‘Networking is simply the cultivating of mutually beneficial, give and take, win-win relationships. It works best, however, when emphasizing the “give” part.’ Bob Burg, Author

When we started dabbing with the idea of the Blockchain technology and how to utilize it within the real estate transactions space, we found out that aside from busting our heads, writing thousands of lines of codes, we also needed to build our following: people who believe in the project and supports it, people who share the same vision of a friction less cross-border, buying and selling experience.

Our success at this point, was more reliant on the network, the community that we build.

And so, we made a decision to visit and host meet-ups in different blockchain and crypto heavy countries. We also prioritized attending events to meet and network potential partners, investors and team members. After all, it is on such events that we got to meet and on-board one of our blockchain dev’s, Andrey.

That said, let’s take a look at some of the events we’ve attended these past weeks:

June 28th–29th, Singapore Expo, Singapore

e27’s flagship platform, Echelon, brings together startups, investors, corporates, governments, tech ecosystem players and customers. As Asia’s biggest tech conference, you can get insights from leading thought leaders on business and tech trends, lessons and tips about Asia’s market.

You’ll also meet and build relationships as well as showcase your product/services to thousands of potential customers and partners, from fellow startup entrepreneurs to SME’s, big corporations and governments.

Ray (left most) with SCIs Miguel Cuneta and Flyspaces’ Mario Berta on a panel discussion at Echelon 2018

Ray was also invited to be a part of a panel discussion with Mr. Cuneta, Chief Community Officer of SCI and, Mr. Berta, CEO of Flyspaces, about why emerging markets need to embrace blockchain to accelerate financial inclusion improve the middle class.

July 2nd, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

A 2-day event hosted by both the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and the City Government of Kaohsiung aims to promote “Online to Offline” (O2O) integration strategies to drive economic development and expand digital business opportunities.

Attended by numerous representatives from 20 different countries including Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. The summit’s focus is to promote the digital transformation of small and medium enterprises throughout the region.

AQWIRE & Beam and Go winning the pitching competetion at APEC O2O Summit 2018

As part of the event, a pitching competition was held where Jacqui (AQWIRE) and Jonathan (Beam and Go) were held champions!

Judges and audiences alike were completely amazed and stunned at both of their pitches as they demonstrated their expertise of the business and knowledge of the industry they’re in.

Congratulations, Jacqui and Jonathan!

June 13th, Old Billingsgate, London

Join the pioneers, innovators and thought leaders of the Blockchain industry as they examine all aspects of the Blockchain industry and answer questions like:

Blockchain — What is a blockchain and why is everyone talking about it?

— What is a blockchain and why is everyone talking about it? Impact — How will cryptocurrencies and blockchain impact differnet industries?

— How will cryptocurrencies and blockchain impact differnet industries? Wallets — What is a cryptocurrency wallet and how does it work?

— What is a cryptocurrency wallet and how does it work? Regulation — How is the regulation landscape looking and how is it going to change?

— How is the regulation landscape looking and how is it going to change? Innovation — Which companies are innovation the Blockchain space and what they are doing.

Zeeshan Feroz, CEO of Coinbase (UK) at MJAC 2018

CBRE: The Impact of Blockchain Technology on the Real Estate Industry

June 14th, St. Martin’s Court, London.

Ray, AQWIRE CEO, was invited to be a panel speaker and guest presenter at CBRE’s 2nd annual client event entitled: The Impact of Blockchain Technology on the Real Estate industry.

Ray discussing The Foundations of Blockchain in Real Estate at CBRE’s 2nd annual client event in London

Before joining the rest of the panel, he presented an interesting topic entitled: ‘The Foundations of Blockchain in Real Estate’. He talked about the many difficulties and redundancies the real estate industry has been facing for many decades and how a technology like the Blockchain can help revolutionize this and establish a more convenient, cost-effective and overall, a more friction less real estate experience for all parties involved, globally.

Ray also joined the panel with Mr. Andrew Gaiziunas, Co-Founder & CTO of Turbadium, Mr. Niel Robson, Partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman UK LLP, Ms. Judy Zhu, Associate Director of CBRE Valuation & Advisory Services, and Mr. Paul Kapiris, Director of CBRE Hotels Investment Properties.

Ray (2nd to the left) at CBRE’s 2nd Annual Client Event.

June 22nd to 23rd, SMX Convention Center, Pasay, Philippines

Now on its 2nd year, Techtonic Summit 2018 brings a plethora of important players in the business, government and academe sectors into one roof.

From keynote speakers, to renowned venture capitalists and established institutional investors, from students to start-up entrepreneurs, from start-up coaches and mentors to founders who’ve successfully exited. The event celebrates the successful stories of SME’s scaling up, the vibrantly growing Philippine start-up communities, and the roles and goals of different government sectors in helping these start-ups and SME’s grow.

From Left to Right: Francis Simisim (Original Pitch VC), RJ Ledesma (Mercato Centralle), Ray Refundo (Qwikwire), Ravi Agarwal (engageSPARK), Magellan Fetalino (Acudeen) & Michael Blakey (Cocoon Capital)

As part of the 2-day event, Ray Refundo, CEO, was invited to be part of a panel discussion about ‘How Start-ups can be Ready for Global Expansion’. Joined by distinguished gentlemen and hosted by Mr. Ledesma, they shared their unique thoughts and insights from different perspectives as founders and investors.

QBO’s: 1337 Ventures’: Alpha Startup Fintech Roadshow & DTI Innovation Circle Start-up 101

June 13th and July 2nd, QBO Innovation Hub, Makati City

Head of Business Dev., Elross (left most) and CMO, Inno (Middle) together with Colin of Coins.ph on a panel discussion about their experiences as a Fintech Startup in the Philippines.

We were fortunate enough to have been invited on 2 separate events by QBO Philippines.

1337 Ventures’: Alpha Startup Fintech Roadshow

1337 is a technology accelerator and early stage venture capital focused on doing pre-seed and seed stage investments in Malaysia as well as South East Asia.

As part of their 4–week FinTech pre-acceleration program, they’ll discuss in-depth into the financial sector and help young founders effectively use new technology to realize gains and profit from identifying new opportunities while building useful products and services that solve real world problems.

Qwikwire’s Head of Bus. Dev., Elross, and CMO, Inno, together with Coins.ph’s Head of Cryptocurrency, Colin, shared their unique individual experiences as early employees of Fintech start-ups, the learnings and strategies they’ve acquired over the years and thoughts of the future of Fintech in the country and the region.

Lastly…

DTI Innovation Circle Start-up 101

As part of the Department of Trade and Industry’s Innovation Circle Start-up 101, attended by members of the department, several startup founders and members of their executive team were invited for a panel discussion.

OneWatt CEO, Emman, Qwikwire CMO, Inno, Pushkart.ph CEO, Joshua and Admov CEO, Ellard optimistically shared their knowledge and experience about the Philippines’ start-up scene. The challenges each of them faced individually and as a part of a start-up and how they overcame it.

The event highlighted the importance of having a direct understanding of how can the government assist and help young entrepreneurs and their businesses to blossom and become multinational companies.

Stay tuned for more event updates soon!