Nadj Villaver | ExecutiveChronicles.com
When was the last time you bought a Filipino product? If you’ll be doing a quick room-check, what do you think would be the percentage of local-made products over imported products?
In a generation where international products are widely accessible, a young start-up entrepreneur shows and share his love for Filipino products. Often referred to as the ‘½ of The Bazket’, Louise Ivan Payawal’s passion for local products can be traced way back his childhood days.
“I have always loved handcrafted products, People who create their own products as work of art, there’s just something different about it,” Ivan shares with ExecutiveChronicles.
And this passion will turn into something big for the local product industry.
The Journey to The Bazket
Aside from his love for local products, Louise Ivan also has an interest and passion for ‘green information technology.’ The 21-year old start-up entrepreneur just recently graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology with Magna cum Laude honors at Wesleyan University Philippines, Cabanatuan City.
His strong passion towards eco-friendly technology had developed during the completion of his college thesis. For his thesis, Louise Ivan was able to innovate an existing gadget that could revolutionize mobile charging. And this project won accolades across the globe later on.
“My project utilizes renewable resources and powers up your mobile phones with an app that keep tracks of sustainable energy. This particular innovation made me realize the opportunity and benefit that these kind of technology have. This green movement of modern innovation is one advocacy I believe that all innovators should embody,” Ivan added.
What started with a college project alone turned into a start-up company. It became a critically acclaimed startup idea in some parts of Asia, Europe, and America. Louise Ivan was even able to pitch the idea in front of US Secretary Hon. John Kerry, President of De Nederlandsche Bank Mr. Klass Knot, Founder of Child & Youth Finance International Ms. Jeroo Billimoria and other prominent and respected people in their own respective fields.
“It truly is an epiphany for me. An eye-opener to a better future not only for ourselves but most importantly for the generations to come. Imagine future technologies helping us in our daily lives while conserving and possibly enriching our environment at the same time,” Ivan said.
Crossroads
After college graduation, he landed a job in an Australian start-up company as a .net developer. Just like any typical job, Ivan worked 8 hours a day at the office. But this wasn’t what Ivan really wanted. As Ivan said “nothing special, I guess.”
That’s why he decided to quit his job and tried to be a ‘rockstar.’ Not the singer who likes to sing rock songs but someone who can create an impact to the community.
“Now- I’m 21, Founder of a startup, a digital nomad as they call it. Traveled one place to another and pitched my dream to the biggest business moguls. I failed 99% of the time but I always have this 1% percent that keeps me going.”
Like everyone else, Ivan also experienced failure in his entrepreneurship career. But this didn’t stop him from achieving his goals.
Bazket: more than just an online store but a community
Just this June 8, 2016, Ivan together with his partner, Jec (the other half of The Bazket), the newest one-of-a-kind online venture and community officially was launched at the Warehouse Eight, Makati City
The Bazket combines the creative feature of the bazaar and the reliable nature of the market and brings it online, creating a unique startup where handmade and hard-to-find products are sold. Banking on the exclusive The Bazket experience, the platform offers the functional, the essential and the artisinal from an exclusive circle of collaborators.
More than just an online shop, The Bazket is a community that is #UniquelyBetterTogether. Aside from passion and art, the venture advocates protecting the environment. Supporting green technology, The Bazket is partners with Mensaheros to deliver packages to clients on mountain bikes in Metro Manila.
“The Bazket is not actually just an e-commerce. What we are building is a community, a family of independent artisans. We want to uplift Filipino products into a global brand,” Ivan claimed.
Giving Back to the Country
Aside from The Bazket, Ivan is currently developing his knowledge and expertise on Software Engineering and Green IT in Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam through a holistic understanding of the factors revolving around the subject matter and its impact on economic growth, sustainable development and welfare.
“I would like to pay it forward and go to back to my home country and further explore the possible implications of the existing hazardous technology not only in our lives but in our nature as well. Ultimately, my primary goal is to be able to innovate and address those problems through innovative solutions. Since Hi-Tech, scientific research, educational and startup spheres remain undeveloped in the Philippines and it is still categorize as a third world country, I aim to positively and significantly contribute to my country’s sustainable development and progress with innovative technological ideas.”
Ivan is one of the young entrepreneurs whom millennials should get inspiration from. Here’s more tidbits from ExecutiveChronicles interview with this promising entrepreneur:
EC: What inspired you to choose this career path?
Ivan: I love to put myself out there and take the risk. You’ll never know what’s gonna happen next and I live for that kind of situation. How to go big, create wealth and impact the world. We live in this world for a purpose and I believe, I found mine. My heart goes to technopreneurship – creating or innovating existing solutions to our day-to-day problems.
EC: What do you usually do when you experience hardships?
Ivan: I have encountered countless hurdles – rejection, discouragement, and defeat. But I would always look on and move forward… that’s the only way to live. I took these hurdles as challenges that I would eventually triumph over. This desire made me wanna pursue and practice environmentally sustainable computing.
EC: What are your tips for millennials who want to become entrepreneurs someday?
Ivan: I firmly believe that there is a place for bright ideas in this world. We just need to change our perspective and the way we look at change. Nothing good is ever easy. Step out and take the chance. Free our mind from its limitation and it will take us farther than we can imagine. Nothing good is ever easy. I will never give up on my dreams and on trying to make them happen.
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