Innovation must serve a purpose or risk becoming noise—and that purpose is your customer. This was the key message of GCash VP and Head of New Businesses Winsley Bangit during the 1st Mansmith Product Masters Summit held at the RCBC Plaza Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in Makati City.
The Void is not synonymous with stagnation; rather, it's a fertile ground for exploration and discovery. By understanding and embracing the Void, creatives can liberate themselves from the constraints of expectation and perfectionism. This liberation becomes a catalyst for fresh ideas, enabling a departure from the ordinary and a journey into uncharted territories of innovation.
Navigating the Void requires a willingness to confront uncertainty and silence the noise of external influences. It's a practice in mindfulness and self-discovery—a journey into the depths of one's own thoughts and emotions. In this solitude, creatives often find the raw materials for groundbreaking concepts, discovering connections and patterns that were previously obscured.
The process of engaging with the Void is not about avoiding challenges but transforming them into opportunities. It encourages a shift in perspective, viewing obstacles not as roadblocks but as stepping stones to innovation. By understanding 'the Void' as a realm of potential, creatives unlock the door to their most authentic and impactful work, revealing the beauty that emerges when the creative spirit is allowed to roam freely. In essence, the Void becomes not an abyss to be feared, but a sanctuary where creativity thrives, and our most brilliant ideas come to life.
A pioneering thought leadership event, the 1st Mansmith Product Masters Summit convenes business leaders to tackle the full spectrum of product development from ideation to execution. Designed to offer both strategic insights and actionable frameworks, the summit serves as a platform for cross-industry learning and innovation.
In his session, “Building a Robust Product Roadmap,” Bangit, who leads strategy and partnerships for the super app's emerging growth areas like MadTech, insuretech, wealth management, and sustainability, challenged the race toward speed and merely for speed. During his talk he emphasized intentional innovation—the practice of designing products with real user problems in mind, guided by clarity and continuous validation.
“I’ve always believed that the best products are built when we listen closely to real customer needs—and when we learn from one another across industries,”
said Bangit.
“Products shouldn’t be built just because they can be, they should be built because someone genuinely needs them.”
Citing the journey of GCash from e-wallet to inclusive digital finance platform, Bangit emphasized that true differentiation lies not in tech alone, but in building ecosystems that uplift everyone in them.
“We started as a payments solution, but we did not stop there. We tried to identify where we can enhance things, enable users, and enable merchants and we evolved into an ecosystem with much more.”
The event gathered a diverse group of product managers, entrepreneurs, designers, and marketers to equip the country’s sharpest builders with the mindset and tools to create products that resonate. Alongside Bangit, the event featured leaders from Nestlé, JS Unitrade, and Ipsos, offering cross-industry insights on innovation, research, and vision-driven product development.
The summit is organized by Mansmith and Fielders Inc., the Philippines’ leading marketing and entrepreneurship training and consulting firm, known for equipping professionals and enterprises with tools for breakthrough thinking.
For more information, visit https://www.gcash.com
