School trains students to be CEOs at 25

CEBU, Philippines - Being in a very competitive industry such as Information Technology requires hardwork and continuous technical training. For CEOs Maan Madrasto-Brown and Carlo Nova, this certainly was the way to go. Equipped with all the necessary skills and guts, these two set up their own business solutions firms and have found success being CEOs at 25.

Back in her high school days, when every one else in her batch was busy with science projects and day-to-day homework, Maan Madrasto-Brown burned hours in the internet cafe, playing— not with RPGs or Flash games—but with free web builders. Maan was learning something alien to the average computer user back when beepers still ruled, and that was basic web programming.

In 1996, being a web programmer involved building websites with a minimum of about two to three pages. That meant one thousand pesos per page for Maan. This is why, at 17 years old, Maan decided to quit college—to her parents’ disappointment—confident that she would succeed in freelance web development.

Web development was then a burgeoning industry with very few people skilled enough to compete in her business. Maan was bound to make a mark, but not without a little challenge. She was about to score a new multi-national client, only to be denied the contract because she lacked a formal degree.

“This led me to enroll at Informatics Computer Institute in order to acquire an International I.T. Professional License. This has definitely fueled my booming IT career and grew my business bigger and paved the way to the birth of Infoteq Web Solutions, now with more projects, more employees, more equipment. Eventually I decided to enroll again at Informatics International College to specialize in multimedia and the Internet,” shares Maan.

Today, Infoteq Web Solutions offers a broad range of IT, branding, system security consulting, and multimedia services and services the likes of Rotaract Manila, Saga Events, Philconstruct Online, as well as other offshore clients from the United States, Canada, and UK.

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John Carlo Nova graduated BS Computer Science in Informatics Philippines, Eastwood, in 2006. While studying, John, known to friends as Caloy, already started doing freelance work, creating systems for small enterprises and executing software development projects for his peers.

Fresh from college, Caloy exhibited three great qualities that set him above other graduates: excellent IT training, an entrepreneurial spirit, and project management skills. After studying in Manila, Caloy retuned to Olongapo to form a team of skilled IT professionals and set-up Victa Software Solutions.

“Success doesn’t happen overnight. Don’t be impatient or focused on immediate financial rewards. To be successful you must take the risk, be competitive, have unique ideas. You have to be creative and think big,” says Caloy.

Following this entrepreneurial pursuit are years of significant success for Caloy and his team. Victa Software Solutions won the Best Website Award in the 11th Philippine Web Awards and the 2008 Asia Pacific Award for Most Promising Software Solutions Provider. They have also been nominated Outstanding Software Solutions Provider in the 2008 Global Excellence Award and the 2009 Consumers Choice Award.

“Venturing in IT demands continuous learning to keep up with the advances in computer technology.   This is why we constantly introduce new courses to students as well as enforce a project-based curriculum. Writing computer programs are part of our academic requirements so that, like Maan and Caloy, we are able to develop young, skilled, and in-demand IT professionals who can work as early as their first year,” says Leo Riingen, CEO of Informatics Philippines.

Informatics, a Singapore-based school, has trained thousands of students in over 20 countries. With international credentials that give it first-hand knowledge of what players in the industry require and a unique ladderized program, undergraduates are equipped with IT career skills that allow them to get hired even after their first year. In the Philippines, graduates enjoy the highest employment success rate at 70 percent in the country, according to the 2010 TESDA Job Absorption Rate Review—a testament to the success of this program.

This year, Informatics will introduce new courses to ensure that the Philippines could have a more highly skilled IT workforce: this is to say, more Maans and Caloys who will contribute to the growth story of our country.