IdeaSpace launches its 5th year, open for applications

Early-stage technology incubator and accelerator IdeaSpace Foundation (IdeaSpace) is once again opening its National Startup Competition to accept innovative technology startup ideas for 2017.

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Now on its fifth year, the 2017 IdeaSpace National Startup Competition will be casting a wider net as it begins to accept 15 startups into the final acceleration process, instead of the usual 10 finalists that make it to the last stage in the last couple of years.

Interested individuals or groups may submit their unique startup ideas by logging on to apply.ideaspacefoundation.org. Deadline for submission of startup ideas is on January 12, 2017.

“We’ve seen very inspiring stories of startup founders joining IdeaSpace over the years, from husband-and-wife tandems to students looking to make their own mark in the world,” said Diane Eustaquio, Executive Director at IdeaSpace. “This year, we’re looking to extend our support to more startup founders with burning passion to start up their own business and help the country progress with the help of technology and innovation.”

All 15 startups that will make it to the finals next year will still receive P500,000 of equity-free funding, which means IdeaSpace will not have a stake in their early-stage startups.

On top of this, they will also receive support for housing, transportation, incorporation, office space, communication, software, trainings and classes, as well as mentoring from executives of companies under First Pacific, the total value of which amounts to more than P1 million.

Keeping the fire burning

The expansion of the number of startups that will be taken in next year is part of IdeaSpace’s efforts to expand support for the local startup ecosystem, which has seen robust growth over the past four years.

Since launching in 2012, IdeaSpace has incubated and funded a total of 52 startups, some of which have grown and evolved into full-fledged business enterprises, including startups such as PinoyTravel and TimeFree Innovations.

“The biggest advantage of being part of ideaSpace is it made me look bigger than what I actually was at the beginning. And the big advantage of this newer batch of startups is that they can learn from our experiences. They don’t need to go through what I went through, so I think the important thing is that they know what they’re getting into and they have to be prepared.,” said Au Mendoza-Soriano, co-founder and CEO of transportation booking startup PinoyTravel.

Chino Atilano, co-founder of virtual queuing solutions company TimeFree Innovations, adds: “IdeaSpace helped us a lot in terms of learning how to run a business. We didn’t have any formal education or formal background in business and that way it was very very tough for us to transition from a technical person to one who could understand business”

Full ecosystem support

Aside from the incubation and acceleration program, IdeaSpace has also been a fervent supporter of startup community events in the country and overseas, the likes of the annual Geeks on a Beach conference, the Slingshot MNL program of the Department of Trade and Industry and the DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Festival.

“Likewise, IdeaSpace, in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, and the JP Morgan Chase Foundation, this year launched the QBO Innovation Hub, which aims to be a one-stop-shop for established startup founders to help them further grow their businesses and contribute even more to the emerging digital economy,” added Butch Meily, the newly appointed President of IdeaSpace.

And to further bring the proposition of innovation into the corporate space, IdeaSpace likewise launched the Intrapreneur Accelerator Program (IAP) this year, which allowed internal product development teams from companies in the First Pacific group to pitch their ideas and undergo the rigors of incubation and acceleration under IdeaSpace.

“We’ve realized over the years that startups need as much support as they can get in every step of the process, from bringing their ideas to life to launching them into the market, and even to making their startups grow further. This is why IdeaSpace is extending its capacity into a full ecosystem support so that most of these startup businesses are guided every step of the way,” Eustaquio added.