Photo courtesy of Soj Gamayon

Soj Gamayon, an Ilocano student at Ateneo de Manila University, happily announced on his personal social media page that he won the ASES (Affiliated Stanford Entrepreneurial Students) Stanford Summit 2025 Pitch Competition.

The event was held from April 6 to 13 at Stanford University's campus in California.

In the said summit, Gamayon and 29 other chosen students from countries around the world were grouped into teams of 6. They were given the challenge to build an entirely new startup from scratch in under 24 hours.

Their group created SalesRx, "a compliant sales copilot for non-expert medical reps, built at the intersection of AI and regulated industries."

SalesRx is designed for industries where every word matters. It solves two key problems: for MedTech startups, it ensures sales conversations stay compliant, helping them build trust and credibility early on. For medical reps, it increases efficiency by offering real-time sales guidance, allowing them to focus on building meaningful relationships—not memorizing medical jargon or regulations.

Gamayon further explained that most AI sales tools are built for speed and scale, but tend to ignore regulation. In health care, that's not an option. 

SalesRx is trained specifically for regulated medical environments, combining AI-powered transcription and smart coaching with built-in compliance filters. It doesn't just accelerate sales—it does so responsibly.

The inspiration came from the group's shared frustrations at the gaps in compliance across health-related industries, especially since their team is composed of student founders from Australia, the UK, and the Philippines—places where MedTech is advancing fast but still burdened by complex regulation.

Gamayon described the experience to be terrifying as they pitched in front of Silicon Valley investors and founders.

"If anything, this summit pushed me outside my comfort zone. And I've learned—discomfort breeds disruption, and disruption breeds innovation," he said in his post.

In February, Gamayon announced that out of thousands of applicants worldwide, only 30 student entrepreneurs made the cut and he is one of two Filipinos who made it.

He flew to Stanford this month as a delegate to the ASES Summit with 100% scholarship. For him it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn, build, and scale alongside the best minds in global innovation.

ASES Stanford was founded in 1989 with the goal of connecting student entrepreneurs all over the world, according to its website.

"Today, active ASES chapters provide educational programs on entrepreneurship, design, and venture capital for students across the globe. We challenge our members to think beyond Silicon Valley and solve global problems," it said.

Some of the previous speakers at the summit include Paypal Founder Peter Thiel and Tesla and SpaceX Founder Elon Musk.

The ASES is considered the world's most prestigious student-led entrepreneurship gathering.

After the ASES stint, Gamayon will be flying to Bali, Indonesia to attend an event on mental health for entrepreneurs—another advocacy he is deeply passionate about. 

Then he'll fly to Bangkok, Thailand for the semi-finals of another global pitch competition, where he is one of only 20 selected worldwide.

After that, Gamayon will head back to the US, this time to Los Angeles, for a one-month immersion in Silicon Valley. It's his prize for being the first Filipino global winner of Red Bull Basement 2024, where he beat over 110,000 applicants across 40 countries with AgriConnect.

AgriConnect is a startup that Gamayon built, aimed to help Philippine agribusinesses manage risk using AI.

In the end, Gamayon dedicated his win to the Philippines.

"To the Philippines, this win is for you," he said.