Tag: robbie antonio

Revolution For A Dream Home- Interview With Robbie Antonio

Robbie Antonio Founder and CEO of Revolution Precrafted is an inspiring figure in the global real Estate industry. He is also the Founder and President of Antonio Development in New York, Managing Director of Century Properties based in Asia, and currently has 82 million square feet worth of developed, in-progress.

To date, Robbie Antonio has worked with 13 Pritzker Prize Architects/firms such as Zaha Hadid, Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie, Rem Koolhaas, Jean Nouvel, I.M.Pei, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, and Christian de Portzamparc, as well as designers such as Ron Arad, Campana Brothers, Tom Dixon, Philippe Starck, and Marcel Wanders. He has worked with over 103 notable brands in various fields—including fashion, Hollywood, luxury, design, and art. He has established the largest number of luxury branded real estate developments across the globe, by working with Giorgio Armani for Armani Casa, Versace Home, Missoni Home, Paris Hilton, Lenny Kravitz and Wallpaper* Magazine.

Robbie Antonio is one of the youngest and most prolific collectors of international modern and post-war contemporary art in the world. Because of his accomplishments as an art collector, he has received a number of awards from many different organizations. In 2014, Artnet recognized him as one of “20 of the World’s Most Innovative Art Collectors,” while in 2015, he became part of Artnet’s “Top 200 Art Collectors Worldwide”. Artnet also recognized him with two awards in 2016: as one of twelve young art collectors to watch out for, as well as one of the top 100 art collectors for that year. He was cited by BuiltWorld’s in its 2018 Mavericks Report as one of “25 Pioneers Who’ve Transformed the Built Industry.” In May 2018, he was named “Real Estate Personality of the Year” by PropertyGuru.

Singapore Straits Time also named him as one of “50 Asians Who Are Changing the Way We Live”.

Robbie Antonio’s passion for art has also led him to collaborate with artists such as Marina Abramovich, Maurizio Catellan, Francesco Clemente, Damien Hirst, Zhang Huan, David La Chapelle, Marilyn Minter, Takashi Murakami, Julian Opie, and Julian Schnabel.

Revolution Precrafted, brings together over 80 of the world’s leading architects, artists, and designers including Sou Fujimoto, Daniel Libeskind, David Salle and celebrities such as Daphne Guinness, Helena Christensen + Camilla Stærk and Amar’e Stoudemire.

Tell us about Revolution Precrafted.

Revolution Precrafted is a global real estate marketplace that connects developers, fabricators, designers and customers, to create design driven projects and products, both traditional and prefab, around the world. It is a unicorn startup, valued at over $1 Billion. It is one of the fastest companies in Southeast Asia to reach unicorn status.

Revolution supplies transportable, collectible, and customizable homes, pavilions, prefabricated museums, glamping, condominiums, hotels, villas, pop-up retail, pop-up F&B, pop-up offices, pop-up co-working spaces, art furniture, etc. to landowners, developers, and end users all over the world.

To date, Revolution Precrafted has bagged around $9.1 Billion in projected gross market value (GMV for the company’s ongoing projects in 27 countries including the Philippines, Myanmar, United Arab Emirates, Jamaica, Guyana, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico and Japan.

What are your major international projects so far?

We have current projects in 28 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, The Middle East, North and South America. These projects are in varying stages of master planning and implementation. We operate on a B2B2C model so a lot of the preparatory works are courtesy of our partner developers.

What will be the relationship between Revolution Precrafted & Bahrain?

We have a partnership with Property 1 of Bahrain. We are looking at offering 200 square meter villas to homeowners in Bahrain. We are in the process of designing the homes that would best suit the taste and the needs of the local homeowners.

What will make Revolution Precrafted different from other builders in Bahrain?

We are offering products that are focused on design. Our partnership with some of the world’s best architects, designers and artists make us stand out in the industry and differentiates from the rest of the players. While there are a lot of homebuilders and home suppliers in the world, very few actually offer branded homes, pavilions and other verticals.

What do you find in common between Bahrain and Philippines?

What we know is that both Filipino and Bahrain customers have a great passion for beautiful designs that are also functional and comfortable. They prioritize aesthetics and willing to invest the dream home that they want. They also prefer more spacious homes.

Apart from business, what are your passions?

I am very passionate about modern and contemporary art. But I also have a great appreciation and respects for the works of the masters.

What’s next for Revolution Precrafted?

Revolution Precrafted is currently in the middle of our brand expansion. While we were primarily a prefab company, we have expanded our products and services to include quasi-prefab and hybrid works in order to accommodate more projects around the world. We are also exploring at offering modular clinics, affordable homes, condos, hotels and low to mid-rise offices. We also have great interest in blockchain and STO, and we are venturing into hydroponics.

Revolution Precrafted has is also unveiling a new unit that focuses mainly on franchise and licensing concepts. This is part of our strategy to fully utilize our partnership with some of the world’s best celebrities, and experts. We have announced our partnership with world boxing icon Manny Pacquiao for the HITT boxing gym franchise. We are currently finalizing the details for its roll out. Then we also announced TEMPO, a new biking gym that we conceptualized with Filipino celebrity and biking enthusiast. We will soon unveil a spa and salon partnership with Staerk&Christensen composed of supermodel Helena Christensen and design maven Camilla Staerk.

Any message that you would like to convey to our readers?

Be flexible and resilient and be willing to work harder than anyone else from your team.

How Robbie Antonio Is Building The Home Of The Future?

by Talib Choudrhy, GQ via Architectural Digest Middle East

Fittingly, Robbie Antonio, the $1 billion construction start-up CEO, has not one but two extraordinary homes in Manila. The first is a biomorphic art-gallery-cum-private-residence dubbed Stealth in the Philippines’ capital’s most exclusive neighbourhood.

It’s as if a spaceship has landed among the grand villas, an otherworldly, matte black confection dreamt up by the iconic Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, who was persuaded to take his first residential commission in 15 years by the strength of Antonio’s vision. That, and the fact the entrepreneur is as charming as he is persistent, and clearly has a passion for design. “I wanted the art to pop, and usually every gallery has white walls,” says Antonio by way of explanation of the unusually dark palette. “Everything here is matte black. It’s my favourite colour. In the bathroom, even the soap and the tissue paper is black.”

As the name suggests, Antonio’s home is an intensely private space (all the doors have biometric sensors) yet it has a gallery-like feel, thank to the cavernous, shadowy interior and the museum-quality commissions it houses. His astounding art collection is eclectic and colourful, with works by Damien Hirst, Francis Bacon and Paul McCarthy popping out of the gloom. There is nothing cosy or conventional about this house – there are few windows, for one thing; apertures in the ceiling pierce defined spaces with light – and there is something extraordinary to gaze at with every turn.

“I didn’t want it to look like this is a house,” says Antonio, “That was the point. I didn’t want to enter and see a sofa, a TV, a dining room. If I could, I wouldn’t even have chairs. I wanted it to be very distressed and Brutalist. I didn’t want an elegant mansion. That to me is so cliché. I just wanted the architecture to stand out and to make people think.”

*The Armadillo Tea Pavilion by Ron Arad*

Antonio is in the business of reimagining what a home can be, using the greatest design and architecture talents such as Zaha Hadid and Jean Nouvel to elevate the concept of pre-fabricated homes and turn it into something fabulous and desirable. The ethos behind his company Revolution Precrafted embodies democratic design at its best. It specialises in the construction of prefabricated, made-to-order homes that are constructed at a fraction of the cost of houses built using traditional construction methods.“The goal is to be prolific,” he says, “The mission statement is to the ultimate marketplace for designer, modular homes at an accessible price.”

*The Volu Dining Pavilion by Zaha Hadid with Patrik Schumacher launched Revolution Precrafted at Design Miami in 2015*

Dotted throughout his own cavernous home there are monolithic pieces that Antonio has commissioned from leading designers and architects, including Kengo Kuma, David Adjaye, Tadao Ando and Daniel Libeskind. Several of the works are pavilions which were created for the launch of Revolution Precrafted at Design Miami in December 2015.

Another novel feature is a rotating bar, which Koolhaas integrated into the house at Antonio’s request; it was a scaled-down version of a much bigger, unrealised ambition. “At one point, I wanted the entire house to rotate – imagine a different facade every week – but it proved to be impossible,” Antonio explains, “I wanted four sides that changed throughout the month.”

His ambitions for Revolution Precrafted won’t be scaled back and it is growing at a pace that has even taken him by surprise. “I always planned and hoped that it would be big, but now I think it’s going to be bigger than I could ever have imagined,” he says, “We launched not even three years ago and there are now over 600 people in the company.”

*Robbie Antonio in his penthouse apartment at Trump Tower Manila*

A year after Revolution Precrafted was founded, it had a Series B funding round which raised the company’s valuation to over $1bn, making it the first ‘unicorn’ start-up from the Philippines, and allowing the it to establish a footprint in a number of global markets, including Italy, Japan and the UAE.

To say that Antonio is a man of action would be an understatement; he gets ‘five or six hours of sleep a night’ and wakes up at around 5.30am, works at least six days a week, and signed deals in over 20 countries last year, with a projected gross market value of $9 billion. Sport helps him to manage stress. Antonio tries to work out twice a day, but rarely uses the swimming pool or the Yves Klein Blue squash court at Stealth. Instead, he prefers circuit training because ‘it is fast-paced but I can still take breaks to look at my phone and work’.

There’s also a whole room dedicated to a Marina Abramovic installation which impels visitors to stop and contemplate by lying on a bed. The door locks for 60 minutes. “I’ve never, ever used it,” says Antonio. It’s hard to imagine him staying still for that long. Our interview is entirely conducted during a walking tour of the house.“I can’t stay still for 60 seconds,” he quips. Just then, he pauses from our interview and steals a glance at his phone. “I’ve had 115 WhatsApps in the time we’ve been talking….I had visitors from Brazil on Thursday, yesterday from Germany, today from Dubai.”

*The Ellipsicoon Retreat Pavilion by Ben Van Berkel of UNSTUDIO*

Antonio travels to Dubai regularly himself. An office there is in the works, and Revolution Precrafted signed a $3.2bn deal with luxury developer Seven Tides to design, supply and install two-and three-bedroom condominium apartments and villas on Dubai’s The World islands. The challenge for Antonio and his team is to realise the designs at an affordable price; although the Dubai development will be more at the luxury end of the scale, others are eminently accessible and the likes of Jean Nouvel are not used to delivering complete buildings for as little as $20,000.

“It takes six months of value engineering these things and there’s a lot of back and forth with their teams,” he says. “One of the houses took a year to get right. It has to be viable. Some of our homes are super esoteric. I would live in them but very few people want to live in something that’s that far removed from the norm. But they’re like cool art pieces and I want them to be part of the vision. I love those super far-out designs because I think it really pushes you to live differently.”

That said, Antonio’s second Manila home is more conventional than Stealth. The plush penthouse apartment in the city’s Trump Tower overlooks the gleaming cityscape, much of which is his family legacy.

Century Properties, the real-estate company founded by his father, is responsible for developing much of Manila’s prime real estate including branded residences from the likes of Armani and Versace. But Antonio’s sights are set far beyond his hometown. He founded his first company in New York right after business school. “I wanted to do something on my own, completely independent of that,” he explains, “I’m not a ‘local’ person. I like global thinking. We’ve signed deals in 27 markets now, most of them this year. It’s intense, but we’re going after more.”

Revolution Precrafted

architecture prefab homes Revolution Precrafted robbie antonio

What Is The One Important Attitude Every Entrepreneur Must Possess?

by PhilStar Lifestyle Business

Our Youth Entrepreneurship Summit 2019 was a successful one, attended by over 15,000 participants who joined us at the World Trade Center, Pasay City. It was simulcast in 10 schools and universities, and the summit provided valuable insights on digitalization for both students and entrepreneurs. It was also graced by more than 30 different players in the digital space and techno-preneurs.

During the summit, I shared one important characteristic that every entrepreneur must possess. This is what we call, “The Yes Attitude.” The attitude that we call “Yes” is a positive attitude that must be possessed by anyone, whether you are a student, aspire to be part of the working group or one day become an entrepreneur. A positive attitude in life is what propels many people to become successful.

People like Anthony Tan and many of the summit speakers who started their own digital businesses are here today because they have that attitude and right mindset. Many of us sometimes are challenged with so many problems, but we must remember that problems are a part of life and it is how you look at those problems and turn them into opportunities.

Many entrepreneurs actually look for problems because they are where business models emanate. Hopefully you will learn and be inspired by them and one of these days, be on the same stage they are.

Here are some of the highlights from the biggest digital youth summit held March 8.

“Digital Platforms as Enablers for Inclusive Growth” showcased panelists such as Henry Motte-Munoz, CEO and cofounder of Edukasyon.ph; Kenneth Lingan, country head for the Phils. of Google; Lito Villanueva, managing director of FintQ; Anthony Thomas, CEO of Mynt; Ray Alimurung, CEO of Lazada Philippines; Martin Yu, associate director of Shopee Philippines; Brian Cu, president of Grab Philippines; Dennis Ng, founder and CEO of Mober; Crystal Lee-Gonzalez, managing director of Honestbee. Forum moderator was Issa Litton.

The third forum revolved around emerging enterprises that solve real-world problems: Panelists were Mario Jordan “Magellan” Fetalino III, CEO of Acudeen; Andrew Cua, CEO of Tralulu; Paolo Bugayong, cofounder and CEO of Aide; David Foote, founder and CEO, Zennya; Audrey Tanco Uy, CEO and founder of ServeHappy Jobs; Leeroy Levias Shoko, CEO of DibzTech Inc.; Dennis Layug, founder and chairperson of Apptitude; Ellard Capiral, CEO of AdMov; and Keb Cuevas, CEO of Tagani.ph. The forum was moderated by Gretchen Ho.

At “Design Thinking–Translating Creative Mindset to New Business Models” were Shaira Luna, photographer; Gian Javelona, CEO of Paydro and OrangeApps; Dan Matutina, graphic designer, illustrator and founding partner of Plus63 Design Co.; Dan Matutina, Erwan Heusaff, founder of Fat Kid Inside Co.; Neil Dagondon, president and cofounder of Edusuite Inc.; Pepe Diokno, film director, producer and writer; and Brian Tenorio, chair of the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce. The forum was moderated by Sam YG.

**Related Links**: About Robbie Antonio , Contact

**More Links**: – Inquirer , – Bilyonaryo News , – Philstar , – Business Mirror Crunchbase Oxford Business Group MillionaireAsia

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The Philippines Tech Startup Scene Is Booming

by Tech Collective

‘Tech startup boom’ has become quite the buzz-phrase for Southeast Asia, with various global reports praising the region’s potential for foreign investment, startup viability, and economic growth as a whole.

The Philippines is no exception and in many ways could be considered one of the pack leaders in the region’s tech startup scene. With their very first Unicorn, Revolution Precrafted under their belt–a startup which reached $1 billion USD in value in its first two years of operation–sizeable investments in infrastructure and a range of government-backed incentives, 2018 was a definitive year for the nation. As the end of the first quarter of ‘19 rapidly approaches, the region is again proving that when it comes to tech startups, the only way is up. Let’s delve into the current tech startup climate in more detail:

The unicorn leads the pack

As well as being the nation’s first Unicorn–rubbing shoulders with e-Commerce giants’ Lazada and Tokopedia–Revolution Precrafted won the Startup of the Year title at the ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards in 2018–and justifiably so.

This online platform connects real estate buyers and developers with a vast range of architects, artists, and designers to create a highly exclusive, pre-constructed living spaces. After signing a $3.2 billion USD deal to manufacture luxury condominiums and villas in Dubai’s renowned “The World Islands” in April 2018, the startup went on to secure an additional $1.2 billion USD for the Okkyin project in Myanmar with KT Group. And it doesn’t stop there.

Read our interview with CEO Robbie Antonio about his plans for the company

The PropTech startup is already looking to raise another $100 million USD in a Series C funding during 2019 and expand into 55 countries with sights set on securing projects in 100 nations by 2020. Although this may sound ambitious, with experts coining the company as “The IKEA of homes”, the disruptive innovation of the project is irrefutable. Each of these luxury living spaces are composed of a series of modular parts that are easily assembled on-site–just like Lego bricks–which makes the product globally adaptable and supports the rapid upward trajectory of the company’s success.

SendFriend takes centre stage

Tech startups across the board have dipped their toes into the Filipino startup scene with success stories spanning from PropTech, MedTech, and right through to e-commerce. However, 2019 is shaping up to be a major year for FinTech in particular, and the blockchain-backed remittance startup SendFriend is a core example of this.

In February this year, SendFriend raised $1.7 million USD from a total of eight investors. The startup enables Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to transfer and convert funds from USD to PHP securely and at the lowest rate available. In a press conference following the funding round, CEO David Lighton voiced that the funding will be used to build the team, develop marketing methods, and focus on community engagement.

The success of SendFriend can be attributed to the fertile soil for FinTech growth and innovation, which comes largely from the population demographics and mobile penetration. According to The Philipines FinTech Report 2018, the nation has a population of just over 100 million, with just 31% of adults possessing a bank account and 58% possessing a mobile device, demonstrating major room for expansion in the sector.

Although payment startups such as Ayannah, a provider of mobile commerce and payment services and Coins.ph, by Betur Inc., are key players in the market, 99% of all transactions in the nation are still made using cash. Alternative payment startups such as Acudeen, a peer-to-peer online marketplace, are increasing in popularity as are blockchain and cryptocurrency startups, accounting for 16% of the FinTech sector startups.

With the government currently formulating policies to drive innovation in this sector, and a clear goal to increase digital payments to account for 20% of transactions by 2020, it is likely that the remainder of 2019 will see more startups jumping aboard the FinTech train.

The Philippines as a hub

The passing of the “Innovative Startup Act,” by the Filipino government in 2018 featured tax exemptions, free access to government services, and increased efficacy in business permit processing has been a major drawcard for bringing in foreign investment into the region.

One clear example of this is Citystate Group, a Singapore-based group of companies that made a Seed investment in Ticket2Me, a blockchain-powered ticketing startup from the Philippines. Even though the $350,000 USD was raised at the end of February 2019, the startup is already gearing for immediate expansion into other Southeast Asian markets. With the nation proven to be a lucrative startup base, it is likely to be a common theme that the nation will be used as headquarters for startups that have their primary goal and target demographic outside the Philippines.

Here’s why we think The Philippines should be considered as your startup’s HQ

As the Philippines has proven itself as a contender for heavy hitter startups with local and foreign entrepreneurs recognizing the advantages of the government-backed incentives. Don’t be surprised to see more activity and, possibly, even the next unicorn to originate from this Western Pacific nation.

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Related Links: About Robbie Antonio , Contact

Revolution Precrafted robbie antonio startup Tech Startup

How “Revolution Precrafted” Revolutionized The Prefab Home Industry

by Alan Green, My African Magazine

Prefabrication is an alternative construction process that involves the design and off-site manufacture of units or modules, and installation of these units at the permanent site. It is a multi-billion-dollar industry that serves as an option for those who want to build their homes faster and at a fraction of the cost. Revolution Precrafted, a company with roots in the Philippines, is a global company that does both traditional and prefab homes, pavilions, museums, pop-up retail, and other structures. It employs advanced robotics techniques to streamline the construction process, and deliver homes faster.

Prefab homes have been in the market since the early 1950s, notably in Scandinavian countries; but they have enjoyed increased acceptance in recent years thanks to Revolution Precrafted’s ability to penetrate non-traditional markets such as North and South America and Southeast Asia. Prefab homes are universal homes and can be used in all markets, including developing markets like Africa, because they can be adapted to different climates and weather conditions.

THE IMPACT OF A LEADER

Revolution Precrafted, the brain child of pioneering business tycoon Robbie Antonio, is a global marketplace that links developers, fabricators, designers, customers and other segments of the supply chain for both traditional and prefab development projects. Launched in December 2015, Revolution Precrafted currently has footprint in 28 countries, with a projected gross market value (GMV) of $9.1 billion from its projects in those countries.

The company initially offered prefab homes, pavilions, museums and other verticals, but is now expanding to include affordable housing as well. It is also spearheading a strategic brand extension to include other business units such as blockchain like STO, hydroponics, affordable homes, condos and hotels. Revolution Precrafted is also expanding to create regional headquarters in key regions such as Africa, Europe, Middle East and North America. To support this planned expansion, it is preparing for a series C funding round in mid-2019. Relatively speaking, Revolution Precrafted is a newcomer in the industry, but it is the only company that offers branded, design-driven prefab homes and other structures. It stands out as the company that introduced prefab homes designed by 81 of the world’s best architects, designers and artists.

THE ROAD TO A PHENOMENAL SUCCESS

Revolution Precrafted launched its first flagship project in December 2017 and wasted no time in spearheading an aggressive global business roadshow that sent it to all regions. The management says they are just proud that a lot of companies they have talked to believe in their business model and see the great benefits of prefab homes as alternative homes, especially in specific communities and demographics.

The company boasts over 50 home and museum designs by its world-class architects and designers, including Pritzker award winning architects like Jean Nouvel, Christian de Portzamparc, Tange Associates and Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects (PJAR). It also has homes designed by celebrities like Daphne Guinness, Helena Christensen and Camilla Staerk, Oswald Boateng, and Lenny Kravitz, to name a few.

THE MAN BEHIND THE PHENOMENAL SUCCESS

Robbie Antonio, 42, is the Founder and CEO of Revolution Precrafted. He wears several other hats, being the Founder and President of Antonio Development in New York, and Managing Director of Century Properties based in Asia. He currently has 82 million square feet worth of developed, in-progress, and managed properties under his belt.

To date, he has worked with 13 Pritzker Prize Architects/firms such as Zaha Hadid, Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie, Rem Koolhaas, Jean Nouvel, I.M.Pei, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, and Christian de Portzamparc, as well as designers such as Ron Arad, Campana Brothers, Tom Dixon, Philippe Starck, and Marcel Wanders. He has worked with over 103 notable brands in various fields—including fashion, Hollywood, luxury, design, and art. He has established the largest number of luxury branded real estate developments across the globe, by working with Giorgio Armani for Armani Casa, Versace Home, Missoni Home, Paris Hilton, Lenny Kravitz and Wallpaper Magazine.

Robbie Antonio is one of the youngest and most prolific collectors of international modern and post-war contemporary art in the world and the recipient of a number of awards from many different organizations. Mr. Antonio was cited by BuiltWorld’s in its 2018 Mavericks Report as one of “25 Pioneers Who’ve Transformed the Built Industry.” In May 2018, he was named “Real Estate Personality of the Year” by PropertyGuru. Singapore Straits Time also named him as one of “50 Asians Who Are Changing The Way We Live.”

Related Links: About Robbie Antonio , Contact

Revolution Precrafted robbie antonio

Design- Driven, Limited- Edition Homes

An Interview with Robbie Antonio, Founder and CEO, Revolution Precrafted

by Leadersmag

You founded Revolution Precrafted in 2015. What was your vision for the company and the opportunity that you saw in the market?

Having a background in real estate, I knew that there was still a lot of demand for homes in the Philippines and around the world. I also knew that customers have their usual pain points when trying to acquire a new home. Homes are expensive, and they take time to build and many people get discouraged. Addressing those pain points was one of the motivations behind Revolution Precrafted.

We want to offer homes that can be built fast at a fraction of the cost of traditional home building. We want to differentiate our products from the usual prefab homes by partnering with global architects, designers and artists to come up with design-driven, limited-edition homes.

How has Revolution Precrafted evolved since its founding and will you highlight the state of the business today?

The company was launched in December 2015 and, since then, we have evolved into a company that offers a diverse number of products, not just prefab homes. We still offer our main core products of prefab homes, pavilions, museums, furniture and pop-up retail, but we have expanded to offer low- to mid-rise offices and buildings.

We are also gearing up for new product offerings such as affordable homes, fintech products and hydroponics. We also intend to offer prefab condos and hotels. We are also now offering licensing for salon, gym and spa concepts under our new company called Renegade Concepts, in partnership with our influencers and celebrities. We feel that its important to always grow so we maintain our success.

How do you describe the benefits and advantages of prefab housing and are these advantages well understood in the market?

Prefab structures are easier and faster to build. By streamlining the construction process, we are able to deliver homes faster and we are able to limit the cost by doing that. Over the past two years, we have been able to educate our customers and partners of the benefits of prefab construction. More than that, they believe in our business model of bringing designer and branded prefab structures.

What differentiates Revolution Precrafted from its competitors?

We are the only branded prefab company in the world. While there are other companies that partner with celebrity architects for a project or two, we have more than 80 of the world’s best architects, designers and artists under exclusive partnership. We expect this number to increase as we expand to develop other structures.

What has been the importance of partnering with well-known designers in helping to grow the business?

They are at the core of our business model. Anyone can build a home, a gym or a spa, but by partnering with design geniuses, we are able to elevate these products to a whole new level. Our designers provide more legitimacy and credibility to our products and to our business.

Will you discuss the global footprint for Revolution Precrafted and the key markets for future growth?

We currently have a footprint in 28 markets in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, as well as North and South America. For our upcoming new products and ventures, we want to focus more on Southeast Asia because the demand there is great.

Have you been happy with your success in attracting top talent to Revolution Precrafted?

Yes, I am very happy with the caliber and talent of our people. We have been successful at recruiting high performing individuals who are very much committed to the goals of the company.

What are your key priorities for Revolution Precrafted as you look to the future?

Our priority is to expand our product portfolio and to become a bigger marketplace for real estate projects. We want to be able to link developers and fabricators to customers in order to achieve more cost efficient, quality real estate projects. Over the past two years, we have been successful at growing our network, but we want to expand this network even further so that there are more choices and there is a heavier inflow of orders and projects. We also hope to expand our franchising and licensing business because we believe that it is going to be a significant revenue stream for the company.

Revolution Precrafted robbie antonio

The Billion-Dollar Journey Of The Pre-built Home Business Startups

by Hoai Chau, Startup Vietnam

Calling for an investment of up to millions of dollars, Revolution Precrafted made a big splash when it became the Philippines’ first unicorn startup.

On a last day of 2015, in a spacious office in Makati area, Manila, Philippines, after a series of assessments of prospects and risks, the name Revolution Precrafted was finally born with the ambition to be a home business startup. design and build, which was considered difficult to do at the time.

The idea of pre-assembled houses usually only comes to mind when one thinks of children’s play sets for entertainment purposes and it’s quite crazy to think that they can be used for living. But Robbie Antonio – a Filipino millionaire turned that crazy thing into reality.

Coming from a wealthy family, inheriting the quintessence of the real estate business from his father, business owner Century Properties, Antonio soon joined billion-dollar projects and created relationships with big names. such as Forbes Media, Armani, Versace Home, Paris Hilton or Trump Corporation.

From a young age, thanks to his passionate and serious interest in art collecting, Antonio is known for a series of awards such as one of Artnet’s 20 most innovative art collectors in the world (2014), in the top 200 of the world’s top art collectors (2015), the top 12 young art collectors to watch and the top 100 art collectors (2016).

Not stopping there, aspiring to innovate the current architecture and the traditional real estate market, he founded Revolution Precrafted with the goal of bringing professional and unique designed houses closer to the masses. at a comfortable price.

The birth of Revolution was also the first brick that laid the foundation for the global prefabricated house design activity. From then on, investment stories about “instant noodles” housing design emerged in the vibrant real estate market as its name “Revolution”.

In the 2018 Mavericks Report, Antonia was named by BuildWorld as one of the 25 pioneers that transformed the construction industry. Singapore Straits Time has voted him in the 50 Asians who have changed the current way of life.

Different path

Spreading across the beautiful waters of Dubai, The World Islands emerges as the world’s first artificial island with 300 different large and small islands built according to the shape of the world map. The prime location and the chain of high-class hotels and villas full of magic attract tourists from all over the world. Few people can expect that this is one of the cooperation projects of Revolution Precrafted in thousands of other prefabricated house projects around the world.

Revolution Precrafted allows users to submit location information and requirements for the desired home in a professionally designed and easy to use interface. In addition, the site also showcases a large collection of home designs to meet all different tastes, buyers just have to choose.

By using Revolution Precrafted, buyers will have unfinished homes. The frame will be delivered to the site and assembled and completed to become a permanent house. Each home costs around $120,000 and delivers anywhere in the world in as little as 90 days.

After 2 years of operation, Revolution caught the excitement of the real estate market, creating big waves that impacted the Philippine real estate industry at that time and spread to the world.

March 2017 marked a big step forward for Revolution Precrafted when it received an order of 110 million USD and raised 15.4 million USD from a number of investors such as 500 Startups.

Succeeding with a successful funding round in the B series and reaching a valuation of more than one billion USD, in October 2017, Revolution affirmed its position as the first billion-dollar startup in the Philippines. The main investor is K2 VC, founded by venture capitalist Ozi Amanat, famous for its investments in Alibaba, Twitter and a series of other popular startups such as Spotify, Palantir or Paytm.

“We have only completed Series B, so there will be more pressure to grow higher from here,” said Antonio, adding that the startup’s goal is to be in 85-100 cities by 2020.

In 2018, with revenue reaching $ 7.6 billion, Revolution Precrafted is sought after by units in the tourism industry because of its unique design and reasonable price. In March 2018, the company signed a $3.2 billion contract with Seven Tide to provide luxury apartments and hotel villas at The World Islands in Dubai. Then in April 2018 was a $300 million deal in the Caribbean and a $1.2 billion Okkyin City Riverside project in Yangon, Myanmar with KT Group.

The prefabricated house designs of Revolution Precrafted have done.

In addition to its headquarters located in the Philippines, Revolution expands its customer list to more than 28 countries, spanning 6 continents. Not only developing housing design, this startup also deploys restaurant, hotel and retail store models.

Reach new heights

Going back in time 5 to 10 years ago, the idea of a prefabricated house can be intimidating in relation to generic designs and poor quality. However that is not the case with Revolution Precrafted. Robbie has wisely chosen to draw on the credibility of some of the big names in the architecture and design industries to develop the brand and overcome the challenge of facing a series of doubts about design differentiation. .

Top designers are collaborating with Revolution Precrafted.

To date, Revolution has collaborated with more than 80 world-renowned designers and architects such as Zaha Hadid and Jean Nouvel – winners of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, David Salle, Tom Dixon and Marcel Wanders, Renowned architecture firm Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects and design team of Lenny Kravitz.

At DealStreetAsia’s 2018 PE-VC Asia Summit in Singapore, Antonio expected the potential to reach a valuation of $10 billion in the next three to four years. The founder will use the proceeds from the Series C funding round to establish additional branches in major markets, including one in Dubai to serve the Middle East market and one in Malaysia for the Southeast market. ASIAN.

“I am considering a public offering (IPO) of Revolution Precrafted securities in the New York or London market in the near future,” Antonio stressed.

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How Diversity Drives Deals for the 500 Startups?

by Barbara Stewart, CFA

The venture fund 500 Startups was named the “Most active global investor by VC deal count” in PitchBook’s 2018 Annual Global League Tables, a comprehensive ranking of global private equity and venture capital activity for the year.

I recently interviewed 500 Startups’ innovation director Vera Futorjanski. Futorjanski has a diverse and fascinating background: In her early career, she was a professional Argentine tango dancer, and she has lived in 10 countries and is fluent in five languages. In addition to her role at 500 Startups, she serves as a global ambassador and mentor for Vital Voices, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) led by Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright that works with women leaders.

We talked at length about what it takes to be a deal leader. The big takeaway for me is that diversity drives deals: There are many ways to do business, so don’t be afraid to be different.

500 Startups invests in geographically diverse markets. How does this factor into your success in terms of deal activity?
Barbara Stewart, CFA

Vera Futorjanski: What makes 500 Startups stand out is that we have been looking at emerging markets from the very beginning of our firm. Almost half of our portfolio companies (49%) are from outside of the US. We don’t shy away from investing in founders and companies in markets that are not necessarily known for their big tech successes (yet!). We invest in them because we believe in them.

Our mission is to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. 500 Startups has been investing globally since 2010. The number of countries we’ve invested in is now 74, which means we’ve invested in almost 40% of the world’s nations. We recently added 155 new companies, bringing our total portfolio count to 2,210 companies and over 5,000 founders.

Half of our unicorns are from emerging markets— I think that is impressive. We have 10 unicorns in our portfolio — Talkdesk, Credit Karma, Twilio, Grab, SendGrid, Canva, Intercom, Bukalapak, GitLab, and Revolution Precrafted. We are also the most active VC in the region where I am based (Middle East and North Africa), and we aim to maintain that lead and continue to get access to the best deal flow through our No. 1 position in the market.

How and why does gender diversity come into play in your organization?

Diversity permeates throughout the 500 Startups organization, and one of our core values is to “Be Inclusive.” Understanding the importance of a gender-inclusive culture, we believe that venture capital and private equity firms of the future shouldn’t look like firms from the past and that moving toward greater diversity will differentiate us.

We are a team of over 150 professionals of which 51% are women. Our CEO is a woman. When we run investor training courses hosted in partnership with top universities like Stanford and Berkeley for up-and-coming investors around the world, we always ensure that at least one-third of each group of the course participants are women, and we offer scholarships for female investors when needed.

You have a big focus on investing in female founders. Why?

I think it’s this inclusive outlook on the world that contributes to 500 Startups’ success, combined with a very strong female leadership.

First Round’s 2016 research findings showed that portfolio investments in startups with at least one woman founder performed 63% better than investments in exclusively male teams. What an opportunity!

I am proud to say that 26% of our investments are led by at least one female founder. At Batch 24 — they recently hosted a full-house demo day — 40% of the companies had a female founder and 50% had a female minority founder.

Moreover, 525 companies in our portfolio of 2000-plus startups have at least one female founding team member, which is more than three times the industry average. In the two most recent batches of our San Francisco Seed Program, more than one-third of the companies had at least one female founder. Additionally, 4 of the 10 “unicorns” 500 Startups has invested in — Canva, Credit Karma, Grab, and Talkdesk — include a female co-founder.

It is truly shocking to me that, as per TechCrunch, only 2% of US VC dollars go to women-led startups. My driving force is to ensure we get more money and more opportunities for women-led startups to empower them and help them thrive.

What advice can you give those who aspire to become founders?

First of all, at a high level, think not in terms of “I want to be a founder” but rather, “What real issue am I solving?” From there, clearly you need to be passionate about what you do, but you also need to be persistent and resilient at the same time. In other words, don’t give up when the going gets tough. But importantly, also be able to recognize if an idea is not worth pursuing.

My top three pieces of advice are:

1. Don’t be afraid to change paths in life. Even if the clear path is not visible at the time, your job changes might lead to something much bigger. My own career is a perfect example. I started as a political consultant in the European Union. After three years, I jumped to a fast-paced environment at Rocket Internet leading their global communications during the largest tech IPO in Germany, and then I moved to Dubai to build a startup that I launched and ran for a year.

From there, the Dubai Government headhunted me to be part of their founding team to build the Dubai Future Accelerators. That opportunity was possible only because of my three previous very diverse experiences [that gave me an] understanding of politics, communications expertise, and entrepreneurship experience.

As Steve Jobs said, “You cannot connect dots looking forward, but you can connect dots looking backwards.”

2. Be a leader, not a boss. It is only then that people will believe in you and your vision. In order for your business to be a success, you have to find the right talent — it is imperative that you have the right team around you. You need to hire people who will work very hard . . . as if it were their own business. This requires strong leadership skills and a team focus.

3. Network! This advice needs to be taken seriously, especially by female founders. Men have it slightly easier because of the longstanding traditions of boys’ clubs and other networking opportunities. Often it is during the private networking times that important connections are made that later lead to job or funding opportunities.

People are more likely to invest in those founders to whom they can relate, in whom they might even potentially see themselves. Hence, it’s so important to get more women into the VC space.

We still have to do a lot of work on mind shift and perceptions. As the saying goes, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” It’s of the utmost importance that we get more women in leading positions, on boards, as CEOs and as heads of state and world organizations.

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Related Links: Contact Us, About Robbie Antonio

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REVOLUTION PRECRAFTED is an idea to bring “Democratic Design” in real estate

While flipping through pages of glossy magazines, it is difficult for a person to stop oneself from craving over the opulence found in the pages. The intricacy of design, the development of an idea and the understanding of architectural complexity doesn’t come easily to everyone. Real estate visionary Robbie Antonio has that rare quality to bring the best of all worlds through his ability to blend such diverse concepts into an idea of aspirational living. He brings concepts of luxurious living, art, flexible spaces, accessible pricing and liveable places through his latest endeavors or as he likes to describe, a beautiful obsession – “REVOLUTION PRECRAFTED”. His ambitions are simple yet revolutionary, an idea to bring “Democratic Design” in real estate.

ceo real estate Revolution Precrafted robbie antonio

Property Award Nominations Under Way

by Daily Tribune

A strong and stable Philippine real estate market is gearing up for the seventh annual edition of the PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards, which will be announced on 5 July 2019 at a gala dinner attended by the industry’s influential leaders.

The residential categories are further divided into luxury, high-end, mid-end and affordable segments that follow new pricing eligibility criteria to accurately reflect current market conditions

Presented by global brand Kohler, the long-running competition is the gold standard for excellence in Philippine real estate, recognizing development, design and innovation, as well as shine the spotlight on corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainable development, design and construction, building communities, customer care, and public facility projects.

Shortlisted nominees in more than 35 competitive categories will be announced in June, including finalists for outstanding condominium and housing development in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao.

The residential categories are further divided into luxury, high-end, mid-end and affordable segments that follow new pricing eligibility criteria to accurately reflect current market conditions.

There are also open categories for alternative housing, resort, office, BPO office, retail, hotel, mixed-use and township development, as well as their corresponding architectural, interior or landscape design awards.

In addition, the independent panel of judges has introduced a new category for Best Co-Working Space, as demand for flexible and serviced work spaces spike in Metro Manila, particularly in the central business districts of Makati and Bonifacio Global City, according to a recent report by JLL.

The newly elected awards chairman is Christophe Vicic, JLL Philippines’ country head, succeeding Jaime Cura, PhD of the RGV Group of Companies, who remains a member of the judging panel comprising respected industry experts. Representatives from BDO Roxas, Cruz, Tagle and Co. oversee the fair, ethical and transparent judging process.

More than 300 guests attend the annual awards night in Manila, which also celebrates the Philippines Real Estate Personality of the Year.

Past titleholders include former Senate president Manny Villar, Philippine Green Building Council chair Raymond Rufino, unicorn entrepreneur Robbie Antonio, and Megaworld founder Dr. Andrew Tan, who was named the first-ever recipient of the PropertyGuru Icon Award at the regional PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Grand Final held last November in Bangkok, Thailand, where The Podium by SM Keppel Land collected two regional awards.

Revolution Precrafted robbie antonio