How An IdeaSpace Intern Became an Incubatee
When Andrew Cua interned at IdeaSpace in 2014, he never expected he would become an employee at the non-profit a year later, much less a finalist in IdeaSpace’s fourth annual start-up competition with travel start-up Tralulu.
“From internship to employment to incubation, I never planned this route,” Andrew said. “I’m the type of person who loves to try new things with new people. IdeaSpace is one of the exemptions where I have sticked to the foundation throughout.”
Andrew’s path from intern to incubatee is one of chance meetings and right timings, but it is also one of diligence and drive. In a little over three years, he became an IdeaSpace finalist because of his aspiration to learn more about the impact of technology and create a successful start-up.
An Ateneo de Manila University graduate in management engineering, Andrew first came across IdeaSpace when he visited the non-profit’s office at PLDT-MGO as a participant in the ASEANpreneurs Youth Leaders Exchange 2013.
“I was amazed by the environment and the vision (of IdeaSpace) to build local-based companies that can scale globally,” he said.
Andrew crossed paths with the incubator a year later, during an event he co-organized. Curious about the impact technology could achieve, he applied as an intern.
“I tried and attempted running companies and most of them failed, so I wanted to learn from a community and family of innovators who have success stories to share,” Andrew said. “I knew that with the internship, I (could) immerse myself in an actual entrepreneurial environment while serving the start-up community in the Philippines.”
Andrew was accepted and worked under the mentorship of Goldy Yancha, IdeaSpace’s associate director for business development and partnerships. As an intern, he created a report on the impact of IdeaSpace and its start-ups, as well as started The Founder’s Huddle, a community gathering and networking event for start-up founders.
Close to his graduation, Andrew struggled to decide whether he wanted to create a start-up or work for a corporation after college. He realized he had grown a lot during his time at IdeaSpace and that it had the ideal work culture.
“I’ve always wanted to work in an environment where ideas are tolerated no matter how silly they may sound and where teams can be openly ambitious while keeping feasibility in mind,” Andrew said.
He monitored IdeaSpace for work openings, but there weren’t any.
One day, Andrew found out about an opportunity to volunteer at an IdeaSpace bootcamp. He expressed his interest, and a week later was contacted by Goldy and Diane Eustaquio, IdeaSpace’s executive director, for an interview which eventually led to a job.
Work was a different experience from his internship. During his 3-month stint at IdeaSpace, interns were empowered to organize their own initiatives, Andrew said. As a full-time employee, he had to deliver on long-term outcomes where metrics would be measured.
“I had to step up and take on multiple projects or events with the rest of the team,” Andrew said. “The challenge of excelling in a start-up career (is to have) enough discipline to consistently drive results toward output.”
While at IdeaSpace, Andrew began to learn more about the paths of Filipino entrepreneurs, as well as gain insight from the talks and programs the non-profit organized.
“IdeaSpace advocates and pushes young people to become innovation-centric entrepreneurs,” he said. “I slowly realized that I was being drawn to the heart of the advocacy, and there’s no better way of living the advocacy than to be an entrepreneur myself.”
Andrew was pursuing an idea-stage travel start-up on the side, and in October 2015, he quit his job at IdeaSpace to pursue Tralulu full-time.
Andrew and his team took Tralulu, a web and mobile application that aims to connect travelers to local guides, overseas through Startup Malaysia’s incubator program. After spending several months developing Tralulu, Andrew and his team returned to the Philippines where they realized their start-up still wasn’t prepared for investments and the market.
“Remembering where my passion for start-ups was honed, I convinced my team to apply to IdeaSpace,” Andrew said. “IdeaSpace aligned to what (our) visionary team always wanted — strong focus on solving global pains rather than just looking into profits.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
As an incubatee, Andrew still spends a lot of time at the IdeaSpace office, working with the people he used to work for. While he feels nostalgic about foregoing his dream job of serving start-ups, he has a newfound appreciation for being an entrepreneur and receiving support from the foundation.
“The greatest emotion that describes it is gratitude,” Andrew said. “I think I wouldn’t have had the courage of quitting my dream job for a risky route that can rock the world positively.”
In doing so, Andrew has experienced the different sides of IdeaSpace, from intern, to employee, and finally, incubatee. In a little over three years, his journey with IdeaSpace has come full circle.
