Young entreps do good business

MANILA, Philippines - The enterprise which operates the country’s leading bibingka chain in terms of revenue and number of stores, the company that first produced the Philippines’ largest pizza and the marketing venture that popularized the Filipino-initiated version of e-Bay have stories that inspire.

Food Asia Corp.’s Bibingkinitan!, El Buono Pizza and Sulit.com are enterprises catering to different markets. But there’s one common thread that binds these inspiring business ventures — look at the people behind them and don’t be surprised to know that they are all young.

The road to success of Richard Sanz, president and CEO of Food Asia Corp., was not without obstacles. Richard, who took on the responsibility of helping his mother to provide for their family when he was only 13, is a man of dedication and perseverance. Economically challenged as he was, he was still able to finish college at De La Salle, with the support of his uncle.

Armed with an electronics engineering degree, he worked as an engineer and was later promoted to conceptualizing and creating IT solutions for his company. Recognizing the need to earn more as he started his own family, he decided to leave the company and start his own business. But as a principled man, he opted to veer away from the IT field to avoid speculations that he would use or copy databanks from his former job.

Food Asia Corp. operates Bibingkinitan! which provides mini-sized affordable bibingka, and Tea Square inspired by Richard’s childhood memories of his mother making iced tea from tea leaves. Tea Square takes pride in using 100 percent natural tea leaves.

As of August 2010, Food Asia Corp. directly employs 150 full-time and another 300 employees indirectly (franchise-stores).

Meanwhile, another business that is making a name in the food industry is El Buono Pizza. Timothy Joel Lance Sarvida, together with a group of friends, started the company that thought big. “We are the first pizza restaurant to offer the biggest pizza in the market,” said Lance about El Buono which produces the overwhelming 30-inch, 35-inch and 65-inch pizzas aside from the regular 10-inch, 12-inch and 22-inch. El Buono has branches in Mandaluyong, Parañaque and Makati.

The third story is about capitalizing on the Internet as a tool. Ronald John David founded Sulit.com in 2006, an online marketing portal, much like e-Bay, where entrepreneurs can transcend the usual business bureaucracy, break through boundaries and bring goods closer to their target markets. Sulit.com, registered under Netrepreneur Connections Enterprises, Inc., is a dream come true not only for RJ but also for his eventual life partner, Marianne de los Santos, his business partner. Marianne complemented RJ’s lack of formal studies in and passion for information technology and programming, being a Mechanical Engineer graduate with expertise in IT development for the banking sector. The partnership produces and sustains a virtual portal where one can buy and sell, receiving over 89 million hits from 10.5 million visitors monthly.

Indeed, the young people behind these enterprises are exemplary role models for the Filipino youth. They have found their niches and created something that can, in one way or the other, help transform the country into an enterprising nation.

On Sept. 27, Go Negosyo will be recognizing Richard Sanz, Lance Sarvida, and RJ David, as three of the Go Negosyo Inspiring Young Filipino Entrepreneurs in the 2010 Youth Entrepreneurship Summit at the World Trade Center, Pasay City. The award will be presented by Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion along with the Go Negosyo trustees.