Entry #13: Start-up

Taking off from my previous blog post, learning web development gave me the confidence to convince my husband for us to launch a start-up. Last year was a challenging year for me as I struggle to look for work when I moved here in Malaysia. I decided to abandon my job hunting and focused more on upgrading my skills as my husband thought it will be wise for me to make a pivot to IT. Being a novice in IT, I have to accept the fact that I do not stand a chance of being hired. I saw the opportunity in E-commerce and started doing dropshipping. But I wanted to do more than just doing dropshipping business. I believe that our combined core competencies can be of great benefit to small and medium enterprises in the Philippines. We would also like to offer our services that will not break the bank accounts of these SMEs. With these in mind, we decided to launch Virtual Andes I.T. Solutions. Like any start-up, the primary challenge is to get funding. We saw an opportunity when we saw the 1st BIR Tax Innovation Challenge with the support of USAID and Philippines E-PESO. We were elated when we made it as one of the Top 20 Finalists out of the one hundred plus proposals that they received from all over the country. We are praying hard that we make it as one of the Top 3 winners that will receive a cash prize and be certified as a Tax Software Provider by BIR. This opportunity will definitely increase our company’s chance of being successful in addition to the media mileage that we will receive. Apart from that, we have also started to develop a web and mobile-based app that would help make collaboration easy for all medical practitioners, educators and parents working on Special Education cases. The web and mobile app will become the primary repository for all information regarding the case. I believe this project will greatly benefit all the parties involved to expedite the review of cases and exchange information about a child’s case. I, myself is a mother of a daughter diagnosed with ADHD and mild autism. I can truly relate to the emotions of what a parent goes through having a special child. I am hopeful that these projects will jumpstart a better future for my family. I desire to become wealthy not only to assure a better future for my family but I also see money as an enabler. I can be able to help a lot of people starting with my loved ones. Unfortunately, back in my home country a lot of people will consider you as being materialistic and greedy if you desire to be extremely wealthy. Nonetheless, I will continue to fight for financial freedom as God truly knows what is inside my heart. Stay Wealthy and SAFE!