Entrepreneurship Fundamentals Training with Renjie Butalid

April 4, 2021

The Philippine Centre Canada launched the second component of the Livelihood and Entrepreneurship Training (LET) on February 23. Three more sessions followed on February 25, March 2, and March 4. The LET was part of the PCC’s COVID-19 response projects for young Filipino-Canadians (18 to 40 years old). The LET’s aim was to prepare the participants in setting up an enterprise out of a promising business idea.

The workshops were facilitated by Mr. Renjie Butalid, a Filipino-Canadian and Managing Director at Louis Roxas & Associates, a consulting firm. Mr. Butalid is a frequent lecturer of entrepreneurship fundamentals at McGill University, University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, and New York University, to name a few. He draws his expertise from mentoring start-ups in various fields while serving as Associate Director of the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship at McGill University.

The entrepreneurship training was a series of three workshops (3.5 hours each) and one pitch presentation session (1.5 hours), for a total of 12 hours.

Day 1 – February 23

The first workshop focused on entrepreneurship fundamentals- from creative brainstorming and idea generation to the introduction of a start-up methodology and framework for a product or service. The Business Model Canvas was discussed in detail, and the participants were asked to work on an initial draft for the next session.

Day 2 – February 25

The focus of the second workshop was the participants’ initial customer(s). Mr. Butalid discussed the considerations a start-up entrepreneur should make when selecting their initial target market. Building on the first workshop, the participants shared their own Business Model Canvas. There was a wide range of business ideas in the group, including a floral arrangement business in Winnipeg, custom garment business by a fashion designer in Ottawa, and a software to make Calculus learning more fun, to name a few.

Day 3 – March 2

In preparation for the final session, the third workshop focused on building a compelling start-up narrative. The participants reviewed the various elements of a start-up pitch based on pitches made by successful start-ups. They were given a pitch deck template by Mr. Butalid, who helped them build a metric-driven narrative.

Day 4 – March 4

The Livelihood and Entrepreneurship Training concluded with pitch presentations by Ms. Aira Fusilero Villanueva (Instagram: Fleur de Fusilero) and Mr. Joseph Puzon (Instagram: Joe.Puzi). Both participants have been solely running own their business, a floral arrangement business in Winnipeg and a custom fashion line in Ottawa, respectively. Other participants and viewers were given the chance to ask the presenters questions about their business for the purpose of improving their pitch. The session ended with closing remarks from Mr. Butalid, Ms. Jean Roxas, Project Coordinator, and Ms. Lota Bertulfo, PCC Vice-Chair for Internal Affairs.