A social network that connects people according to hobby (obsessions, I call them obsessions god damn it!) and location, was proclaimed top cheese in the first Start-up Weekend Manila!

The 3 day event was held at the Meridian International (Mint) College, Bonifacio Global City, where almost 300 Pinoy developers and designers shared ideas, formed teams, and built potential start-up businesses.

On day 1, participants pitched their respective start-up ideas, ranging from an online learning tool, a hub for music addicts (this is an original idea. I’m being sarcastic.), a platform for hobbyists, an Internet application for farmers (if there were a second place, this should be it), a mobile application that tells you which gas stations offer the cheapest fuel (good service, but I foresee some problems, mainly from the big three petrol providers). More than 60 ideas were pitched, 27 succeeded to round 2. Fight!

On day 2, teams drilled down to the operational details of their respective ideas. Product prototypes were built with the help of their “mentors”. Fight!

On day 3, the teams presented their masterpieces, in the form of a short pitch to a panel of judges. Fight!

In the end, there can be only one. HobbyMash decapitated all other contenders. Thunder roared, lightning flashed. Their idea: connecting people according to hobby and location, allowing them to meet up, create groups, collaborate on projects and showcase their collections.

HobbyMash will receive USD15K 15K Sing Dollars to help fund their start-up; they will also participate in the JFDI-SingTel Innov8 Bootcamp in Singapore scheduled on January to April 2012 where they will be part of intensive product development training sessions.  HobbyMash will be joined by other Start-up Weekend teams from Australia, India, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

Minette Navarrete, Globe Head for New Business:

“Start-up Weekend Manila was indeed a celebration of Filipino innovation. The response of developers, designers, and aspiring entrepreneurs to the first-ever Start-up Weekend in the Philippines was amazing, and Globe is pleased to have been instrumental in building the start-up community in the country… There was so much talent, passion and a genuine drive to make things happen. HobbyMash is a great example: they listened intently to the mentors, and incorporated lots of the pointers in their final pitch. We think they will gain a lot from the seed funding and 100-day bootcamp in Singapore, to turn their pitch into a real live business, real soon.”