10 must-follow thought leaders in the Philippine tech scene

For most Tech in Asia readers, this point needs no driving home: Twitter matters.

As entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts, the microblogging site is where we get our business news, network with new people, stay on top of trends, build connections, and market ourselves and our companies.

Who we follow, and in turn who we willfully accept news, ideas, links, thoughts, questions, and curiosities from, can shape our careers – for better and for worse. The 10 thought leaders presented below will give your Twitter feed an instant upgrade in brainpower.

This list is of course by no means scientific or definitive (there is just one person back here, behind the authoritative voice, manning the selections – Ezra Ferraz, or more appropriately, @EzraFerraz), but we hope the recommended accounts might in some way boost your business savvy one Tweet at a time.

Nick Galan @nick_galan

Satoshi Citadel Industries, an umbrella company for Bitcoin-based ventures in the Philippines, has released four in just the last six weeks alone: Bitmarket, Bitstars, Rebit, and Coinage. And they’re not done either, as SCI head of product Luis Buenaventura says, “Our product release calendar for 2014 has more bullets on it than a Quentin Tarantino movie, and I think I’m gonna need a new keyboard soon.”

Who is driving this frenetic pace? It’s SCI CEO Nick Galan. Though Galan named SCI after the elusive creator of Bitcoin, he takes a much more open approach to his own affairs on Twitter. Galan regularly tweets about what it’s like to be a crypto-entrepreneur in a country where Bitcoin stands to make a historical impact.

TL;DR: If you want the inside scoop on how Bitcoin is set to change the Philippines, Galan is your man.

Writing a #bitcoin related business plan is more akin to writing a poem than following a recipe.

— nick galan (@nick_galan) June 3, 2014

Paul Rivera @privera

Paul Rivera’s mantra is “always be pitching,” and his Twitter feed is an embodiment of that. On the most obvious level, he tweets about what it’s like to lead as CEO of Kalibrr, which aims to use machine learning to change the way companies recruit and hire. On another level, he also tweets regularly about Kickstart Ventures and ManilaAngels, along with other happenings in the Area 55 ecosystem. Here, too, Rivera is pitching. As a Berkeley graduate, a former Googler, and Y Combinator graduate, Rivera is pitching the Philippines to the world.

TL;DR: Rivera has paved the way for Philippine startups, and if you want to know where we’re going next, you should keep up with him.

Vince Golangco @VinceGolangco

John Arce @johnarcews

Jonha Revesencio @jonharules

Christian Besler @christianbesler

Natasha Bautista @natashabautista

Tonyo Cruz @tonyocruz

Nix Nolledo @nixnolledo

Noreen Bautista @noreenbautista