Founder Spotlight: Roy Javelosa of GIO

Founder Spotlight: Roy Javelosa of GIO

Tracking employee efficiency: Monitoring locations of work ethic

By Glacer Barnett

Perhaps the most noticeable feature of economic progress would be the shift of central activity from having things done manually to having things done digitally; we see this with how, as time goes by, society carries on to place a bigger reliance on digitalized platforms to do their work—this usually results to a better economy and accordingly a better life. Filipinos, seeing the benefits that this practice has given to other countries, is already adapting to this lifestyle, not only in terms of how they reach out to one another but also in terms of how they conduct their businesses. In order to enhance general conditions, companies are going to have to continue to open their minds to taking risks by putting their faith on the power of the digital domain. Mobile technology can greatly assist companies to accurately track their employees efficiency and monitor their mobile workforce in real-time.

The vision meant to be achieved by GIO

Jose, commonly known as “Roy”, Javelosa is an engineer-turned-entrepreneur. Involved in software engineering, designing, and web developing, some of Roy’s many occupational achievements include the leading of the web development for CRIBS—the first in-house Billing and Rating system in the Philippines—and CDRMS—a Business Intelligence and Data warehouse application providing near real-time reports and dashboards.

Additionally, Roy was involved in the publication of a mobile development guide. With a good career history, it is no wonder that Roy ended up using his creativity and skill for the creation of GIO, a web application designed to support organizations with a mobile and dispersed workforce. GIO offers to handle situations that lack infrastructure or data coverage.

Roy’s experience working for different companies exposed him to different time and attendance methods. He realized that the Bundy clock method isn’t accurate. As it is prone to errors and contains many loopholes, some employees are able to “steal time.” Thousands of pesos in revenue is lost monthly due to this.

By cheating their time, employees also rob companies of the capacity of fully maximizing proficiencies of workforce. It renders organizations incapable of offering the best quality of service for customers.

Envisioning a solution, Roy and his teammates, Anne and Roel, sought to create GIO.

The name GIO was derived from the term “geolocation technology.” Companies with geolocation are able to plot certain locations on a map and have their employees’ mobile phones assigned to those specific locations. Employees are clocked in once work hours start, and are clocked out once they end.

Time theft also sometimes occurs between work hours. With GIO, the company is alerted when an employee leaves their designated area, making it easier to keep track of all the staff working in the organization.

Ordeals that engineers-turned-entrepreneurs are bound to face

Being an engineer-turned-entrepreneur, Roy faces new challenges to overcome. These difficulties also allow him to improve his work ethic along the way.

A stepping stone to becoming a better entrepreneur would be to communicate well with people. Being a programmer, it could prove to be difficult to get accustomed to this kind of behavior. But according to Roy, the deficiency of social skills is the only hurdle that he needs to surmount. His mentality of seeing events as opportunities to learn and grow as an entrepreneur has helped him along the way. He also feels more inspired to improve his work ethic when he meets competent people.

Roy is most confident with his other abilities. With his skills, teammates, his fiancée, Anne, and his good friend Roel, he doesn’t have to face his challenges alone. Roy met his teammates at his telephone company. They have been working together for an incredible time period of eight years. Loyalty, trust, and honesty are held within the team. All of which ultimately result to their competence, quality, and strength. They can be honest with one another about their shortcomings, but also have trust over each other’s abilities. They all believe in the startup and are willing to sacrifice important time for its success. They are patient, as they know that the fruits of one’s efforts do not immediately come by.They will put the trial of GIO to as long as three years. If it fails to succeed by three years’ time, it is okay; it shall serve to be a learning experience for their future business endeavours.

The future of startups and how Filipinos are to use them for their own appropriation

Roy has been planning GIO as early as 2011. It was through engaging in Ideaspace that he gained the confidence needed for his business. Regarding the startup scene here in the Philippines, Roy noticed that while Filipinos aren’t natural risk-takers, they like to start small businesses, especially online. If there is an opportunity for a low, feasible investment, they will do it. Although really, the problem is the limited buying power which prevents them from doing startups.

With the current economy, they’d rather opt for the usual jobs to secure their lifestyle. Hence he knows that the working population is capable of so much more, and not just the young entrepreneurs startup campaigns usually target.

Another hindrance would be the lack of internet infrastructure to support business endeavours. There is not only a deficiency of information on how to build startups, but also on information on how to properly fund them.

To solve these problems, Roy believes that Filipinos should put more focus on the sustainability of their startups instead of the growth; to just focus on sustainable target markets and expand internationally after.

Furthermore, politicians involving themselves in the advocacy of startups would also be a great help. Bam Aquino is a senator in the Philippines, and a lot of his bills in the senate are made to support startups. To Roy, once the internet infrastructure improves and once more politicians express their encouragement for startups, not only through words but also through actions, the Philippines will definitely improve in the startup scene.