Circle Notes
- Our trial run started on October 12 in Ho Chi Minh City with a small group of sellers, testing every step before we open to everyone.
- We are targeting November 12 for the full launch. First, our tech team is working with VNPay to fix the last payment issues.
- The tax code was released on September 28. SariKo is cleared to operate in Vietnam.
- PangeaTown is out at game.pangea.town. It is a free game we built to bring new buyers to SariKo.
- Next cities are mapped: Hà Nội and Đà Nẵng in Vietnam, and Phnom Penh, where the Filipino community association SAMAPI is backing us.
- We are a major collaborator on Paskulitan 2026, SAPI's Filipino Festival on December 13, where our founding sellers will show their goods to the public.
- Three asks for this circle are at the bottom of this letter.
Where it started: the 2026 Filipino Diaspora Summit
Delegates at the 2026 Filipino Diaspora Summit, Manila. Photo: Commission on Filipinos Overseas
Dear Founders Circle,
You backed SariKo (Pangea Network) before there was much to show. This letter is my promise to keep you close to what we are building, the good news and the hard parts.
On June 16, I joined 350 delegates from 30 countries at the 2026 Filipino Diaspora Summit in Manila, convened by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. The message of the day was that overseas Filipinos are more than remittance senders. We are a network that can build things. I went as a founder, and at the close I signed the Oath of Commitment with the other delegates. That room confirmed what we are building: not just a Saigon marketplace, but Node 1 of a network for diaspora communities everywhere.
Four months later, our trial run is under way and we are working toward a full launch on November 12. Here is how we got here.
Poppet Celdrán
Founder and CEO
Four months, month by month
- June 16: 2026 Filipino Diaspora Summit in Manila. Signed the Oath of Commitment
- Featured in the Philippine Star, after Sun*Star in late May
- July 6: Pangea went public, with pangea.town as its home
- Fundraise plan and investor pipeline built
- VNPay and Lalamove integrations built into the app
- Pitch deck rebuilt and 42 venture funds mapped
- Fireside chat with Philippine DOST incubator managers in HCMC
- VC outreach opened on September 1 for a $1M pre seed round
- Tech team grew: a Lead Product Designer and a Senior Backend Engineer
- Finance and Compliance Officer onboarded
- Accepted into the Entrepreneurship World Cup 2026
- VNPay and Lalamove contracts signed
- September 28: tax code released. Cleared to operate
- October 2 to 5: Phnom Penh trip and meeting with SAMAPI officers
- October 7: first end to end test order with Mr. Gladelicious
- October 8: pages live for three more Pangea nodes
- October 11: Sari and Kiko, our free Filipino sticker packs, released for Viber and WhatsApp
- October 12: trial run began in Ho Chi Minh City
- October 22: core team set the operating rules for orders, delivery, refunds and payouts
- PangeaTown released
Where we stand
We are pre revenue until the full launch. After launch we will report four numbers every month: repeat purchase rate, GMV per active buyer, seller sell through, and active storefronts.
The road to November 12
Two of our founding sellers
Gladz and Mel, Mr. Gladelicious
Mr. Gladelicious sells on two day pre order. Gladz and Mel ran our first end to end test order on October 7, and their regular buyers will be among the first to order through SariKo at launch.
Evelyn Carullo Bano, Filipino kakanin
Evelyn has been selling kakanin in Ho Chi Minh City since 2010, with no storefront and no platform, only community trust. On SariKo she gets a storefront, payments and delivery in one place.
New faces since June
Nguyen Duc ThangFinance and Compliance Officer, ACCA
Anh LeLead Product Designer
Ngoc Khanh DoSenior Backend EngineerThey join Tri, our cofounder and CTO, who built the first version of the app in under three weeks for under $500. Every member of the core team has now signed a partnership agreement.
PangeaTown
PangeaTown is a free game set in a diaspora town, with Sari, Kiko and friends from our sticker packs. Players grow, cook and serve, and along the way they meet SariKo. It is our first buyer acquisition tool, and it costs us nothing per player. Play it at game.pangea.town.
Paskulitan 2026 with SAPI
SariKo is a major collaborator with SAPI (Samahang Pinoy Vietnam) on Paskulitan 2026, its Filipino Festival and Christmas celebration. Our founding sellers will showcase their Filipino goods to the public, for Filipinos and friends of the community alike. SAPI is also joining SariKo as a founding seller account.
Equatorial Hotel, 242 Tran Binh Trong Street, Cho Quan Ward, Ho Chi Minh City
Music for overseas Filipinos
Two albums made for non resident Filipinos are out under Pangea Music: Longing Celebrations, 12 songs for every Filipino who has called two places home, and Yugyugan, a 10 track dance album released on Philippine Independence Day. Both are on Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, iTunes and all major streaming platforms.
SariKo is Node 1
Each node is a marketplace where one diaspora community buys from its own sellers in the same city.
Trial run now
Coming soon
Coming soon
Coming soon
Where we go after Ho Chi Minh City
We move to a new city only once Ho Chi Minh City runs smoothly. Each city starts with sellers first, then buyers.
Hà Nội
Pinoy sa Hanoi Association, the Filipino community group there, reached out to us first. Same company, same VNPay and Lalamove setup, so no new entity is needed.
Đà Nẵng
Our first seller conversations have started. It runs on the same setup as Hà Nội.
Phnom Penh
On October 4 I met the officers of SAMAPI, the Filipino community association in Cambodia. They will help us find our first 30 founding sellers. Once those sellers are in, we form the local company, which takes two to three months.
Where the round stands
We are raising a $1,000,000 pre seed round on a SAFE, and VC conversations opened September 1. Your Founders Circle SAFE converts at a 20% discount to the price those investors pay.
At $50,000 in Founders Circle commitments, the founding team moves from equity only to paid salaries.
- Rina Perry
- Lalaine Baldelomar
- Arturo Diago
- Tanya Conlu
- Tin Anadilla
- Eena Choa Gardner
- Dr. Jon Bendebel
- Mary Jane Culla
- Manny MartinezPledged
- Ruth AseronPledged
- Rico MarianoPledged
- Chito DurbanPresident, SAPI (Samahang Pinoy Vietnam)
- Rico MarianoForeign Trade Service Officer, DTI
- Lalaine BaldelomarGrowth, marketing and media; Havas Cambodia
- Pham Thi Loan AnhNEWLegal and compliance
What went well, what is hard
Went well
- Tax code released after months of work
- Our first end to end test order worked
- Trial run live with real sellers since October 12
- Strong community backing in Phnom Penh, and interest from Hà Nội
Still hard
- We moved the full launch from October 12 to November 12. Payments have to work every time before we open
- Six of 38 sellers have finished storefronts. Getting the rest live is our main job this quarter
- We still need a corporate Legal Counsel
- The Founders Circle is at $15,500 of the $50,000 that starts team salaries
Three asks this month
Play PangeaTown and share it with Filipino friends in Ho Chi Minh City. When we launch on November 12, they will already know us.
Introduce us to Filipino sellers in Ho Chi Minh City, Hà Nội, Đà Nẵng or Phnom Penh who cook, bake or sell from home.
Refer one person to the Founders Circle who would want a seat at the table.
The rest of 2026
- Now to early November: finish VNPay fixes and live testing with our trial sellers
- November 12: full launch in Ho Chi Minh City (target). If you are in the city, order during launch week. Payment needs a Vietnamese bank account or card
- November to December: bring more of our 38 sellers live, toward 50 founding sellers
- Hà Nội and Đà Nẵng: first sellers lined up once Ho Chi Minh City runs smoothly
- Phnom Penh: SAMAPI gathers our first 30 founding sellers, then we form the local company
- December 13: Paskulitan 2026, SAPI's Filipino Festival at the Equatorial Hotel, HCMC, featuring our founding sellers
Questions? Reply to this email or write to poppet@sariko.store.
SariKo is operated by Zen Tech Asia Co., Ltd. · Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam · www.sariko.store