Introducing the Icreatechs builders community

Icreatechs started with a simple idea: if you run a small business or you are building something in the Philippines, you should be able to explain it in under a minute, in your own voice, and have real people listen.

That is still the heart of it. In the iPhone app, founders record a 15 to 60 second voice pitch, and everyone gets ten votes a day to back the ones they believe in. Alongside it is a 26-lesson course in plain English on the things nobody teaches you in one place: DTI and BIR registration, margins, getting paid through GCash, finding customers, and pitching.

But a pitch is a beginning, not an end. Once people heard each other, they started asking for the same things. Where can I find testers? Does anyone know a developer who will build this for a small shop? Who else is building in Cebu? When is the next meetup?

So today we are opening up the rest of the house. Icreatechs is now a community for Filipino builders: founders, makers, freelancers, students, sari-sari owners and app developers who want to build something real and help each other do it.

Here is what is here, and how to use it.

The showcase

The showcase is a directory of things Filipinos are building: startups, small businesses, apps, side projects, agencies and nonprofits. Each listing says what it is, what stage it is at (idea, building, beta, launched, earning, funded), where it is based, and what the team is looking for right now.

That last part is the point. A listing is not a trophy case. It is a way to say "we are looking for a co-founder" or "we need beta testers in Davao" to the people most likely to help.

Submitting happens in the app. Download Icreatechs on your iPhone, record your pitch and publish. Your startup shows up on the showcase automatically. Here is how.

Builders

Builders are the people behind the listings. A builder profile collects someone's projects in one place, so you can see who is working on what and reach out to collaborate.

The community board

The board is where asks and offers live. It is organised around the things builders actually need from each other:

• Testers. "I need ten people with Android phones to try my app for a week."
• Co-founders. "Looking for a technical co-founder for a logistics idea in Iloilo."
• Hiring. Part-time, freelance and full-time roles at small Filipino teams.
• Build requests. "I run a bakery and I need a simple ordering page. Who can build it?"

Post what you need. Answer what you can. The board works best when everyone does both.

Events

Events lists pitch nights, meetups, workshops, demo days and online sessions run by us and by the community. Some will be in person, many will be online so builders outside Metro Manila can join. When we run a pitch night, pitches recorded in the app are a natural way to get on the list.

If you are organising something useful for Filipino builders and want it listed, tell us in the Discord.

The blog and resources

The blog is where we publish guides like the ones already up: how to pitch in 45 seconds, a plain map to registering your business, pricing and margin and a launch checklist for app makers. We write in plain English, we check the facts that matter, and we tell you where to confirm the numbers that change.

Resources is a short, curated list of the official sites and tools Filipino builders actually use: DTI's name registration, BIR's online registration, SEC, government startup programs, payment providers and the app store consoles. We only list links we have checked.

Discord and Facebook

The fastest way into the community is to join where the conversation happens:

• Discord is for live conversation: feedback rooms where you can post your pitch and get honest notes, channels for registration and tax questions, app makers, and small-business owners, plus voice rooms for pitch nights.
• The Facebook group is for announcements, launches, wins and questions, for people who prefer Facebook to another app.

Both are free. Both have the same simple rules: be kind, be honest, help before you ask, and do not spam your product in someone else's thread. Our community guidelines spell them out.

Who this is for

You do not need a startup, a pitch deck or a funding round to belong here. If you sell longganisa from your kitchen, run a repair shop, are building your first app in school, or have an idea you have not told anyone about yet, this is for you.

What we ask is that you are building something real, and that you are willing to help someone else build theirs.

What is coming

We would rather under-promise, so here is what we are working on without dates attached:

• more ways for a pitch in the app to connect to a showcase listing and a builder profile
• regular online pitch nights, so recordings get heard live and get feedback in the room
• more guides on the questions the community keeps asking

We will build more of this with you than for you. If something is missing, tell us in the Discord. That is where most of what you see here started.

Start here

1. Download Icreatechs on iPhone and record your 45-second pitch.
2. Publish your startup in the app so it lands on the showcase.
3. Join the Discord and the Facebook group.
4. Post one ask on the board, and answer one.

Welcome. Let us build together.