A Fireside Chat on Tech Entrepreneurship

By Cyle Ellery Barrera

“What matters to you and why?” This was one of the major takeaways I got from the meeting, “A Fireside Chat on Tech Entrepreneurship,” hosted by John Clements Consultants. It may seem like a simple question, but it will get you thinking about what success is for a person. For Earl Valencia, it’s changing people’s lives; for Rexy Dorado, who grew up in a place away from his home country, it’s to establish a community where Filipinos could engage.

Success is subjective — no person could define it for you because you create your own definition of success. For the two speakers, it was finding a purpose for their dream social enterprise. Through this vision, they were able to achieve success, while experiencing a sense of fulfillment from attaining their purpose and creating a social impact.

Although their businesses are directed towards helping the Filipino community, they also expressed that the most significant challenges lie in Filipinos themselves. For instance, foreign investors are more inclined and interested in the Filipino market than local investors. In the past, their enterprise was not seen as important — financial technology (FinTech) was not something most Filipinos would engage in; similarly, a streaming app would not usually be something people would spend time on during leisure hours. It took a pandemic for people to notice it, which reveals that timing is also an essential factor in the success of a social enterprise.

Both their stories taught me to never solely use money as a driving force in creating a social enterprise. Think of its social impact, purpose, and contribution to the people’s lives and use it as fuel to achieve what you define as success.

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About the author:

Cyle is a Siliman University student, who participated in John Clements-AmCham’s Business Leadership Program.