My Friends Don’t Care About Tech. Or Startups.

Posted on Aug 31, 2012 in Philippines, Startups, Thought Posts | 7 comments

I’m not saying my friends still use typewriters or that they ask me “how to enroll on Twitter” – it’s just that they don’t have the same level of interest in it as some of my startup/tech enthusiast (virtual) friends do. By that I mean, if Jeff Bezos announced tomorrow that he’s leaving Amazon or that the Smart or even Globe LTE launch isn’t actually happening, none of them would bat an eyelash. It’s like me finding out about Snooki’s pregnancy. Who’s Snooki? Bahaha.

But yes, I bring this up because this topic seems to have been following me around for a couple of days now. Last Thursday, I met up with Paul Rivera of Kalibrr (will do a separate post on his team soon) and we were talking about how difficult it is for Filipinos to embrace startups. Here, you either become a lawyer or a doctor. Okay, so you may have had more options (accountant, engineer) but you know what I mean. Starting your own business isn’t usually encouraged (unless you come from an entrepreneurial Filipino-Chinese family).

“It’s not stable.”

“How long will that business last?”

“What about your future?”

Then yesterday, I attended Peter Cauton’s Juan Great Leap event and they were basically saying the same thing but this time added things like lack of investors, the startup community being small, the government not being supportive, etc.

This may be obvious to some but seriously, there are times when it becomes so easy to get trapped in this bubble I will call the “TechCrunch bubble” (maybe I read that somewhere, don’t accuse me of plagiarizing!). It’s when you think everyone and her grandma is using Path or is upset that Twitter is being such a bully because it’s all the tech sites talk about (and your favorite Twitter client is in danger).

At work, we talk about it. On Twitter, we tweet about it. We read it on blogs and tech news sites.

For those who are also in this bubble, it’s easy to forget that the rest of the Philippines doesn’t care what will happen on September 12, much less care about the crazy people working for or on a tech startup.

Oh yes. They exist.

  • http://terenceponce.github.com/ Terence Ponce

    To be fair, the startup scene here in the Philippines is mostly about technology. It’s only natural that most people only care about the mainstream companies since those are what affect them directly. Nobody cares if you’re making the next Facebook now. They’d only care if you’re big and are affecting their lives already. On the flip side, I’m pretty sure you’re not aware about small business who are trying to make their way in the agriculture/medicine/(some other field that doesn’t really interest you) industry, but no one would call you out for it.

    • http://twitter.com/Skushno Peanut Dela Cruz

      Hi Terence! Re: no one calling me out for not talking about other small businesses making their way in agriculture/medicine etc – you just did! Plus, they’re also free to blog about it. :)

      • http://terenceponce.github.com/ Terence Ponce

        It doesn’t really concern me whether or not you’re not aware of those kinds of businesses because I, myself, am not aware. I was just making a point and giving you some perspective about how other people, who are outside the tech scene, would probably see the situation. I don’t understand how you came to the conclusion that I was calling you out.

  • Borat

    Hello. Was is das “startup”? Is nice?

    • http://twitter.com/Skushno Peanut Dela Cruz

      Borat reads my blog. Is nice!

  • cocoy

    Good post, Pea!

    Some people want to be entrepreneurs, and some people are happy not being one. I think it all comes down to passion.

    Entrepreneurship is a game you play against yourself. It really is for someone who has an itch to scratch– whatever that itch is. It can be tech. It can be as simple as writing. It can be anything at all— even making girly accessories, or pastries, or food. You measure your success or failure by your own benchmarks.

    It is cliche, I know— don’t do it for the money… meaning don’t think about making it “rich” your biggest motivator. Let’s face it, you’re starting the business to make money, but it should make money to keep going but do something because you want to leave something that will out last you, and that maybe your kids will have, or maybe just to unleash your inner creativity. I don’t know. Or do something because you want to be the best at it, or the best at publishing a blog, making beautiful girl accessories, or building web servers that work so simple, the common person would love it or simply doing something you’ve always wanted to do. Or because you just really like Batman and want to have the world’s definitive blog on all things Bat. For me it was scratching an itch, and proving a point.

    There are many schools of thought. You need investors to start a business. You need a bank loan. Personally, what seems to be working for me is bootstrapping. It comes with its own headaches, certainly, but for me the slowing down, and seeing the growth happen slowly is grounding.

    Here’s another cliche: start small. I know it is well worn. But it is working for me. Set aside some small portion of our salary or income and invest in yourself. It could be as simple as buying ingredients to make that perfect cake, then sell it. It could be to cater. it could be making accessories. it could be anything at all. Don’t be frustrated by the lack of tools or equipment. When you make some money, reinvest: upgrade your game little by little. You could be doing it for five years, but as you increase per iteration you’ll see something. Be sure to have the idea in your head: “What’s the endgame?” This is why it is important to put the itch before the rich. Entrepreneurship is an art, and a science. It isn’t for everyone, sure, but you need that little crazy to dare, and perseverance. Don’t worry about the other guys making more money. Don’t worry about anything at all except the goals and milestones you’ve set out. Entrepreneurship is a game you play against yourself, and no one else.

    Cheers!

    • http://twitter.com/Skushno Peanut Dela Cruz

      Cocoy – I love the long and thoughtful comment!

      During the JuanGreatLeap event, the panelists said the same exact things you said. It basically came down to this question: how much do you really want it? Why do you need to wait for other people? For the “perfect” environment?

      Some of the speakers in that event started their own businesses even without startup “communities” or groups. It was just them and they didn’t even have access to boatloads of resources that are available today.

      You’d agree with a lot of them, I wish you were there too! :)