BY ROMMEL YNION
IF the Americans had “The Innovators” who built their country from the ground up, what do we Filipinos have?
“The Men Who Built America” (also known as “The Innovators: The Men Who Built America”) is a four-part mini-series docudrama on the History Channel, featuring Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Ford.
No doubt, in that block-buster mini-series, televiewers learned how nations rise phoenix-like along with entrepreneurs that fuel their economies.
And, as alluded to in that docudrama, “The Innovators” built America, dazzling it with their entrepreneurial magic at the turn of the last century, scintillating on the world stage with their business empires.
The industrial innovations that they pioneered metastasized into a revolution that eventually swept around the world.
If the word “catalyst” had to have a face, then nobody could front for it better than each of those four men did. For they catalyzed change in the truest sense of the word, ushering in another form of wealth creation that dictated progress in the last century.
The greatness of America has stemmed from their entrepreneurs that defined the American Dream, catapulting her to heights that even her Founding Fathers could not have envisioned when they wrote their Declaration of Independence from British rule.
Now, can we Filipinos claim that we also have our own version of “The Innovators”?
After wracking my brain for a considerable period of time, I can only come up with four names of entrepreneurs who ushered life-changing innovations in our society: Henry Sy, Andrew Tan, Manny Villar, and Edgar “Injap” Sia.
Without a shadow of doubt, Henry Sy has revolutionized the way we live by simply redefining our concept of “shopping”. Thanks to him, rain or shine, we can now live the life, as they say, in a completely sheltered environment where everything we want is just a step or two away from us.
Today, we can go “malling” anytime (hey, this word was not even present in our vocabularies a generation or two ago) in our nearest SM Mall where we can just chill – shopping (or, to the financially challenged, window-shopping only) at popular stores, eating in our favorite restaurants, and watching movies in state-of-the-art theaters.
This “lifestyle” was completely different from that which our grandfathers used to describe to us: in the sweltering heat of Escolta, they gathered to watch the world come alive: the clickety-clack of horse-drawn carriages, criss-crossing the cobble-stone streets; the aroma of espresso wafting into their dusty nostrils; the cacophony of trade pervading the air; the scent of newspapers, hot off the press, signaling a story about to unfold.
Now, that was the world that Henry Sy relegated on the dustbin of history.
Andrew Tan, for his part, has revolutionized the way we live by just ushering in the concept of the “boomtown”.
Having the knack for eye-balling a fruit ripe for the picking, this Chinoy tycoon, now the fourth-richest man in our economic firmament, catalyzes massive economic developments in communities that are ready for them.
With his “townships” now inundating the real-estate market, Andrew Tan has been in a flurry of building “boomtowns” within boomtowns, especially in Iloilo City where investors have flocked in already, catapulting the erstwhile Queen City of the South to its rightful place in the sun.
Manny Villar has revolutionized the way we live by just putting roofs above our heads. Thanks to this brown-skinned tycoon, owning a house is now within the reach of everyone.
With residential units accessible to everyone who is gainfully employed, Vista Land – the company founded by Manny Villar – has readily available financing options that can help each customer own a house according to his financial capacity.
Real estate developments identified with the Villar group of companies have already brought Filipinos closer to their dreams of owning a home and creating a bright future for their families.
And last but not the least, our very own, Edgar “Injap” Sia.
Injap, as he is fondly called by Ilonggos, has revolutionized the way we live by making life look so easy to us.
Yes, that is just the secret of this Ilonggo tycoon: He just makes it all look easy – and that is why we all buy his products.
Hungry? No, problem. We have a chicken inasal for you – and unlimited rice. And hold your breath – all of these at only Php 99.
Yes, that’s just the long and short of it all.
With that success formula, Injap is now one of the richest Filipinos.
And now, Injap is at it again.
SM or Robinson malls too far from you? No problem. We will build malls right at your doorstep – and that is why Henry Sy just partnered with him because his City Malls can pose a threat to SM malls.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Injap – I dare say – will become the richest Filipino in 10 years.
So there.
After all, we also have our own version of “The Innovators” whose lives inspire us to strive for excellence and build empires that last.
With God, nothing is really impossible./PN
