The RJ Ledesma Podcast

Some entrepreneurial journeys come full circle. When Simon Dayrit was growing up, he watched his parents build their business at Mercato Centrale. It wasn't just a weekend market—it was where they learned invaluable business lessons, grew as entrepreneurs, and helped provide for their family. Years later, Simon returned to the very same community—but this time as an entrepreneur himself. Armed wit...

In this episode of The RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with creator-entrepreneur, content creator, and fellow podcaster Acushla "Killa Kush" Obusan —who also happens to be my niece. After building a sizable social media following and launching her own podcast, The Bad Bitch Bible , she transformed her personal brand into a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. What started with buying and selling clo...

Can taking a nap actually make you a better entrepreneur? For years, we've been told that success belongs to those who hustle the hardest, sleep the least, and stay busy around the clock. But what if that's exactly what's holding us back? In this episode of The RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Shakti Katyal, founder of Real n Royal, former finance professional, entrepreneur, author, and adv...

What if the most valuable currency in the future isn't money, data, or even AI? What if it's trust? In an age of misinformation, digital fraud, deepfakes, and AI-generated content, the ability to verify what is real may become one of the most important challenges of our time. That's exactly the mission behind BYC Ventures. In this episode of The RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with Paul Soliman, on...

Most executives spend their careers looking for the next sure thing. Jojo Malolos did the opposite. After helping build some of the most important names in digital banking and fintech—from Smart Money (now Maya) to Wing Bank and GoTyme Bank—he made a surprising decision: to take over PayMongo at one of the most challenging moments in its history. Why would a veteran fintech leader leave a comforta...

What does it take to become Mercato Centrale's Next Big Food Entrepreneur? As the co-founder of Mercato Centrale, one of the country's leading food entrepreneur incubators, this episode is especially meaningful to me because it features the winners of a competition we created to discover, mentor, and launch the next generation of Filipino food business owners. This year, I sit down with the founde...

The wedding industry is worth billions of pesos. Yet for many couples, planning their big day can be one of the most stressful experiences of their lives. Who can you trust? Which suppliers are legitimate? And how do you know you're making the right decisions for one of the most important milestones you'll ever celebrate? While most wedding fairs simply bring vendors and clients together, Michelle...

Most people think aging is just something we eventually learn to live with. Mike Chan believes we may soon be able to manage it far more proactively. On this episode of The RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with the Founder and CEO of House of Gaia, the Philippines’ first AI-powered longevity center, to explore how technology is transforming the future of healthcare and human vitality. From full-body...

He wasn’t in retail. He wasn’t in distribution. He wasn’t even planning to start a business. He was an IT professional. Then one day… he saw something on Shark Tank. That product? Scrub Daddy. What started as a simple “what if” turned into something much bigger. In this episode of the RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with Dustin Ng of Wincorp—a former expat IT professional who took a chance on a pro...

Most people don’t lose money because they picked the wrong investment. They lose money because they had no strategy when things started falling apart. On the RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with Jun Tarrobago—a former Chief Investment Officer at UnionBank of the Philippines who has managed billions in assets, navigated multiple market cycles, and helped build top-performing equity funds. Today, he...

In this episode of the RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with Eric Darryl Lim, co-founder of Autokid Mobility Solutions—a fast-growing mobility and fleet solutions company helping businesses move smarter and scale faster. A recognized young business leader, Eric is also a Mansmith Young Market Masters Awards awardee, honoring the country’s most promising marketing-driven entrepreneurs.  In our c...

Most businesses start with a plan. This one started with a hobby. On this episode of the RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with Archie Chiang, founder of Second Skin Industries—a self-made entrepreneur whose journey began back in college… not with cars, but with wrapping cellphones. That curiosity turned into skill. That skill turned into wrapping laptops. Then cars. And eventually… some of the most...

Most people see weddings as a one-day celebration. But behind every “I do” is an entire industry—and one woman helped build that from the ground up. On this episode of The RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with Sharon Fabian, the visionary behind Themes & Motifs and Wedding Expo Philippines—the country’s longest-running bridal fair. From spotting a gap in the market to creating a platform that ha...

Many entrepreneurs build their companies with grit and instinct — a lot of “ready, fire, aim.” But as your business grows, that same energy can also create confusion, bottlenecks, and misalignment inside the team. In this episode of The RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with my co-founder and wife Vanessa Pastor-Ledesma, and EOS Implementer Haraya Del Rosario Gust, founder of Satori Consulting, to ta...

What happens when you take the discipline of corporate sales and bring it into a traditional family business? In this episode of The RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with Ronnie Traballo, Chairman of Bomanite International Limited and Managing Director of Bomanite Southeast Asia, who helped transform their family enterprise into a major player in architectural and decorative concrete across the regi...

What happens after you build one of the most iconic homegrown food brands in the country—and successfully exit? In this episode of The RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with Jose “Jomag” Magsaysay Jr., best known as the co-founder of Potato Corner, the flavored-fries phenomenon that scaled across malls and global markets before its acquisition by the Shakey's Pizza Asia Ventures. But this conversatio...

As we head into the Year of the Fire Horse, I sat down with Sofia Relosa—a Philippines-based Feng Shui and Chinese metaphysics consultant known for combining tradition with a practical, results-focused approach for clients. Through her work, Sofia helps individuals and business owners align their environment and decisions using Feng Shui, BaZi (Four Pillars of Destiny), and Qi Men Dun Jia—not as “...

On this episode of the RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with one of the most respected names in the Philippine wedding industry — Kutchie Zaldarriaga, founder of Getting Married Bridal Fair and the force behind Getting Married Wedding Coordinators & Event Planners. What began as a passion for helping couples plan meaningful celebrations evolved into a full-scale enterprise that not only executes...

Not all entrepreneurs are born into business families—some are born into struggle and choose to rise anyway. On the RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sat down with Renold Verano, President and CEO of InvestPHIL, whose journey from poverty to property development is both raw and deeply inspiring. Renold began his career as a real estate broker, learning the business the hard way—without a family enterprise to...

On the RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sat down with real estate sales superstar Marc Godornes of Filipino Homes—a top-performing agent who proves that real success in real estate isn’t built on luck, hype, or viral moments, but on discipline and a repeatable system. Marc shares how he transitioned from doing the hard, unglamorous work of prospecting and learning the business to building a process that cons...

What happens when the next generation doesn’t just inherit a company—but rebuilds it for the future? On the latest episode of the RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with Sherwin Uy, the leader steering Primeworld Land into a bold new era. Under Sherwin’s leadership, Primeworld has emerged as a fast-rising name in Philippine real estate—earning multiple industry recognitions, including Best Affordable...

In this inspiring episode of the RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with Azela Honor, one of the top team leaders of Filipino Homes, whose journey proves that success has no fixed starting point. From her early career as a radiologic technologist, Azela made a bold pivot into real estate—and went on to build a national and global sales organization of 500–600 brokers and real estate professionals, spr...

In this inspiring and insight-packed episode, I sit down with Jennifer Lumbao, Asia Technology Head of Sun Life Global Solutions (SLGS)—the fast-growing innovation and technology hub of Sun Life. Before joining SLGS, Jennifer built her career in one of the world’s leading tech consulting firms, where she learned how technology, strategy, and people development can converge to deliver massive busin...

In this episode of the RJ Ledesma Podcast, I sit down with the powerhouse tandem behind one of the fastest-growing real estate developers in the Philippines: Wee Community Developers, Inc. (WEECOM). Founded by Cesar L. Wee Jr.—who went from being the self-described “black sheep” of his family to the visionary leader of an award-winning property group—WEECOM has grown from a one-man startup in 2008...

At the Filipino Homes National Real Estate Convention in Cebu, I sat down with one of the industry’s most electrifying success stories: George Ryan Sarmago. Once a seminarian, now one of the country’s top real estate brokers, George has transformed discipline, mission, and heart into a high-performance real estate career. What sets him apart? He’s not just selling homes — he’s built a massive digi...