SuriHabi: 2nd Gathering
Every community starts with a conversation. Our first SuriHabi gathering brought local creatives and business owners together around a table in a local café at 281 Yengco, Imus—sharing ideas, stories, and what we’re currently figuring out. For our 2nd gathering, we’re doing it again: coffee, conversations, and ideas we can weave together. ☕️
SuriHabi was created as a space for founders, makers, and creatives to pause from the day-to-day work of running a business and reconnect—not just with their own journey, but with one another.
Rather than focusing on networking, we wanted to create a gathering where people could openly share where they are, what they’re building, and how they could genuinely help each other move forward.
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281 Yengco
Our Brand Participants
Teresa Apura
Founder of ZLovesCoffee and BloomsBrewsMNL
Jazztine Batoon
Founder of Sirkulo Studios
Grace Dean
Founder of Gracelle Paperie
Yen Galanto
Founder of baybayen.ph, facilitator
The Highlights
What we love about SuriHabi is that there’s no pressure to have everything figured out before you sit at the table. We come as we are—bringing the ideas we’re excited about, the problems we’re trying to solve, and sometimes even the things we’ve been putting off.
For our 2nd gathering, we welcomed Grace Dean of Gracelle Paperie—a mom, creative entrepreneur, and our newest SuriHabi member. We spent the morning talking about what we’re currently working through, sharing our struggles and ideas, and exchanging accountability with each other. It was one of those conversations that reminded us that we really don’t have to figure everything out alone.
Before we wrapped up, we also started planning something exciting for November. 🎄✨ We’re working on a Christmas collaboration within our SuriHabi community, bringing our ideas and small businesses together for something special. We’re not sharing too much yet, but we’re excited about what’s coming!
And maybe that’s what SuriHabi is really about: starting with a conversation, and seeing where it takes us. One table and a few honest conversations are enough to turn an idea into something more.
Jazz of Sirkulo Studios & Zsa of BloomsBrewsMNL
Jazz and Zsa also found a common ground during the gathering. They talked about their current marketing challenges and how content creation plays an important role in both of their brands. What started as a simple conversation opened up an opportunity for them to exchange ideas, support each other, and maybe create something together along the way. 🤎
Grace of Gracelle Paperie & Yen of Baybayen PH
Grace and Yen also found a way to connect their brands. Grace is building children’s eBooks, while Yen builds websites and communities through Baybayen. From their conversation, they found two simple ways to collaborate: creating a Baybayen page for Grace’s work and sharing the SuriHabi experience through Grace’s storytelling. A small example of how different ideas can come together when the right people share a table. 🤎
What We Learned
Our second SuriHabi gathering was a reminder that community is necessary for our brands to grow. Sometimes, growth doesn’t come from figuring everything out alone, but from having people to share ideas with, learn from, and build alongside. 🤎
Accountability still makes a difference.
Building a business can feel isolating, and having people who genuinely check in on your progress can make the journey more sustainable.
The right community matters.
It's not about being in the biggest room—it's about finding people who encourage your growth, celebrate your milestones, and challenge you to keep going.
Collaboration will always be greater than competition.
When founders choose to work together instead of apart, everyone grows.
It’s not just networking—it’s productive time.
The session naturally shifted from introductions to real discussions about business direction, collaborations, and actionable next steps. It became less about meeting people, and more about actually building with them.
Structure matters for creativity.
Keeping each session small and intentional (with a maximum of 10 participants per batch) created space for deeper conversations instead of surface-level networking. It allowed everyone to be heard, present, and fully engaged.
SuriHabi Experience
“I’m Grace, and I just joined Surihabi. Before Surihabi, I was a mom learning on my own how to start a business and develop potential products. I spent months navigating this new season alone, but I was still nowhere near my target output and timeline. I learned about Surihabi through mutual friends who started their businesses years ahead of me. As someone with established expertise in the corporate world, it took me a while to humble myself and accept that I needed to relearn and allow others to teach and guide me.
As someone new to the group, I felt welcomed and heard. Pitching ideas to myself was easier than sharing them with others, especially those with experience in entrepreneurship. I felt like a novice, but the Surihabi Community made me feel comfortable. It provided a healthy and safe space for sharing business ideas, roadblocks, products I was considering, and project launches. Their feedback and advice gave me a broader perspective. Sharing my ideas with a community that sets target dates and provides accountability partners helped turn my dormant and not yet fully launched brand into a real brand with a clear roadmap. In just one meeting, Surihabi completely shifted my mindset. My ideas are no longer just in my head. They are becoming a reality.
I also love the collaborative prototype activity, where two people become partners and work together on their strengths and areas for improvement. This activity is especially helpful after the group meeting because it provides follow through and someone who can encourage you to stay faithful to your target deliverables.
I would definitely recommend Surihabi, especially to anyone who wants to start building a business and brand. We’ve got this, mga Ka Tribo!”
Looking Ahead
It’s almost the end of the year, and we’re grateful that SuriHabi began this year. 🤎 We’ll have another gathering soon, although we’re not sure yet if it will be our last for the year—December can get pretty busy for everyone.
One thing these gatherings have taught us is the value of pausing and looking at the process before rushing to the next step. And when something isn’t possible right now, that’s okay too. Sometimes, time is our greatest ally—it gives us space to grow, gain clarity, and find the courage to keep going.
See you at the next SuriHabi.
