Three student-led startups in agricultural technology, digital game art, and workflow automation topped the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Youth Entrepreneurship Program: You Can Be Your Own Boss (YEP! BYOB) business pitch competition held at the Alumni Building, Oct. 9.
Co-organized with the MSEUF Research Publication, Incubation, and Utilization Center (RPIUC), the three-day bootcamp challenged students to develop market-ready business concepts from Oct. 7-9.
Pitching a farm–to–family marketplace that cuts out middlemen through pre-harvest subscriptions, Farmly—composed of Kyla Dessirei Dequito, Ace Vincent Gamitin, and Marc Neil Tagle—topped Panel A.
Avant Garde Studios, composed of Cynthia Marie Bisco, Johann Gabriel Flores, and Chelsea Magadan, secured Panel B with a game art agency dedicated to promoting Filipino indie games.
Meanwhile, Lalaine Jannah Dela Cruz, Amrei Louis Espares, and Via Mae Gonzales seized Panel C with SyncWorks, a digital agency offering custom website development and workflow automation services to MSMEs.
DTI Quezon Senior Trade-Industry Development Jaryz Eden Lloce expressed her satisfaction with their first academic partnership, specifically highlighting the diverse representation among the winners.
“Lahat naging accepting, lahat naging creative, and it turned out yung mga nanalo is from different departments, hindi lang siya nanggaling from the College of Business,” Lloce said.
For Johann Gabriel Flores, a third-year Bachelor of Fine Arts student and member of Avant Garde Studios, the program opened up possibilities beyond traditional employment after graduation.
“Before this program, ang naiisip ko as a student pagkagraduate ko I’ll work for big companies, triple-A studios… pero this time nabigyan ako ng knowledge or chance to start my own agency,” Flores explained.
Third-year Computer Science student Rodmark Bernard Villa also highlighted how the workshop helped him apply classroom knowledge to practical problem-solving.
“Natulungan ako nitong workshop kung paano mag-isip ng idea, ano yung mga problema na dapat i-solve, at ano yung tamang way para maghanap ng solution,” Villa shared.
To sustain this momentum, DTI Quezon is preparing follow-up initiatives like the Bootcamp for Young Entrepreneurs (YEP BYE) to help youths formalize their ventures.
Lloce also urged aspiring entrepreneurs to visit the DTI office or nearest Negosyo Center for continuous business counseling and assistance in developing their ventures.
