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| AngelHack Manila. |
MANILA. June 8 and 9, 2013. Inside the Voyager Innovations office, tucked in the second floor of Anson’s Building, in a quiet street along ADB Avenue, history begins to unfold. Ideas are being created. Something important is happening, propelling a series of events that will change the course of our future.
In the low hum of the air-conditioner, in hushed voices, we see them, mostly the young, gathered in the huge office space, glued to their Macbooks, Acers, tablets, their cluttered workstations replete with energy drinks and Philippine native snacks provided for free, such as turon, banana-Q, and pancit bihon.
Furrowed brows, low chatter, excited yelps, and deep concentration, they are writing codes and programs. They are, what you call, “hackers.” Filipino hackers. And there are many of them in one room, 250 hackers clustered in their own small groups, devising something that we still cannot see.
Furrowed brows, low chatter, excited yelps, and deep concentration, they are writing codes and programs. They are, what you call, “hackers.” Filipino hackers. And there are many of them in one room, 250 hackers clustered in their own small groups, devising something that we still cannot see.
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| And the 24-hour hackathon begins! |
These “hackers” are actually Philippine-based web developers, who have joined the two-day hackathon competition called “AngelHack,” the biggest web-programming marathon in the world, which have been touring since May 2013. Prior to Manila, AngelHack had been to Paris, Moscow, Singapore, New York, Sydney, among other major cities of the world, discovering great minds, or the next Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg, who will introduce to the world new programs, apps, and software originally designed and created by the hackers within the 24-hour contest period.
Greg Gopman, the CEO of AngelHack, roams about the office. Josh Constine, TechCruch superstar writer, is also around as one of the judges. Mentors are everywhere, assisting both in the programming and business side. AngelHack Philippine ambassadors walking up and down the aisles making sure everybody has a pleasant experience. The air is buzzing with excitement. Who will win? Who will come up with the simplest, the best, and the most clever, innovative app that would change our lives?
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| Mentors taking a coffee break. |
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| A group of hackers in a discussion with a mentor. |
On June 9, Sunday, at the end of the 24-hour period, the total of 52 teams pitched their creations to the judges. Then soon after, Manila has a winner, finally. From Davao. Rolly Rulete Marvin Consuegra, Raymund Delfin, Mio Galang, and Jay Albano — who all work under the Davao-based startup Lifebit. The team that created Pagesnapp, a Facebook mobile app that will help businesses to organize their Facebook pages a lot easier.
And so the winning hackers lives' will never be the same again. As the grand winner, the team was awarded with 2-million-pesos worth of prizes, they will receive 12-weeks of mentorship from IdeaSpace, one of the major sponsors of the event, and will be flown across the world to present their startup at the Global Demo Day in Silicon Valley September this year, which will be graced by investors, influencers, and media. Pagesnapp could be the next big global thing.
And so AngelHack flies again to other great cities, with determined wings, changing our global digital platform, revolutionizing our technological industry. And the Filipinos are part of it.
And so the winning hackers lives' will never be the same again. As the grand winner, the team was awarded with 2-million-pesos worth of prizes, they will receive 12-weeks of mentorship from IdeaSpace, one of the major sponsors of the event, and will be flown across the world to present their startup at the Global Demo Day in Silicon Valley September this year, which will be graced by investors, influencers, and media. Pagesnapp could be the next big global thing.
And so AngelHack flies again to other great cities, with determined wings, changing our global digital platform, revolutionizing our technological industry. And the Filipinos are part of it.
Photos: Stephanie Mayo
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