One woman emerges triumphant as Staffz, represented by 25-year-old Pearl Janine de Guzman, beat out three other teams in a final pitch to an international panel of judges, coming out on top as the winner of the start-up business reality series Project GO, and the recipient of its P1 million cash prize.

With the guidance of Project GO Mentors who put the show’s Top 4 Contestants through rigorous bootcamps, De Guzman made a final pitch to the show’s panel of judges, which was comprised of seasoned business veterans: Lyrna Esmeralda-Hewitt, President & Co-Founder of Bona Fortuna Farms, Inc; Carlo Buenaflor, CEO of Biggs, In; James Carroll, President of GoDaddy International; and Jodi Valenta, Vice President of Global Marketing at GoDaddy

“We looked forward to hearing innovative ideas and solutions that fit actual market needs and clarity in the approach to fulfill those needs,” says Carroll. “The contestants more than delivered. We were very impressed with the creativity, skill and passion that we witnessed in their presentations.” 

The judges followed a scoring system that graded each of the Top 4 Contestants’ final pitch on a variety of stringent criteria, including originality, potential for growth and profit, and feasibility of plans. At the end of this rigorous process, Staffz emerged as the winner.

Staffz is an outsourcing solutions portal, and one that also includes advocacy. The roster of skilled workers that carry out SEO, copywriting and graphic design services for their clients are all underprivileged youths trained in these specialized skills by the core team of Staffz. This business model allows them to offer cost-effective services to small and medium enterprises around the world, while also opening more inclusive job opportunities to those who may not otherwise have them.

While De Guzman and her collaborators are careful to remain grounded in the reality that it is not a simple task to end poverty or change the world, they run Staffz with the optimism that they can make a genuine impact in the lives of others.

“I truly feel humbled and honored that Staffz was chosen as the winner of Project GO,” De Guzman shares. “My teammates and I are immensely grateful to our friends, our families, the Mentors, GoDaddy and AXN Asia for this opportunity. As we journey from this new beginning, we will continue to scale more businesses and bridge bigger dreams, one task at a time.”

Derek Wong, Vice President and Head of Production at KC Global Media Asia, has this to say: “AXN is proud to crown Staffz as the first-ever winner of Project GO. With their truly innovative and empathic business model, Staffz is set to turn even more dreams into reality, which resonates with what Project GO has aimed to do from the beginning.”

The full season of Project GO is available to stream for free on AXN Asia and GoDaddy Asia’s YouTube channels. For more information and exclusive content on Project GO, audiences can visit the official website at www.axn-asia.com/ProjectGO or follow AXN Asia on Facebook and Instagram.

About the Author

Apple Gamboa is the Life Editor of SubSelfie.com

She is also the Creative Team Lead of PayMaya, the leading digital financial services provider in the country. 

She was previously a Media Relations Manager for Ogilvy Philippines and an interview and field producer for GMA News programs Quick Response Team and News to Go. She was also a producer of lifestyle TV shows and documentaries. Travelling and music are her passion, and taking risks is her reality medicine. Journalism 2010, UST. Read more of her articles here.