Last March 4-5, 2017 marked the first ever YouthHack Manila: Ideathon held in Miriam College Henry Sy Sr. Innovation Center. Originally known as the Startup Challenge, the concept was rebranded as Ideathon to better propagate the ideation culture and foster an environment for idea growth and development. The weekend had students from in and out of the Metro hustling to get their ideas to transform into tangible startups. This year’s Ideathon focused on Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs #9 and #11 with the theme, “Making Cities and Communities Sustainable through Innovation, Industry, and Infrastructure.” With this in mind, the theme will helped jumpstart the participants to come up with sustainable solutions that integrate a sense of social awareness through a direct application of their skills in the startup realm.
The first day was dedicated to honing and refining the participants’ soft and hard skills through talks, comprehensive workshops, and networking sessions where they were exposed to both young professional, fellow start-up CEOs and innovators in the making. The program started off with a Startups 101 talk conducted by Joan Yao – a seasoned pro with a youthful glow that enlightened the participants about the different types of startups in the country by also adding her own personal touch. YouthHack’s own Audrey Pe conducted a crash course in the SDGs in which they were reminded on how to angle their ideas. The participants then broke out into workshops where they could choose two of the following: Ideation by Fam Alonto, MVP & Prototyping by Alexis Collado, Customer Validation by Bani Balaguer, or Sustainability by Zennon Gosalvez. What followed was a series of simultaneous mentorships sessions wherein the teams could consult with a pool of experienced entrepreneurs. And of course, the day would not be complete without a little taste of networking amongst themselves – participants did not just think and create, but also innovate ways on how to meet new people. The day capped off with the YH veteran, #StartupCoachArtie lecturing the participants about Pitching 101.
The second day marked the start of the infamous #PitchBetterHaveMyMoney portion of the weekend. Teams presented their ideas to the panel of judges where they applied what they learned just the day before into their own versions of tech-based startups centered around SDGs #9 and #11. This batch of young entreps showed that they are no strangers to reality and fostered a deep sense of social awareness through their finished products. The list of finalists are as follows:
High School
1st Place – IZ Powermat by Evolved, an alternative form of clean energy generated by footsteps
2nd Place – Linisto by Team Rockets, an app that focuses on environmental sustainability
3rd Place – Kryplet by Veritas Team 1, a device for self-defense dubbed as the kryptonite of your attacker
College
1st Place – KliK by Finger Lickin’ Good, a platform that connects individuals within a local community
2nd Place – KanTaught by HazMap, an app that tackles safe sexual education and “self-exploration” especially for the LGBTQIA community
3rd Place – Farmify by ZionTech, an agricultural innovation that bridges the gap between farmers and retailers
Winners were then presented with thesis packs from Sparklab Innovation Center. With Ideathon being a springboard for ideas to turn into reality, the future only seems bright with this group of innovators who prove time and time again, the minds can indeed, move mountains.
You may watch the recap video here.