Philippines Blockchain Startup: Crossfire Pitch Event

The Stage is Set for Philippines' Blockchain Startup

Blockchain startups, experts, advisers, and of course investors, gathered in Manila last Saturday for the inaugural “Crossfire,” a venue where blockchain startups are given the opportunity to pitch their projects, network with the community, and hopefully, secure investments.

The first leg of “Crossfire” – a matchmaking and ‘get-to-know-you’ event hosted by Blockchats – was held in Manila, the Philippines on Saturday to allow blockchain startups an opportunity to pitch their projects to investors and to the community.

Organized by Blockchats, Crossfire is scheduled to be held in the cities of Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Frankfurt, Madrid, London, Milan, and Singapore. Its primary aim is to set the stage for blockchain startups that do not have the resources and sometimes, the right know-how to pitch their projects.

“The idea is to have startups from the blockchain space to pitch for 15 minutes about their projects,” said Lina Seiche, founder of Bockchats and organizer of the event, in an interview with Cryptovest. "Crossfire features ‘judges' who ask questions on behalf of the audience, provide comments about the concept to allow both the audience and the startup better articulate what they want to offer and the issues they want to be cleared."

Seiche noted that most of the time, a startup has a good project, but they do are not equipped with the proper communication tools to articulate their ideas. The same is noted among blockchain enthusiasts or investors who attend blockchain events to learn about the space but are afraid to ask questions during the open forum, or are unable to construct their queries correctly to give them better insight.

During the Manila event, around ten blockchain startups were given the opportunity to present their ideas and concept to a panel of judges and the audiences. The pitching was straightforward, fair, honest and genuine.

According to the organizers, events like this, although small at first, are crucial in building connections and establishing a network within the blockchain community, to build trust and earn supporters that will make them become a member of the community.

For the audience and investors, Crossfire is an excellent opportunity to find projects that are not afraid to receive criticisms and answer questions, while listening to the opinion of others to make their project better, Seiche added.

“The blockchain technology is often reduced to Bitcoin. But Bitcoin is reduced to scams sometimes. Depending on the country you move in, the Philippines has a vibrant blockchain community, with the government taking an open-minded attitude and the public seems ready to accept the concept. But in other countries, when you issue an ICO (initial coin offering), you are immediately tagged as a scammer. Just because of the bad reputation,” she said.

Data gathered by IcoData.io showed that ICO financing ground to a halt this month, with nearly half of projects failing to raise any funds and the amount of capital committed totaled only $17.5 million. The report cited the number of fraudulent ICOs and expanded regulatory efforts to protect investors as the reasons.

Seiche said it is now more critical to develop the blockchain community and help investors distinguish between “good” and the “bad” projects by creating a venue for ICO representatives and the investors to meet on a level playing field and engage in candid conversation.