The gift of Giftinity

Feb 28

They say the millennial generation is the generation that has had the blessing (or maybe some consider it a curse?) of growing up with technology. The generation that has been raised with personal computers, smartphones, iPods (remember those!), iPads and more. The generation that has seen the birth of social media and the one that has developed social media and other digital platforms to where they are today.

However, millennial’s aren’t the only ones to have embraced everything digital - meet Gerard Panganiban from a Generation X.

“I was the kid who liked to play around and fix anything,” said Gerard. “I would even mess them up and fix them again. I was the go-to person whenever my parents or grandparents had an issue with technology – VHS, stereos, even the manual antenna!”

Gerard grew up in the Philippines, but his mom worked in Saudi Arabia – a hotspot for electronics. When she moved back home for good, she brought lots of electronics for Gerard to play with and learn. However, it was when a cousin gave Gerard’s family their first computer that learning the digital world became a game changer.

“I started to learn so many things like MIRC [old chatting tools like Zoom or iMessenger today],” said Gerard. “I met like-minded people from all over the world. We shared ideas and how to learn. Some were even hackers!”

Training and learning technology at a young age allowed Gerard to be self-taught and self-guided on any new platform or program – truly growing with the digital age.

“When PhotoShop came out, that was the first big tool I started working with,” said Gerard. “My brother influenced me a lot to try it, and it turns out, I was pretty good at it! People would come up to me and ask if I could design invites, cards and more. It started as a hobby at first, but then it turned to freelance and I started to get referred to different companies.”

Combining design talent along with website development and coding landed Gerard jobs in the Philippines and Dubai post-school.

“I went for a tour and vacation in Dubai and ended up applying for some jobs there because I really liked it,” said Gerard. “In less than a week, I got an offer. So then, I was in Dubai for eight years and that’s where I met my wife!”

Gerard and his wife were happy in Dubai. He worked for a Bloomberg-style company designing and developing their website and apps and later on, for a premier private jet company. He had received offers to work in the U.S., but was hesitant to do so.

“I was skeptical,” said Gerard. “You hear on the news all the bad stories of crime and such, and Dubai is such a safe place.”

However, after Gerard and his wife attended his sister’s wedding in the U.S. (members of Gerard’s family immigrated to the U.S., including his parents in 2007), his perception quickly changed.

“I felt the opposite of what I kept hearing on the news,” said Gerard. “I told myself after that, I would never stereotype any place based off what I hear. I have to experience it first. I loved it here and I realized my family and I can spend our time here.”

And, that’s exactly what they did!

Gerard quickly went to work after moving to the U.S. and settling in Skokie, Ill. His first job was designing for the DePaul University Athletics department as he attended grad school. Word of Gerard’s talents got around campus.

“Being able to code, design and develop has worked in my favor,” said Gerard. “Whenever the market was in low demand for designers, I could go be a coder. Whenever it was in low demand for coders, I could be a designer.”

Coupled with his enthusiasm to network, an entrepreneurial spirit and always thinking ahead, Gerard landed a job at Northwestern post-graduation where he worked in their media, technology and innovation department. There, he was exposed to very influential people that inspired Gerard in his work as a professional.

“Throughout my careers, I always look at my bosses and owners of the company or business I am working at,” said Gerard. “I see and learn about what made them who they are and what helped propel them to where they are today so one day, I can get there too.”

And today, Gerard is getting there. He’s already the proud owner of Graphyte Technologies LLC, a design, mobile and web development company and is currently working on getting his latest endeavor Giftinity off the ground and running.

“I tend to always have so many ideas in my mind,” said Gerard. “I’ve been able to put a lot of those ideas into Graphyte, but Giftinity is one that I started to think about, create and pursue when I was in an entrepreneurial course at DePaul.”

One of the objectives of the class was to figure out something that could be improved. Gerard’s mind went to the gift giving process…stemming from many of his personal experiences.

“I always forget to give gifts,” said Gerard. “I’m always busy and thinking, so I tend to forget important dates like my wife’s birthday or my parents. I only would remember the day before or day of. I was lucky if I remembered the day before because I could run to a nearby store and buy something.”

That gift-giving guilt and independent research where Gerard discovered that billions of dollars of gifts are returned each year fueled an application that develops enhanced artificial intelligence systems to simplify a user’s experience in the gift giving process.

Through a user’s consent, Gerard and his team develop artificial intelligence solutions pulled from social media, browsing histories and more to serve personalized curated product recommendations that will help a consumer quickly find gift products and experiences for those they care most about.

“Where I come from, we really value gifts,” said Gerard. “It’s a special and meaningful experience to be given a gift. To know so many are returned each year makes me sad. I’m trying to make the process less overwhelming.”

Right now, Gerard and his team are preparing to launch a fundraising campaign to attract and gain more investors for Giftinity. The product is currently in its beta phase and the next step is building the funds to officially launch.

“As a founder and an entrepreneur, you go into a roller coaster of emotions,” said Gerard. “But you have to have grit, passion and confidence to speak up in order to be successful. I’ve met so many people who have great ideas, but they don’t believe in themselves. I was like that at first, but you never know, your idea could resonate with someone. To get your first investor, you have to talk to 100…I’m getting close to 100.”

In the future, Gerard’s goal is to make Giftinity an IPO – something he knows is entirely possible thanks to his current team, who believes in his project as much as he does, and getting the right investors.

“One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Keep on shooting stars until one will fall,’” said Gerard. “That’s what I intend to do! And when I’m successful with this project, I will start another one!”

You can follow Giftinity’s journey here. If you’re interested in taking a survey that will continue to help enhance Giftinity’s system and data, click here to take it.