Information technology and software servicing has truly come a long way. In a continually improving society, we are making steps in order to adapt and make use of these technologies. The "Department of Information and Technolgy" (DICT) conducted the so called "Philippine Startup Challenge" yearly to find the best startup in the country, from the best students of different universities nationwide.
Many institutions from public and private sectors in Bicol are very much willing to give funding or invest on startups which can potentially create a solution to problems prevalent in the community.
The finalists were chosen based on customer validation (40%), execution and design (30%) and business model validation (30%). Qualifying startup ideas for this year range from off-the-grid charging device solution to web-based application for donations.
For this year's Startup Challenge, for the first time Bicol Region is proud to have #TEAMPASS as one of the top 15 finalists out of 242 entries in the said competition. The team is composed of two IT students, Jomar Maravillas of CAT College, Marcial Norte of Bicol University and Vanessa Leosala, an accountancy student of Bicol University. They all went to the Grand Xing Hotel, Iloilo City last April 5,2019 to present their startup to the judges, hoping that they'll be able to bring home the bacon and fly to China for brief discussion of their winning program/startups.
#TEAMPASS made an online review platform for everyone taking up licensure/entrance exams that provide coaching and high quality content created by outstanding instructors. Bicol Region is truly improving most especially in the aspects of technology and online servicing.
Although they didn't make it as one of the top 3 chosen winners, for them it's still a win-win situation since being in the top 15 out of 242 teams is still something to be proud of, and they've truly come a long way. Their respective schools are also proud to have their students as qualifiers at such prestigious event.
Even though they didn't win, they still decided to pursue their startup idea "pasado.ph" because right after the competition there are people who showed interest to invest in it. Turns out these people believes in the potential of their business idea because they have the same advocacy as theirs. Presently, the founders are seeking networks to potential investors and customers. They are on the verge of joining again another startup competition with the same startup idea. The finals will be held at Palawan on October.