Former radio disc jockey Carlos Hinolan has built a successful startup company with just Php500.
Hinolan pioneered sensory branding in the Philippines with AudioWav Media, a tech company founded in 2003 that provides WAV proprietary devices to allow businesses to give the best customer service.
Multi-sensory branding customizes audio, visuals and scents for food and convenience stores allowing them to give customers personalized experiences. AudioWav provides audio players, LED screens, and scent diffusers.
The AudioWav chief talked to the Inquirer about how he wanted to have his own radio station when he was younger and ending up getting his big break by customizing the sound of a popular fast food chain.
Hinolan bought a microphone with the Php500 to create a customized voice content.
"You could say I was lucky that we created relevant content for those 238 stores. And they used that content to tell their customers what's for breakfast, what's for lunch, what's for merienda and what they can take home to their families," the AudioWav CEO said about his work for Chowking.
The tech entrepreneur said he was able to convince the large food chain to be his client with his belief in the content of his product, "It's not about how small you are … It's about how good your content is. At the end of the day, content will always be king."
"Now that we have our own platform and we realize we can do (business) in Singapore and Indonesia, we are looking at doing the whole of Asia and that's why we're listing the company.
We're opening it to everybody so that everybody wins and grows," he said.
AudioWav’s initial public offering (IPO) is valued at Php2.66 billion on the Philippine Stock Exchange.
