By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net

IT was like a press conference where each startup had to undergo grilling from a panel of experts.

Startups were given five minutes to talk, and more grilling followed.

One of the business ideas that caught the attention of the panel was a simple student information system developed by Integritas Data Management Solutions, which has already developed a product deployed in some local schools.

Following a short break, the panel reiterated that startups have to distinguish between the market in general and the “addressable
market,” which means the target market of a service or a product.

Morph Labs executive chairman Winston Damarillo said startups can opt to run deeper on a vertical market and dominate it.

Business ideas presented here included an e-learning solution that hopes to be an alternative to existing e-learning platforms. One group presented eDispose, which envisions a portal for selling the unused assets of local government units.

“We’re looking at recurring revenue base and [ideas that] can scale. I don’t mind me-too ideas,” one of the experts on the panel stressed.