From Cagayan Valley to Silicon Valley : ‘Filipino Bill Gates’ Dado Banatao

Viva Filipinas

19 Feb 201604:35

Summary

TLDRThis is the inspiring story of D. Bato, a Filipino who grew up in a rural village without electricity and limited resources. Despite the odds, his father encouraged him to focus on his education rather than work in the fields. After earning an engineering degree, D. Bato pursued further studies in America, overcoming challenges and founding a successful company. He shares his vision of empowering future generations of Filipinos through education, technology, and entrepreneurship, believing that every Filipino can achieve success with determination and opportunity.

Takeaways

👨‍👩‍👦 The speaker's name is Bato, and he comes from a rural area in the northern Philippines.
🌾 His father was a farmer, and he grew up in a place without electricity or telephones.
📚 Despite hardships, Bato's father prioritized his education, never asking him to help with farm work.
🏫 Most of Bato's classmates stopped studying after sixth grade to work, but he was encouraged to pursue a better life through education.
📐 He developed a passion for engineering in high school, feeling inferior to city kids but determined to succeed.
✈️ After graduating, Bato moved to the U.S. for better opportunities, pursuing a master's in engineering at Stanford.
💻 He faced failure when starting his first company but persisted, eventually succeeding in creating a successful business.
🇵🇭 Bato highlights that despite the Philippines being a growing economy, many still live in poverty, similar to how he grew up.
🎓 His vision for the future includes improving education, providing scholarships, and encouraging young Filipinos to start companies.
💪 Bato emphasizes that his success stems from determination and hard work, inspiring others that they too can achieve success.

Q & A

Who is the speaker and where does he come from?
-The speaker is D. Bato, and he comes from the north, specifically from Kagan Valley.
What was the profession of the speaker's father, and how did it influence the speaker's education?
-The speaker's father was a farmer. Despite the lack of resources, his father prioritized the speaker’s education and never asked him to help in the fields. He made it clear that his job was to provide food, while the speaker's job was to study.
What challenges did the speaker face during his early education?
-The speaker grew up in a rural area with no electricity or telephones, and he was taught math by moving bamboo sticks. Most of his classmates stopped going to school after sixth grade to work in the fields, but he continued his education.
How did the speaker feel when he attended high school, and why?
-The speaker felt inferior to his high school classmates because they were from the city, while he was the son of a farmer. This made him feel less confident compared to them.
What was the speaker's motivation for studying engineering?
-The speaker fell in love with engineering and wanted to build things. This passion drove him to continue his studies and pursue a career in engineering.
Why did the speaker move to America, and what did he study there?
-The speaker moved to America because there were no design jobs for engineers in the Philippines after he graduated. He applied for a master’s degree in engineering at Stanford University.
How did the speaker overcome feelings of intimidation at Stanford University?
-The speaker felt intimidated at Stanford because everyone seemed smarter than him. To overcome this, he studied twice as hard to succeed.
What challenge did the speaker face when starting his first company, and what was the outcome?
-The speaker's first company, which focused on designing better computer chips, failed. He realized no one told him he could do it, so he had to convince himself to try again.
What is the speaker's perspective on success and failure?
-The speaker believes that his success is a direct result of his beginnings, where will and determination played crucial roles. Despite failures, he persisted, ultimately succeeding in his endeavors.
What vision does the speaker have for the future of the Philippines?
-The speaker envisions a Philippines where every school has internet, deserving students receive scholarships, and young Filipinos start companies that create jobs for millions. He believes that Filipinos, who know hardship, should now learn success.

Outlines

00:00

🌱 Humble Beginnings in the North

D. Bato introduces himself, describing his roots in the northern region of Kagan Valley where his father was a farmer. He shares how his early life was marked by a lack of modern conveniences such as electricity and telephones. Despite these hardships, his father supported his education instead of asking him to work in the fields. This laid the foundation for his academic journey.

📘 Overcoming Inferiority and Finding Passion

As D. Bato transitions to high school far from home, he shares feelings of inferiority, being a farmer’s son surrounded by city kids. While his peers played sports, he focused on his studies, falling in love with engineering. His determination set him on a path to pursue higher education, despite the challenges.

✈️ Journey to America and First Failure

After graduating in the Philippines, D. Bato found no local job opportunities as an engineer, leading him to move to America and pursue a Master's at Stanford University. He describes feeling intimidated by his peers but countered this with hard work. His first entrepreneurial attempt, starting a company to design better computer chips, failed. However, this failure taught him resilience.

🏆 Success Born from Determination

D. Bato explains how his eventual success stemmed from perseverance, despite early setbacks. He emphasizes that his achievements are a direct result of his humble beginnings, symbolizing the resilience and potential of every Filipino. His story reflects not just personal triumph but a collective spirit of determination.

📈 A Vision for the Future of the Philippines

D. Bato envisions a future for the Philippines where education and technology drive growth. He shares his mission through Filev, aiming to provide internet access to schools and scholarships to students, empowering young Filipinos to build businesses and transform the nation’s economy. His personal story serves as a call to action for all Filipinos to realize their potential and share in the nation's success.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Engineer

An engineer is someone who designs, builds, or maintains complex systems or structures. In the video, the narrator mentions that they pursued engineering because of their desire to build things, despite growing up in a rural area with limited resources. Engineering represents both their passion and the means to escape the challenges of their upbringing.

💡Farmer

A farmer is someone who works the land to produce crops or raise livestock. In the script, the narrator's father was a farmer, a role that symbolizes hard work, simplicity, and sacrifice. The father's profession contrasts with the narrator's dream of becoming an engineer, highlighting the theme of pursuing a better life through education.

💡Kagan Valley

Kagan Valley refers to a rural area where the narrator grew up. It represents a life of hardship, with no electricity or modern conveniences. This setting is essential to understanding the narrator's background and the obstacles they had to overcome to achieve success.

💡Education

Education is the process of acquiring knowledge and skills. The video emphasizes the importance of education as the key to escaping poverty and hardship. The narrator's father believed that his role was to provide for the family while the narrator’s 'job' was to study, symbolizing the value placed on education as a path to a better life.

💡Determination

Determination refers to the narrator's resolve to succeed despite numerous obstacles. It is a recurring theme in the video, where the narrator emphasizes how studying harder and trying again after failure led to eventual success. Determination is presented as a trait that every Filipino can possess and use to overcome challenges.

💡Stanford University

Stanford University is a prestigious educational institution where the narrator pursued a master's degree in engineering. Mentioning Stanford highlights the narrator's shift from rural beginnings to global opportunities, symbolizing the success that can come from dedication to education and hard work.

💡Failure

Failure refers to the initial setbacks the narrator faced in starting a business. The narrator's first company did not succeed, but this failure became a learning experience that fueled their determination to try again. Failure in the video is portrayed not as a defeat, but as a stepping stone toward success.

💡Opportunity

Opportunity in the video represents the chances available to those willing to work hard and persevere. The narrator seized the opportunity to study abroad and start businesses, ultimately achieving success. Opportunity is linked to the broader message that Filipinos can create and capitalize on their own opportunities.

💡Philippines

The Philippines is the narrator's home country and represents both the challenges of poverty and the potential for growth. The narrator contrasts the hardship of their upbringing with the country's growing economy, emphasizing the importance of education and entrepreneurship in transforming the lives of Filipinos.

💡Filev

Filev is the company started by the narrator to help provide educational resources to Filipino students. It represents the narrator's vision of a future where education is accessible to all, symbolizing hope and progress for the next generation of Filipinos. Filev embodies the narrator’s desire to give back to their country and create opportunities for others.

Highlights

Introduction by Bato, mentioning his origins from the north and his father being a farmer.

Bato shares his early life challenges, growing up in Kagan Valley with no electricity or telephones.

He describes how he learned math by moving bamboo sticks, showing a resourceful approach to education.

Despite most of his classmates dropping out after sixth grade, Bato's father encouraged him to focus on his studies.

Bato recalls how his father never asked for help in the fields, as he wanted a better future for his son.

Transition to high school, where Bato felt inferior to city students but remained focused on his education.

Bato developed a passion for engineering during his high school years, and this shaped his future ambitions.

After graduating, Bato realized that engineering jobs in the Philippines were limited, prompting his move to America.

Bato pursued a Master's in engineering at Stanford University, where he initially felt intimidated by his peers.

Despite his doubts, Bato worked twice as hard and identified an opportunity to design better computer chips.

Bato's first company failed, but he learned resilience and determination by telling himself he could succeed.

His persistence paid off as his second attempt at starting a company succeeded.

Bato emphasizes that his success is rooted in his humble beginnings and determination, traits common among Filipinos.

He founded Filev, envisioning a future where every school in the Philippines has internet and students receive scholarships.

Bato concludes by inspiring Filipinos to overcome hardships and aim for success, suggesting that his story could be theirs.