Beyond SolutionsFest: The People Behind Our Next Chapter

“Make Agriculture Sexy Again”

The day after the event, we met Regan Rex King at our school, and we had a quick but meaningful conversation about Tabo and agriculture. One thing he told us stuck with me:

“Make agriculture sexy again.”

It sounds like a simple statement, but the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. Agriculture is one of the most important industries in our country, yet it isn't always presented in a way that excites the younger generations.

He also reminded us that building a business will always come with trials and roadblocks. There will be moments when things don't work, plans will fall apart, and progress will feel slow at times. What separates a good team from a great one is how they respond to those setbacks.

That was something we needed to hear. Winning SolutionsFest gave us confidence, but his advice reminded us that we were still at the beginning of a much longer journey.

Learning How to Tell the Tabo Story

A few days later, we met up with Kalle Rantti, who has a similar business venture focused on e-commerce and farm-to-market. What stood out immediately was his passion. His excitement was contagious, and you could instantly tell how much he cared about agriculture just from the way he talked about it.

Our conversation with him changed the way we looked at social media and marketing. He taught us about what draws people into a business, how to create better videos, and most importantly, how to capture an audience through storytelling. After our conversation, we realized how important storytelling is. If people do not understand why our app matters, it doesn't matter how good the application is. People need a reason to care.

The meeting was genuinely fun, and I hope we get the opportunity to work with him again in the future.

Beyond the Application

We had the opportunity to meet Ms. Vanessa again, this time to talk about marketing.

We discussed target audiences, branding, how brands are built, and what we should do with the network we are developing around Tabo. She gave us advice and concepts that we are already beginning to apply with Tabo, along with leads and possible events we could collaborate on in the future. What I appreciated the most was how willing she was to share her knowledge with us.

Sometimes, when you're working on a startup, it's easy to become so focused on the product that you forget there's an entire world around it. Sure, an application can be well-built, but if you don't know who you're building it for, how to communicate its value, or how to build relationships around it, the product can only go so far. The conversation we had really helped us understand Tabo beyond just the application.

Turning an Idea Into Something Real

The following day, my team met with Jaypee Labella. Coincidentally, Tabo actually aligns with one of his initiatives focused on improving farming in the province and the city.

He offered to help us connect with the proper officials to help streamline our operations. We were also given the opportunity to be recognized by the Sangguniang Bayan and have our achievement posted on their official Facebook page.

For us, this was more than just something we could add to our portfolio.There were actual people and organizations who were interested in what we were trying to accomplish and were willing to help us take the next step. That realization was needed.

The Conversations We Needed to Have

One of our next meetings was with the people behind Mata.ph, Ryan Tan Yu and Bastian Lauer.

Ryan taught us something that wasn't necessarily about the application itself, but about the team behind Tabo. He talked to us about commitment, the amount of time we put into the business, and the importance of having the difficult conversations early on. His advice was simple: “don't avoid conversations that need to happen. Sometimes, you need to talk about the uncomfortable things before they become bigger problems.”

That conversation gave us the opportunity to share our own stories, understand where each of us are coming from, and become more open with one another. It helped us make sure that everyone was on the same page, to reduce the possibility of misunderstandings in the future.

For a team that has been working together for so long, that was something we really needed.

Building an App That Can Grow

While Ryan focused more on the people behind the business, Bastian gave us a different perspective: the technology behind it.

He was impressed with our data architecture, but he also pointed out something important: simplicity matters, especially at the beginning. Our discussion eventually centered around two words: scalability and flexibility. He emphasized that a good application isn't necessarily one with the most features. It's one that can adapt. As Tabo grows, we need to be able to make changes quickly, respond to those new needs, and improve the application.

That was an important lesson for us as developers. Sometimes, it's tempting to build everything you can imagine when you're excited about an idea. But building a good product also means knowing what not to build yet.

It’s More Than a Competition

These are only a few of the many people we've met during and after SolutionsFest.

Looking back, the Grand Champion title is something we will always be proud of. But the most valuable part of the experience was everything that came after. The conversations, the criticism, the advice, the connections, and the people who were willing to help us grow.

Each person gave us something different. Some taught us how to pitch. Others taught us how to market, tell stories, build better technology, strengthen our team, and create meaningful connections. All of these lessons are slowly becoming part of who Tabo is.

We entered SolutionsFest hoping to prove that our idea had potential, but we left realizing that we now have a responsibility to turn that potential into something real. Tabo is still far from where we want it to be. There will undoubtedly be more setbacks, more problems, and more things we don't know how to solve yet.

But for now, we know that we don't have to figure everything out alone. To everyone who took the time to talk to us, challenge our ideas, share their experiences, and support Tabo, thank you so much.

SolutionsFest may have given us our first major win, but the people we met afterward reminded us that winning was never the finish line. It was the starting point.