MANILA, Philippines – Paydro Live is the newest quiz app that Filipinos have gone crazy for. But unlike other quiz apps of the past, Paydro is more involved, featuring a host asking the questions live to an online audience. Answer all the questions correctly, and the user wins real money, split among all the winners of that particular episode.

Contests are currently held every Monday to Friday at 12:30 p.m. with surprise contests held from time to time. The typical prize pool for the regular contests are P10,000 but has gone all the way up to P200,000 in one instance. Paydro’s also promising a prize of P1,000,000 once they hit 100,000 users. Currently, they average about 25,000 to 35,000 concurrent users per episode. 

We talked to Paydro CEO Gian Javelona, part of the 2017 edition of “Forbes 30 under 30 in Asia” list, to discuss the app, get tips on how to win more games, and plans for the future. Read our Q&A below.

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Who thought of the name Paydro? 

My business partner, John Ignacio, and I were in New York last October for the Forbes Global summit 2017 and we saw an app named Oscar. When we were on the train, we asked ourselves: what is a good Filipino name that will represent our country? And We thought of Pedro and we wanted it to embody everything we do on the app. We called it Paydro.

What was the single biggest prize ever won by one individual? 

Earlier this year, we had a lone survivor and she won P10,000! We didn’t think it would happen that early on but it did! 

Who thinks of the questions? Is there one quiz-master or is it a bigger team? Can you take us through the process of crafting the quiz questions?  

The Paydro team usually collaborates for questions. But if we’re talking about specifics, it is a secret! You’ll have an idea who makes our questions if you play Paydro Live – the person our hosts can’t stop raving about!

Just like when we were in school, we needed to get info from multiple sources to make sure we put out facts that are true. We also do that too for the questions. We want people to know that some facts online are not those we see on headlines – sometimes they’re just usually clickbait. We choose the best for the day because the questions are a big part of what makes Paydro so enjoyable! You get to learn something new every day.

You’re targeting a single-game mark of 100,000 concurrent users so you can give away P1 million. What’s your record so far for most users in a single game? When do you think you’ll hit 100,000? 

Right now there are around 25,000 to 35,000 users per game. There’s a process for users to believe in what we’re trying to do, and we know that this may take time. We’re making plans so that we reach 100,000 users by the end of the month. It’s a challenge and that’s what fuels us to keep on going. We have big plans for Paydro. We do what we do because we know we have something that can enrich the lives of our fellow Filipinos here in the country, and our loved ones abroad. 

What tips can you give Paydro users to better their chances of winning?  

First, update your Paydro app. We know that live streaming a game show is a new concept for us Filipinos, so we always remind them to update. 

Second, try getting updated with current events. It might just pop up on our questions! 

Third, trust your gut! It’s nice seeing our Paydro users playing together during lunch time but if (you) don’t know the answer, trust your gut. Sometimes it helps to not listen to the person next to you. 

Lastly, use your puso. Use your referral code to gain puso (an extra life so that a user can keep playing after getting a question wrong) for you and your friend!

Some of us have a Google window open while playing the game. Are you ok with that?

Of course, it’s okay! I do it too! It can help but sometimes 10 seconds isn’t enough! We do love that our Paydro users are researching facts during and after Paydro Live. 

Noontime TV games have a long history in the Philippines. Do you think that’s also a reason why the app has been received as well as it had been?  

Yes! We Filipinos love being entertained and love having a chance to win something. Paydro users can join in on the fun and not just watch from their seats. We aim to include all Filipinos here and abroad.  

Was the 12:30 p.m. time slot chosen because of the country’s history with noontime game shows? Is there a connection there? Or is it merely because that’s when most people take their lunch?

We studied what the best time is for streaming Paydro Live. One of the best times from that study was 12:30 p.m. This is the time that [employees] get to take their breaks and also play Paydro Live with their co-workers. 

Are you looking to increase the frequency of Paydro games?

Yes. We are aware that a population of the Filipino workforce doesn’t follow the regular 9-to-5 work hours. 

What can app users expect from Paydro within the next 6 months? 

We value how the Paydro experience is for our users and new users to come. We are very excited to launch some of our new features in the next coming weeks but for sure it will make our users happy and bring more people closer together. So, yes, we have a lot in store. 

Looking ahead, where do you see Paydro in, say, 3 or 5 years? 

We see Paydro as the future of media not just in the Philippines but also for Southeast Asia. Paydro will be more than just a trivia game. 

Paydro is the biggest trivia quiz app in the PH but how would you compare the app to other trivia quiz apps like Loco and HQ Trivia? Do you think there are things you’re doing better than those guys, or things you might be better at in the future?

We focus on localizing our content so that Filipinos have a shot at winning. We want to highlight Filipino trivia mixed with others so that our users can learn new things. 

It’s my dream to build a company that will scale not just in the Philippines but for also Southeast Asia. Just like what Grab did with Uber, they innovated and scaled their app in Southeast Asia. Paydro now can be found in two countries, the Philippines and Malaysia. We’ve just launched the Dooit App for Malaysia. We are currently targeting to get Indonesia and Japan within the next coming months. 

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Javelona is also the founder of OrangeApps. He first shot to fame with his company’s cloud-based school management platform wherein educational institutions can manage processes such as student enrollment, grades, human resources, and payroll.

If the US has Apple, then the Philippines has Orange, the young CEO once said, hinting at the company’s ambition to be among the biggest tech companies in the Philippines. – Rappler.com