SSU Startup On Top: Team Project IFY Claims Victory in Reg’l PSC, to Represent R8 at Nat’l Tilt
Jessie Gabonpa 
With a vision of facilitating tricycle access and security, and reducing overpriced fares, startup TRAYSICALL of Team Project IFY of Samar State University TBI-LAMBAT finished champion in the Philippine Startup Challenge 7- Regional Pitching Competition organized by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Region 8 held on October 26, 2022, via Zoom.
Team PROJECT IFY, composed of second year BS Computer Engineering students, Chad Vincent Florentino, Nathaniel Llano, and Chad Abinguna, topped the said competition, outscoring 14 other competing startups by 79.7%.
In an interview, the team expressed that they did not expect the result as they only got a little time for preparation and said that their only goal was “to gain experience and to collect feedback, suggestions, and opinions from the panelists.”
“Waray gud masyado nga preparation since umagi kita ha midterms ngan nagdungan an midterms ngan ine nga competition so, [our] preparation— mga minute of time nala… guti la nga time,” said Florentino. “Balancing competition and academics is difficult for us, but rather than regretting one of them, we take them as a challenge,” he added.
Pedal towards best startup pitch
It was not a smooth road for the Team PROJECT IFY as they drove towards the highest award. The team shared that before they bagged the title, they first conquered shortlisting, live pitching defense, and question-and-answer portion— a journey that made them in mixed emotions when announced as this year’s regional champion in Region 8 Pitching Competition.
“[We] had mixed feelings. It was very unexpected talaga,” shared Llano. “Very good kasi kami nagdaog at the same time, mayda na liwat another trabahuon, but still we’re grateful na irerepresent namon an Region 8 in the national level,” Abinguna expressed.
Meanwhile, Florentino, who was also named Best Speaker, uttered that he was in awe upon hearing his name called as the best speaker. He said that he did not expect to receive the said special award as other presenters from various universities performed very well.
Team PROJECT IFY will advance to the National Pitching Competition of the Philippine Startup Challenge and will represent Region 8.
The Philippine Startup Challenge (PSC) is an annual startup competition that aims to encourage and inspire Filipinos to create innovative and relevant ICT products and services that may also be viable business ventures and help solve social problems. This initiative is geared towards promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship in ICT among Filipinos and ensuring the continuous creation of investible ideas and startup founders that will liven the local ecosystem (startup.gov.ph).
SSU’s Team ACAD-FOCUS also won in the said competition, landed 2nd Runner-Up, and Team REOCEAN as Best Logo— a big win for SSU.
