The Dream

Like millions of Filipinos, Christeen’s dad, Leo, pursued work outside of the country to provide a brighter future for his growing family. After 7 years of separation, the Rico family was able to reunite permanently in California where Christeen was raised starting at age 3. Looking back at her life, she recognizes that the sacrifices made by those who came before her allowed for her to have the opportunity to dream. Her faith and identity in Jesus Christ give her the freedom to dream even bigger.

 

What if all Filipinos could be empowered to successfully build the future they wish to see for themselves and their children right here in the Philippines? What if we could create 10M meaningful careers in the country in the next 30 years and eliminate the need for family separation? 

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How We Began

In July 2019, following the Lausanne Global Workplace Forum in Manila, Christeen partnered with Philippines-based and US-based leaders to host an entrepreneurship competition for Filipino youth: Dream Bigger Manila. The competition invited young people to identify a problem, imagine they had access to the Ultimate Venture Capitalist, dream big and pitch a for-profit venture that would radically transform Manila in their lifetime. 

 

Students rose to the challenge and took full advantage of the opportunity. And the adults wanted to pitch too! This project served as the initial “proof of concept” for what would eventually be birthed as Dream Bigger Ventures. 

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Where We Are Today

Dream Bigger Ventures officially launched in 2021 in part due to the urgency brought on by the global pandemic. We remain focused on a mission to empower Filipino Founders to grow as whole-life leaders who will have the character, community and competency to solve seemingly impossible problems in the Philippines with sustainable ventures that will transform culture and communities all around the globe. 

 

Our strategy is modeled after Jesus’ playbook: (1) mobilize a movement and (2) make committed disciples. Dream Bigger Ventures is going broad in its efforts to energize and expand the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Philippines in any way possible while going deep with select Filipino Founders — providing them whole-life leadership training, tailored mentorship and access to values-aligned capital so they can make God’s love visual in and through their own lives, their families and their ventures. 

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Our Core Beliefs

Everything we do, including how we invest, is founded on two core beliefs:

1. Founders who pursue growth in the likeness of Jesus Christ in Biblical character, community and competency will be the most transformational business leaders.

2. Businesses that make God’s love visual – put people at the center of everything they do — will outperform in the long term.

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