It was an unforgettable weekend for three MINT Senior High students.
Entrepreneurial Management students Julia Chong and Sofia Manzano, and Music Business Management (MBM) student Reyjude Ramos slayed their much older competition and bagged the top prize at the annual Start-Up Weekend Manila last February 10 and 11. This competition is joined by industry professionals from various established companies, and business students who make start-up business pitches on-the-spot and battle it out for two days.
MINT Marketing Program Head Mony Romana shared that these students were two separate groups from his Entrepreneurship class activity. “I would like them to get a first-hand experience in making their business ideas come true by tapping them to join the contest. The purpose of this experience is to serve as an extended learning beyond our classroom,” he said.
Another MINT SHS group composed of MINT Marketing students Symphony Carolino and Zia Tan, and MBM student Keanne Dedel also joined but wasn’t able to make it to the semi-finals. Their business pitch was a budgeting app called Budget Pal, which helps young people like them to learn how to save.
Despite being the youngest contestants joining the said event, the SWAGE team managed to get through the semi-finals, and had grouped with UBER’s Clarisse Tancinco. As a vegan herself, Tancinco gave the SWAGE team a much needed boost and valuable inputs that further solidified their idea for the app.
Julia Chong, who was the main presenter for team SWAGE said that they are proud to have represented MINT College in the competition. As for advice, Chong shared that “learning doesn’t stop inside the classroom.” She emphasized the importance of meeting different people and interacting with them, because they can teach you new things. She also added that “failure is good,” as it allows ideas to improve and bring them closer to their goal. W
Video by: Teks Pabuayon and RM Cristobal
Interview by: Chai Lugares