Advice to Filipino Web 2.0 startups: Be realistic

I started becoming really fascinated with websites back in 2002, I saw that it was the future but I was just not ready to start to jump on the bandwagon. It was still Friendster back then that captured the attention of everyone. A few years later I attempted to start my web 2.0 startup, a huge lesson I learned is to be realistic…

… I remember one opportunity to pitch to the managing director of Microsoft (Europe), I was so confident and told him about our really cool and unique web 2.0 Social Networking idea. He simply laughed and told me Facebook’s going to rule the world. At first, I was pissed to hear that, but today, I’m glad he did what he did. It’s a wake up call, for us all to really be realistic.

My point here is that we all should know what we’re up against. It’s (for example) like setting up a fastfood restaurant just like McDonalds (copying all the food and system), the major difference is you’re putting Mayonnaise while they put ketchup. People might try your startup but later on go back to the classic / original. Not unless you’re able to invest as much in branding and expanding your brand (like the Facebook / Friendster case, Microsoft backing Facebook). It takes significant Capital to really tilt things to your favor.

– Experience is the best teacher –

What I’m trying to say is that don’t try to enter a specific industry in the web 2.0 field that already has big established players in it (like social networking or buy & sell). There’s so much you can target like targeting a niche or your own unique idea. The Philippines web 2.0 field is way too open that all we got to do is open our eyes and look around, there are a lot of industries that are untapped and niches waiting to have someone make a website concept for them. So focus your energy in those big holes and there’s a higher rate of success than fighting with bigger guys and increasing the odds of failure.