establishments across the Philippines. They are partnered with several interior designers and architects, and are also endorsed by celebrity mothers, like Solenn Heusaff and Rica Peralejo. Mainline Power is also open to dealers and resellers who want to build a business around it. You can apply for the dealership program here: https://www.mainlinepowerph.com/partners/
2. Refill n Beyond
https://www.facebook.com/refillnbeyond
Refill ‘N Beyond is a package-free store that promotes awareness and sustainable living by offering alternative solutions on how to preserve the Earth. It has been around for a year and a half now. In 2009, Millie Manahan found out that their children were asthmatic. Every month or when the weather changes drastically, their children get hospitalized for asthma despite their rigorous cleaning at home. “We visit beaches in Batangas once in a while as recommended by friends and pediatricians,” Millie shares. “One night, we met with fellow moms and dads in our community and talked about natural ways to combat sickness.”
“Eco-friendly stores and natural products have always been elusive and expensive,” she adds. “Some parents, including us, cannot afford it. So, we decided to do some research as to how we can come up with products that are safe to use and still affordable.” They surveyed, held focus group discussions, and studied how they could help the government alleviate plastic waste – and the rest is history.
1. Bukas, @ph.bukas
https://www.facebook.com/ph.bukas
Bukas is a FinTech platform on a mission to make education affordable and build a better tomorrow for Filipino youths. They democratize access to quality education by offering affordable tuition installment plans for students enrolled in undergraduate, post-graduate, and vocational programs. Bukas launched in April 2019 and has partnered with seven universities so far, including Far Eastern University, Mapua University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, and National Teachers College.
Founders Naga Tan and Susli Lie believe in equal opportunity and the power of education to change lives. As natives of Southeast Asia, they identified a gap between the number of students that wanted to pursue tertiary education and the availability, or lack thereof, of education financing options. They launched their Indonesian sister platform, Danacita, in 2018 before quickly expanding to the Philippines earlier this year. Bukas’ parent company (ErudiFi) is backed by Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley startup fund and program that since 2005 has invested in over 2,000 companies with a combined valuation of over $100B.
Know of any other Filipino startups we should know about?
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