NEVER fall in love with your business, Cebuano tech entrepreneur Bryan Yap cautioned, “because if you fall in love with it, you will never let go, even if it is not working.”
Yap had to let some go in his years of building what now comprises the Republiq Group of Companies (RGC), a “digital transformation group” for more traditional businesses.
The first was six years ago with Snap — a coupons app. “It took about a year to build, but when it was released, it wasn’t what the consumers wanted,” he said.
Yap said they thought then that if they built something, people would just download and use it with stores and merchants. They didn’t.
Then he met Tina Amper of TechTalks.ph. Amper, a pivotal mover in the Cebu startup community, was then planning the first Geeks On A Beach (GOAB) conference, an event that later became a venue for Yap to receive seed funding.
Through her, Yap also met tech entrepreneur Bowei Gai, who was then starting out on his World Startup Report. Yap said Gai became his mentor and guide on how tech startups operate and make money.
Three years ago, Yap and a team of five started Code Republiq to build websites and apps for clients. Since their clients were asking about digital marketing, he and John Mendoza then started Creative Republiq to service their needs.
“Bryan is very ambitious…but that burning ambition is also helpful because it also challenges every one of us to be a much better version of ourselves,” Mendoza said.
Early this year, he started Design Republiq and then Entertainment Republiq. Apart from food photography and video production for clients, Entertainment Republiq recently launched its own shows, starting with one by two key members of Cebu’s technology startup scene: Dave Overton and Albert Padin.
Also this year, he started Chef On Demand in Cebu to deliver meals prepared by local chefs to workers of companies based at the IT Park. He has since expanded in Manila in the Rockwell, BGC, Makati and Ortigas areas.
“It’s a long, hard road for Bryan, but he deserves it because he persevered in spite of the roller-coaster ride in his previous startups and some conflicting advice from mentors,” Amper said.
“It’s like when you are trying to design a dress for the first time. Is your first dress going to be the greatest ever? Maybe not, but what you learn from the first one is what you will bring to design a better dress next time. Startups require patience, perseverance and hard work,” Amper added.
In building his Republiq, Yap said he learned the importance of building a basic product, deploying it fast and listening to customer feedback.
He also discovered the need to “surround yourself with the right people.” And from that team of five three years back, Yap’s Republiq is now a growing team of 40. (Max Limpag is the co-founder of Innopub Media and editor of MyCebu.ph)