The Unicorn Unleashed

Filipino real estate developer, art collector and friend to the who’s who of the world, Robbie Antonio has achieved the exalted status in the tech world with his prefabricated structures e-commerce platform Revolution Precrafted — and there’s no stopping him now, says Zara Zhuang

- Zara Zhuang

“Show me the best shot... No, no, I hate it.”

“It’s too bright, I think — you’re too lit. All my shots I like are dark.”

“See what’s posted online.”

“I’ve done this quite a bit — I know what I like and don’t like.”

“Did you see a difference? Sometimes you have to trust the subject.”

Robbie Antonio knows exactly what he is after. He wants his photos moody and dramatically lit. He insists on styling his own hair with a particular brand of pomade. He prefers his jackets to fit close to his frame instead of draping from his shoulders. It is his instinctual approach even to the minutiae that has led to successful projects such as Century Spire with interiors by Armani/Casa and The Milano Residences by Versace, both in the Philippines.

That same laser focus extends to the start-up he founded in 2015, Revolution Precrafted. Officially evolving into the Philippines’ first unicorn — industry-speak for a tech company valued at US$1 billion or more — from what one can only assume was a prize stallion, the online platform cleared the nine-zero hurdle last October, after raising Series B funding through the Singaporean VC firm K2 Global. Revolution Precrafted bagged US$7.6 billion in consolidated project revenue from 20 countries. It’s behind homes and structures in North and South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. And in March it signed a US$3.2- billion deal to design and construct villas and apartments on The World islands in Dubai. All this earned the 41-year-old the 2018 Philippines Real Estate Personality of the Year award. Antonio had made up his mind to gun for a major first and become the world’s largest supplier of designer homes — and he’s well on his way.