Benildean startups’ first step with Homebrewed Startup Bootcamp
On July 6 and 7, 2019, the newest cohort of Benildean startups ignited their journey through the HomebrewEd Program Startup Bootcamp. The newest cohort made up of 6 new projects from different fields, went through a rigorous 2-day workshop that aimed to introduce them to the basic startup tools. They were also briefed on the basics of IP for startups by Attorney Janice Tejano of Benilde Intellectual Property Management Center.
FRESHLY BREWED IDEAS
Five of the six newest intakes of the HomebrewEd Program went through a 2-day Design Thinking Bootcamp facilitated by HiFi’s Community Management Head, TQ Antiqueño. The bootcamp aimed to align the new incubatees with the language and practice Design Thinking that HiFi applies.
HaMu
Fashion Design and Merchandising alumni Abraham Guardian and Mamoru Oki make up the colorful team, Hamu. Known for their sincere quirkiness and love for color, the ingenious tandem aims to use fashion design to create uplifting pieces that will make not just the wearer, but also Mother Earth happy with intelligently upcycled materials.
Pointe Shoe Project
An exciting new project about a problem most of us may overlook, the Pointe Shoe Project aims to deliver pointe shoes also called “ballet shoes” that are not just much more reasonably priced for emerging markets, but also designed for Asian feet. Conceptualized by the energetic Benilde Dance program faculty Nina Anonas De Santos and Christine Crame, their idea stemmed from an existing pain point of Benilde dance students, as well as other pupils of dance, that pointe shoes are just to good quality expensive for the Philippine market, while the more affordable ones are not durable enough for the hard work Asian dancers put in. It’s also worth considering that current pointe shoes are based on Western feet — something Asian dancers can really feel in the shoes. So, just imagine how much better our dancers might perform with shoes developed for their anatomy? This is a challenge the Pointe Shoe Project braves to undertake.
Project GenZ
Another passion project by Nina Anonas. Project GenZ is a learning tool for beginner dancers of the new generation. Through multimodal learning — dance drills and drawing and writing, she believes that young dancers can be able to easier absorb and practice their skills. Project GenZ believes that dance is not just a kinesthetic skill, but also a highly cognitive and affective one.
Punla
We’ve all seen the news: farmers are harvesting an oversupply of crops — mangoes, tomatoes, bananas, and more — but just can’t get their crops to customers directly. The ending? They throw away their literal hardwork and start again. If that is not food waste, what else is? This is just one of the pains that project, Punla, aims to address. The team is made up of a Arielle Rose Oropesa, Kara Ysabel Protomartir, Kelly Ruth Andres, Maria Camille Caoile, and Ericson Muros. They believe that bringing the farmers and their crops nearer to us, consumers can be a mutually beneficial and sustainable relationship.
TodaMax
Abner Manlapaz, whose sign name is a raised fist making up the FSL sign for the letter “A”, believes that one’s disability should not be the focus of one’s identity. Instead, we should focus on our beliefs and what we can do. His project he calls TodaMax is a motorbike unit attachment transforms the bike into a PWD-friendly tricycle. This will enable wheelchair users to be able to drive and be mobility-independent. He himself uses his first prototype, being able to drive himself around to the numerous speaking engagements and workshops he is invited to as a PWD Activist and Universal Design advocate.
A SECOND CUP FOR THE LONG JOURNEY
Incubatees from our past cohorts and one from our newest batch went through 2 a series of mini workshops that will help them tinker with specific aspects of their startups. To help them with their branding, Lyka Aguilar of design agency “to make do gooders do good-er” Fennel, conducted a branding and marketing crash course. And to streamline their ideas further, Incubation Coordinator Rex Lor conducted a Social Business Model Canvas and MEAL Writeshop.
Kamulo
Kamulo is a furniture startup by Industrial Design alumna, Reese Paman. Her idea came about when they were challenged in class to develop a product that considers it whole life cycle. While researching, she discovered that the biggest contributors to waste are the fashion industry and the construction industry. This is how she came about developing furniture inspired by Filipino sensibilities using fashion and construction surplus and refuse. Visit Kamulo on Facebook.
FSL Interactive
Gerrel Angeles, William Sidayon, Ruth Reyes, and Vikki Sakilayan, faculty members of the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies, and Benilde Deaf School realized that there was a noticeable lack of learning materials specifically made for the needs of deaf students. Their idea was to develop multimedia learning tools for the deaf that will stimulate multiple senses while helping them learn multimodally.
Byte Blocks
Jaime Poblete saw space as an integral part of a person’s quality of life. And with the Metro’s population and condo boom, more and more people see living in small dorms and condominiums as the only viable choice. To maximize the limited space people have, while also making sure that we have the furniture to do what we need to do, he developed his project Byte Blocks. Byte Blocks is a line of modular furniture enabled by his innovative folding and snapping mechanisms which makes his furniture fully customizable. In this day and age when everything’s getting scarce, it’s good to see that some things are created to last however our lifestyles might change.
All the teams will be undergoing intensive trainings through workshops and mentorships with HiFi’s pool of subject-matter-experts, mentors, and partners. Once they’ve gone through the rigorous process of the program, their projects will culminate in the HomebrewEd Demo Day, a special event wherein they will be demonstrating their projects in front of the public.
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