Last month, we had this message series at church entitled "Change Your World in 52 Days". Craig Groeschel asked "What breaks your heart?" and then challenged us -- "Somebody has got to do something. It might as well be me".

And so I asked myself, what breaks my heart? My answer: aside from seeing people far from God (my first on the list), it breaks my heart whenever I see kids who needs healthcare and are not getting any because of poverty. 

TV stations like GMA and ABS-CBN have been so far successful in bringing these concerns to TV viewers. They will create program segments that features these kids and would ask you to donate and support their hospitalization. 

If you really care, your heart is pounded. I would normally have that feeling -- I want to donate, I want it now! And so the TV programs will tell you where to deposit the money, the name of the child and assures you that your money will be able help the kid survive the predicament. And sure it will. So the next morning, you'll wake up, eat your breakfast and go back to work. You forgot about the heart-breaking segment you saw on TV last night. I don't blame myself, or anyone for that matter, who will have this routine. We're human beings. We forget. That's our nature. Our nature is the problem.

Somebody has got to do something. It might as well be me. There's a solution to this problem. And as a web entrepreneur, I can see a solution. 

Imagine if you'll see this same program, same images, same story of a kid who needs healthcare -- the same intensity, the same emotion, the same willingness to help -- this time on a website while you're browsing, or checking your emails, or lurking at Facebook. You are presented with the opportunity to help the child right there and then -- not tomorrow in the bank -- right now, with your Paypal accounts and your credit cards. Assuming that you have the real desire to help, the possibility of you making that step has increased by a hundred fold. Multiply that with hundreds of possible donors, pitching in to help the child. I'm sure raising funds will be faster than just featuring his story on TV.

The idea: a web app that non-government organizations can use to facilitate online donations for kids that need healthcare.

When I was sharing this to my LifeGroup, my original plan is just to partner with a huge organization that works with children healthcare (like ABS-CBN Foundation, GMA Kapuso Foundation), offer my services in building this platform for free. I wasn't planning to earn anything out of it. Just the thought of having my skills gone to good use is a huge blessing and an accomplishment for me. I have in fact contacted a friend at a TV station to try to pitch this idea to him to see if his organization can support this partnership. But Start-up Weekend Manila happened sooner.

Start-up Weekend was finally coming to the Manila. (To know more about Start-Up Weekend Manila, click here). I know I'll join -- not for anything else but to just be immersed into the Pinoy geek community. The energy of multiple geeks and entrepreneurs in one room would definitely blow my mind. That's what I looked forward to. On the side, I was thinking about pitching an idea. A "cool" start up. 

Unfortunately, I can't think of anything original. My other ideas have been implemented already either by my team or with others around. The only other idea that I have in mind is this one -- the non-profit web app for children's health care. So I thought, why not pitch this idea and see if this is viable. 

However, if this will be pitched it needs to be profitable. So, I kinda modified the idea. Instead of just doing it for free to partner with one huge organization, I would be presenting it as a Software-As-A-Service, Social Entrepreneurship start-up that will provide free tools to multiple organizations that takes care of children's healthcare donations. The revenue stream will come from processing fees. Not bad, isn't it?

I pitched the idea. I was among the less than 70 ideas that stood and pitched for 1 minute. My goal is simple: no competition, just wanting to know how people will react to the idea. Is that something worth pursuing? Will people actually find it interesting?

I named this start up GroupHug.ph. As in, "come on, let's group together, hug this kid by pitching in our money for his hospitalization" group hug.

Wasn't expecting anything actually. When informal votation came, my piece of paper was average. Compare to that Voodoo App's popularity, mine was ... well.. :D 

 

But then, it made it to top 20! We were asked to form a team to work on a prototype over the weekend for presentation Sunday night. Some really passionate individuals approached me and interested to work on the project with me. 

Meet Chris, Sam, John and Dayle. With the exception of John, everyone else I just met that night. We started rough and extreme. That's natural for people who do not know each other, with different goals and directions. My goal was simple -- I just want the idea to come out. Not to win or anything like that. But these dudes, they're on to something. They want to win. They so believe in the idea that they actually believe this will win the Singapore incubator gig! They're so passionate about winning that they got me to believe about the project's winnability, too! And I'm saying this on a positive note. Sometimes, you need people to believe in you to so you can believe in yourself.

They're not just about winning, they coupled the passion with hard work. I saw them worked their ass off over the weekend to be able to come up with a prototype.

I've marveled as I listened to the presenters. Filipinos do have wonderful ideas. We have skills to match the ideas. Just being in the midst of that room with those really talented individuals makes me want to go home :D But, I still need to present what we have.

My presentation focused not just on the web app. It focused primarily on the benefit. And since this web app is primarily for a cause, my goal is to trigger the emotions of those that will be watching it. That's how GroupHug.ph differed from the rest -- it's not just about technology, it's technology with a heart. 

Seeing how great the other apps were technologically, I already knew we're not going to be #1. But still, we'd be winners if my goal of confirming whether people can relate with the project or not, if the project is viable or not, will happen. And somehow, it happened.

After my presentation, several people came to me telling me how they loved the idea. It's the cause for children's healthcare that grabbed their attention and touched their hearts. An incubator gave me a card, interested to talk about GroupHug.ph further. 

Some people Twitted:

Hearing the people's reaction makes us winners already, seriously. That's the primary reason why I came here, to validate this idea. The icing on the cake being part of the top winners -- 5th to be exact.

What's next for GroupHug.ph? Are we going to continue on with this? Quick answer: of course. Why not? The idea has been validated. People loved it. It will make a difference in the lives of children who needs healthcare. And quite honestly, it will also make a difference in the lives of people who will be given the chance to donate. Giving is always a blessing, it changes you more than it changes the recipient of your gift.

HOWEVER, the reality is, to launch this project requires a lot of time and energy. It's not a simple iPhone app that you upload on iTunes store. GroupHug.ph requires vision casting to non-profit organizations. The webapp itself, as I envision it, needs dedicated time to make it work. And I can't make my company, TeamSparrow be involved in this. We're really full at this point and a man-hour investment is something my team cannot provide. On top of that, I just launched a start up (in partnership with Abe of YugaTech and James, a long time client) called YugaDeals. And, together with my buddy Jerameel and Abe, we've started working on another cool, kick ass web app which we hope to launch by early 2012. Plus, I have another start up: LifeChurch Makati (which technically is a start up too). I can't have too many start ups all at the same time. I need to do outsourced work to feed my family. LOL! :D

BUT, this thing is real. And it needs to happen. Maybe, if I'm going to run this from the leadership capacity without involving my current company and with an incubator or VC supporting it, maybe things will be much easier and it'll fly as it should. So, GroupHug.ph is on the fridge right now as I try to follow up on those incubators and possible VCs and partners.

I have learned a lot from this experience. I honestly have some reservations, but overall, the Start-up Weekend is what the Philippines need to promote entrepreneurship and technology in the country. We have really great minds locally. These people don't need to go abroad to work. Work is here. 

Here are 3 practical tips from author Scott Gerber on how to become a successful entrepreneur. It's so practical that the no. 1 item is so personal to me -- I can definitely relate :D

* * *

If you're thinking about starting your own business, regardless of your age, you need to follow these three principles of entrepreneurship:

#1: Nothing will ever go as planned. Ever. Business needs change. Consumer demand will change. The economy will fluctuate. A competitor will come out of the woodwork and knock the wind out of your business. In order to remain successful, you need to stay alert and aware. You can never allow yourself or your company to "get comfortable." Think of everyday that you aren't thinking about new ways to grow, new tactics to acquire new clients or new blockades to fortify your business from competitors as simply one day closer to bankruptcy.   

#2: Work on your business, not for your business. Being a "start-up" is a phase, not a long term strategy. There are too many entrepreneurs who try to do everything themselves--and never take the time to create an "auto-pilot" plan. I've fallen victim to this many times, and I can assure you, all this mentality does is slow growth and burn you out. You must always be thinking of ways to scale and automate as you grow.  

#3: Business plans are a total waste of time. Business planning is an absolutely necessity. Business plans are absolutely not. Stop writing about selling and go and sell! Learn what works, scrap what doesn't and improve your batting average as you go. Field testing and execution is the best way to grow a business. Speak to prospective customers, find mentors who know your market and put yourself out there as often as you can. The best entrepreneurs are doers, not writers. I'd also suggest you check out my One Paragraph Start Up Plan in my new book, Never Get a "Real" Job, which explains how to create a fluid action plan in hours, not weeks.

I try not to rant online. It's bad for the heart, it's bad for the image *wink*. But like normal human beings, I do hate a lot of things around me. Sometimes, its the big things like corruption, cheating or sinful acts. Most of the time, however, it's just the small things that I just can't stomach. Small things like:

4. Do not avoid hard conversations – I’d like to see myself as a people person. And because of that, I hate to offend people. The first resignation I had broke my heart. I love my people and I hate to see them leave.

But — what if you have guys who are incompetent, comes in early — for lunch, proud and unteachable? Should you stick? Should you avoid being offensive? The quick answer is – no. Be the boss that you are and make that hard conversation. Fire him if it’s needed. That’s easier said than done, though. After 7 years, I’m still working on that.

Those are just a few. I’ll try to add some more in the coming days. I hope you learned something from my mistakes.

Being an entrepreneur is not in my blood. I don’t have a Chinese blood — I’m half Pinoy and half Bicolano. Ok, if you didn’t get the joke, never mind. My parents weren’t engaged in any business. I learned about business in college. But being an accounting student, I learned only half of it — half management and half numbers.

And so when I started Team Sparrow, Inc. in 2001, I’m clueless of what I was doing. There were times when I hit the wall and didn’t know what to do — no one is mentoring me, nothing is available in the books — I just do whatever sounds logical to me. And so there were mistakes, huge ones. Needless to say, I learned a lot from those mistakes. The painful way. After 7 years, after the ups and downs, I feel like this is the only time where I can say I’m ready to do business.

If you’re a budding entreprenuer, you don’t have to commit these mistakes. Learn from these and avoid the pains. Let me share some of the mistakes I committed in the past 7 years and hoping that, by writing about it, these mistakes will stare at me whenever I’m confronted with the same thing and therefore, avoid committing the same stupid things:

1. Keep the operation cost as low as possible. We started well. Cash is present. The first mistake: launch a web product extravagantly — like, in a hotel — in the hopes that there will be media attention. There was time that earnings are good, so we moved from one “better” office space to another, treated employees during their birthdays, purchased computers even if it’s not needed (yet). While I cherish those birthday parties (and never regret that, it’s my way of loving my employees), I wished I had chopped the cost down. We could have stayed to the same office space as long as possible. We could have used what is available. We could have maintained just one internet connection. Bring down the cost as low as possible. It definitely is a way to survive the crunch time.