Young entrepreneurs from the country’s top universities took the spotlight at the recently concluded Big 3 Startup Showdown, a student-led hackathon aimed at developing practical solutions to real-world problems.

The final pitch event was held at Maya’s Launchpad Building headquarters, where participants delivered one-minute presentations to a panel of industry professionals.

From the original pool of student teams, three groups emerged as winners: LittleBranch, a platform designed to help parents discover and book child-friendly activities across the Philippines; Quasar, an AI-powered loan approval platform aimed at streamlining credit processes for banks and financial institutions; and Venyu, a digital venue-booking service for sports courts across Metro Manila.

The winning teams earned a P30,000 cash prize each to support their upcoming participation in Geeks on a Beach 2025, a global beachside tech conference where game-changing ideas are pitched to global investors and thought leaders.

Industry leaders joined the judging panel, including Maya Chief Product Officer Mitch Padua, mWell CIO Albert Padin, Google Philippines Customer Engineer Loys Talip, and Gobi Core Founding Partner Carlo Delantar, offering critical feedback and real-world insights.

“We witnessed incredible ingenuity from these top universities — ideas grounded in real-world problems and driven by purpose,” Maya’s Mr. Padua said. “That’s the magic of young innovators: they’re not just coding apps — they’re crafting solutions. At Maya, we’re proud to champion that mindset. It’s exactly how we began — by daring to reimagine the way things are done.”

The showdown was organized with the support of respected faculty from the participating schools, led by Prof. Bowei Gai (La Salle), with the support of Prof. Jose Emmanuel Reverente (University of the Philippines), and Prof. Joseph Benjamin Ilagan (Ateneo de Manila University).

“This event isn’t just about winning pitches — it’s about opening doors,” Prof. Gai said. “Ateneo, La Salle, and UP worked together on this event with the shared goal of giving students the chance to pitch to real VCs and product leaders, and learn how their ideas can translate into real-world solutions. That experience alone is game-changing.”

While the event built countless bridges of opportunity for the participants, it also created a new network among the country’s top universities.

“It’s rare — and really special — to see students from UP, La Salle, and Ateneo come together like this. Events like this allow them to go beyond the classroom and see what it really takes to compete at a high level. They get to pitch not just to mentors, but to real investors who challenge them with tough, real-world questions,” Prof. Gai added.

“That kind of experience is invaluable — it pushes them to level up, think bigger, and build ventures that not only solve real problems but are also sustainable and investor-ready,” Prof. Reverente said.

Maya is the main sponsor of the Big 3 Startup Showdown, providing the total cash prize pool awarded to the top three teams. More than just funding, Maya’s support was rooted in its mission to uplift young innovators, encourage bold thinking, and help translate fresh ideas into real-world impact.

SparkUp is BusinessWorld’s multimedia brand created to inform, inspire, and empower the Philippine startups; micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); and future business leaders. This section will be published every other Monday. For pitches and releases about startups, e-mail to bmbeltran@bworldonline.com (cc: abconoza@bworldonline.com). Materials sent become BW property.