Ateneo Entrep Corner: Doing Business the Gokong-way

Magis. A latin word meaning “more” or “better”—doing more, for Christ, and therefore doing more for others. Magis is what turns startups into conglomerates; product ideas into acclaimed brands. It’s the philosophy that made excellence a long-standing tradition of Ateneo de Manila University’s John Gokongwei School of Management. Home to top corporate executives and successful businessmen, the John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM) is about producing leaders who push the envelope not only on business innovation and strategy but also on social responsibility.

Furthering the Gokongwei brand of commitment to progress, Robinsons Land Corporation, real estate arm of JG Summit Holdings, through the Robinsons Malls’ Entrep Corner project collaborates with Ateneo de Manila University in the first Ateneo Entrep Bazaar. From October 23 to 25 at Robinsons Galleria, the Ateneo Entrep Bazaar will showcase the flagship brands of 22 student-run companies from JGSoMBA (JGSOM Business Accelerator) and JSEC (John Gokongwei Student Enterprise Center). With JSGSOMBA groups coming from different Management programs, the bazaar offers an eclectic mix of products and services--luxury bean-to-bar chocolates, non-toxic paint remover, deodorizing patches, temporary hair dyes, mobile applications, etc.—all of which are the students’ own making. One company, run by Management in Applied Chemistry seniors, offers heating pads to warm cooked food for relief operations. From JSEC on the other hand are two food companies both run by non-Management students only in their sophomore year. Each company was subject to the same screening process as regular prospective tenants of Robinsons Malls.

For a generation so notoriously linked to narcissism and a strong sense of entitlement, it can be easy to agree with playwright George Bernard Shaw when he said that youth is wasted on the young. Luckily, there are a determined few who are out to prove him otherwise.