ChatGenie was launched by Ragde Falcis and Nico Nicomedes in 2020, just two weeks before Metro Manila’s first lockdown. With the sudden change in consumer behavior and pandemic protocols, the company was able to offer a tool for businesses to create their own online stores without having any coding experience or separate app downloads.

Ragde Falcis, ChatGenie founder and CEO, has always believed in innovation. An aspiring video game developer, he took up Computer Science in college and ended up teaching it at his alma mater. However, after participating in the first Startup Weekend Manila, he saw the future in startups and promptly resigned from his teaching job to become a full-time entrepreneur. After starting Gorated, a local version of Yelp, he made it a point to learn every aspect of what it is to be a startup. Pivoting from the original web app, Gorated became a software development and consultancy company. Their vision was to use tech to create a solution to boost and support Filipino MSMEs.

Ragde and Nico, company co-founder and CMO, are the perfect team to execute this vision. Ragde had been developing customized eCommerce platforms for almost a decade for businesses like Johnson and Johnson, McDonalds, and even the Department of Trade and Industry under their software development firm. Nico, on the other hand, joined as managing partner of the software development firm in 2017 to bring in his experience and Rolodex working with leading digital agencies like Publicis Manila, Leo Burnett, and IPG Mediabrands Thailand. Aside from the founders, the management team is composed of highly experienced professionals from Zomato, Grab Express, AT&T, and IBM to name a few.

With that experience, they were able to achieve their vision to create innovative solutions to help business owners of all sizes and industries: ChatGenie. Getting inspiration from the WeChat Mini Program, Ragde and Nico decided to architect a version for the Philippine market. Their goal with the platform was to enable entrepreneurs to create their own online stores accessible on social media almost instantly. This was crucial to helping businesses bridge the gap between the hyper-convenient world of eCommerce and the difficulties of running a business during a pandemic.

Now, with over 2,500 MSME clients and more than 70,000 unique transactions, ChatGenie continues to work towards its goal to support the local business community with tech and innovation.