Spelldial’s ambitious plan combines the best of Google and Facebook

Albert Padin is something like a mini-rockstar within the technology startup scene in Cebu, Philippines.

At 24, the entrepreneur is three years behind his schoolwork, and he is in no urgency to complete his studies. Yet, he was the invited guest speaker at his university’s graduation ceremony.

Truth is, Albert did not graduate because he has decided to focus on his startup, SpellDial.

Actually, starting this business is part of his graduation requirements at the Center of International Education. But since students can choose how long they will take to complete the course, Albert decided to spend more time to bring SpellDial forward.

While he could have submited his report earlier, he notes that students who end up with successful businesses can win Entrepreneur of the Year awards.

“Some students take five years before they graduate, but when they do they build solid businesses,” he says, “if I want to graduate, I want to graduate with an award. There’s no rush really… I can keep doing this, until I want to work for something else, which I don’t want to.”

Albert’s SpellDial was one of the startups that pitched at the ON3 Startup Pitching Competition’s Visayas round. The winners of the grand finals, slated to happen in July, will embark on a three month immersion and funding mission to Silicon Valley.

As he pitched, his eloquence and confidence impressed the judges and the audience.

He shared a well-rehearsed story of SpellDial’s genesis, beginning with a complaint about how expensive and bad the canteen food was in his school.

“But on the way to school, I passed by billboards from Jollibee, McDolnalds, and KFC — good stuff, not healthy, but yummy stuff.”

One day, he realized that he simply cannot remember the phone number on the advertisements, despite the thousands of dollars poured into their marketing campaigns.

“But with SpellDial, you can replace the number with a name. Can you imagine that conversion factor; how much more transactions will happen, how much more business will be conducted? It’s just freaky to think about,” he says, almost daring us to do it.

His vision is evidently enticing. A small crowd, young students probably, formed around him after the pitch to witness a demonstration of the product.