Significant Startups

Allow me to share with you some of the most remarkable startup founders I’ve met on this journey. I’d like to call them significant startups founders because they have a strong why — their reason for doing what they do. Although things can get tough at times, they pull through nonetheless. They continue to find that balance between significant and successful work.

Ann Enriquez and Louie Poco, Gouache

Ann and Louie are proud Mariquenos. Their love for well-designed products brought them to start Gouache, a waxed canvas and leather brand that taps into the talent found in Marikina and nearby areas. Building Gouache, one of the business choices Ann and Louie made is to pay labor at a rate above the average for their artisans. They felt that by investing in them, they are able to help provide better job opportunities and promote the local bag making industry. This has significantly improved the quality of life of their bag makers. All is well. Their world class products are being sold here and abroad. Their recent expansion has allowed them to open up their own store.

Tal de Guzman, Risqué

Tal is a shoe designer who felt that our local shoe industry needed a refreshing boost. In 2012, she started Risqué, a shoe brand that puts together different elements of Filipino craftsmanship. Tal taps into the talent of woodcarvers in Paete, Laguna elevating their chiseled woodwork as heels for her designs. Things that were once limited to ashtrays and figurines, are now premium footwear that speak about our rich culture. Tal also incorporates weaves in her designs and has helped revive the dying industry of hablon making in Iloilo, where she sources her weaves. Her beautiful shoe workshop in Marikina is nothing like a sweatshop. She creates spaces where beauty is appreciated, not only by her customers but also by those who make Risqué shoes.

Guido Sarreal, Kawil Tours

Guido loves to travel around the Philippines. His volunteer mission to Culion, Palawan in 2010 had inspired him to start Kawil Tours, a community-based tourism enterprise which aims to transform the world’s largest leper colony to a haven for tourists. He built Kawil Tours with his friend Jun together with Eli and Renlee of Culion island, whom they consider local partners. Giving the local community of Culion ownership of Kawil Tours has made them more invested in preserving the beauty of the island and in making sure visitors have a pleasant experience. A once alienated island has now reconnected itself back to the Philippines.

It’s easy to say, “anyone can do that”. People can talk big about their work, but their character and impact will always show what’s true. What makes these startup founders stand out is their commitment to make a difference beyond profit, be it through providing better work opportunities, promoting our rich culture and heritage, or empowering communities. There are many ways we can create positive change. We all can choose our own response.

Building a business grounded on significant work is challenging because here we are mindful about the impact our business creates. It’s easy to scale and mass produce at cheaper rates and abandon local talent or commercialize and disregard the ecological and social effects to a community; but these significant startup founders have chosen the more challenging path. They have proven that you can be sustainable without sacrificing the heart and why of your business.