The RJ Ledesma Podcast

Pete Felix is the President & Chief Executive Officer of PHINMA Property Holdings Corporation, one of the most prestigious and reputable conglomerates in the country: the PHINMA Group of Companies. Its mission is to provide quality homes and build communities that cultivate the bayanihan spirit. Prior to Phinma Properties, Pete was always involved in various capacities in the housing industry....

iAdvertise Solutions is the only marketing agency in the world proud with 80,000 experts ready to help you unleash your maximum digital potential organically.  Its CEO, Reiner Cadiz started the company at the age of 19. He is considered one of the top visionaries in the industry. He is leader who goes beyond the boundaries of marketing and thinking years ahead which gave the company an edge f...

Earl Valencia is the Co-founder of Plentina, an AI and fintech start-up headquartered in Silicon Valley. He was previously a Managing Director for Digital Transformation at Charles Schwab Company. He co-founded QBO, the National Innovation Center of the Philippines, and the IdeaSpace Foundation and was the VP of Corporate Development and Innovation at Smart/PLDT. For his contributions to Philippin...

Don is the CEO and Co-founder of NextPay.ph, a fast, simple, and affordable digital banking suite for small businesses in the Philippines. With a background in software engineering, blockchain, distributed technologies, and digital product design and passion for building superior products and business model innovation, he took the opportunity to take the best practices abroad and instill it i...

Jojo Flores is the co-founder of Plug and Play, a Silicon Valley-based innovation platform that connects start-ups to investors and corporations worldwide. Established in 2006 with only 20 companies in its portfolio, Plug and Play has successfully grown through the years and partnered with over 30,000 startups and 400 official corporate partners. How did he turn a simple building in Silicon Valley...

Hanky Lee is a serial entrepreneur, brand builder, and visionary behind the Henry Hotel, a pioneering boutique hotel line in the Philippines. Since it’s opening, it has won numerous awards and accolades, competing against hospitality giants. With properties in development, his vision is to open more properties within the coming years to provide “Like No Other” experiences. Hanky also co-founded Ye...

Marvin Tiu-Lim is Mega Global Corporation’s Chief Growth and Global Officer. With his distinguished marketing career and entrepreneurial expertise, he has headed company growth and innovation for the last 6 years, thus strengthening it to become a market leader in the industry.  Aside from his success in that field, he is also the current President of the Philippine Association of National Ad...

In this episode, we're joined by Marcy Pilar-Inajada, Assistant Vice President and Venture Lead for Lending at UBX Philippines, a wholly-owned fintech subsidiary and venture capital studio of UnionBank of the Philippines. She manages SeekCap (@SeekCapPH), the first online lending marketplace for Filipino entrepreneurs.  Marcy tells us all about SeekCap and how they help micro, small, and medi...

Katrina Chan is the Executive Director of QBO Innovation Hub, a Philippine Innovation Hub and start up platform which she co-founded in 2016. Since the lockdown started, they conducted more than 160 programs benefitting all start ups, reaching more than 36,000 participants online. Aside from that, she previously served as Head of Growth and Strategy at Ideaspace, the Philippines largest private st...

Glenda Victorio is the CEO and Founder of Brilliant Skin Inc., a gem in the beauty and cosmetic brand in the Philippines. It currently has more than 700 distributors and over 40 franchises. Veteran journalist Korina Sanchez heard about her success and without hesitation, she was given the permit to handle her own product, K Magic Cream. Brilliant Skin faced its biggest challenge last year when Gle...

Sherill Ramos Quintana is the Founding President and CEO of Oryspa Spa Solutions, Inc., the number 1 maker of 100% natural rice bran-based wellness and beauty products in the Philippines. Wherein it was recognized as the most promising franchise in 2015. After that, it was named as an Outstanding Filipino Franchise and Best in Corporate Social Responsibility Program. Oryspa is also an ASEAN Busine...

Abba Napa is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of The Moment Group, a younger and dynamic F&B Operator & Developer. It created and opened its first three homegrown restaurants within eight months of its launch and since then persisted on commencing one restaurant every 56 days. The Moment Group was established in 2012 and is home to 2,500 employees, 12 food brands, and 45 shops. Some...

Founders and CEO of Angkas Angeline Tham and George Royeca sit down with us this week to discuss their operations and how they pivoted the business during the pandemic. We will also hear how they coordinated with the government on laws and regulations in the motorcycle taxi industry.  Angeline Tham is a serial entrepreneur who launched one of the top online auction outfits in Singapore. She c...

Gerry Choa is the President and Chairman of Pro-Friends, one of the country’s leading and fastest growing real estate developers in the country.  Pro-Friends was founded in 1999 by Gerry along with a group of friends whose shared vision was to create communities and transform lives. From being a provider of housing units in small pocket developments in Cavite, it has grown to include medium r...

This week, we are joined by Anthony Leuterio, CEO and Founder of Filipino Homes. A graduate of Computer Science from the University of San Jose - Recoletos. Moreover, he is also a motivational speaker, real-estate influencer, marketing consultant, realtor, and investor.  Anthony has been a recipient of over a thousand awards and accolades. He's the first E-pro certified dealer within the Phil...

This week, we are joined by Patrick Lim Fernandez, a Feng Shui expert and advocate of classical schools of Feng Shui and Chinese Metaphysics. Patrick holds degrees in Management Engineering from Ateneo de Manila University and an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles with advanced analytics from MIT and Stanford University. Patrick combines classical Feng Shui principles and tradition...

Founder and CEO of Podcast Network Asia Ron Baetiong sits down with us this week as we discuss how he managed to secure a $750k seed funding for the company and more. His beginning wasn't always an easy ride. After founding two startups prior, he gained experience and skills needed in building Podcast Network Asia. Through hard work and hustle, Podcast Network Asia raised a $750k funding from Lisa...

This week's episode will not just feature one, not two, but three guests in one sitting! We're joined by Ms. Joyce Yu, the President & CEO of True Blends Tea & Coffee, whose multi-branch coffee shop that's now a top of mind destination for honest-to-goodness tea and coffee concoctions started out as a cozy cafe cart in the Ateneo de Manila High School cafeteria. By her side is Mr. Mark Jos...

Gerry Santos is the founder and CEO of Mr. Freeze, and the current title holder of Entrepreneur of the Year in the Asia Leaders Awards (and has been for three consecutive years now). One of his first recognitions in the industry was when Mr. Freeze was chosen among 5000 SMEs as the Most Outstanding SME Partner by MERALCO Luminary in 2011. Despite having these big awards under his name, Gerry has n...

An author, a publisher, an inspirational speaker, a TV and radio host, a husband, and a father - Bro. Bo Sanchez has pretty much done it all, but did you know that he is also a micro-entrepreneur? As a big believer of uplifting other micro-entrepreneurs for the betterment of his country's economic problems, he engages with small businesses and real estate, and as well as teaches and writes about f...

For this week, we'll be sitting down with 917Ventures’ Managing Director Vince Yamat. 917Ventures is the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines. And leverages on the rich asset base of Globe Telecom, the No. 1 telecommunications company in the country. Its mission is to improve the lives of all 109M Filipinos by building, operating and scaling start-ups that tackle the biggest pain points....

Meet the Grand Winner of the first-ever Shell LiveWIRE Competition in the Philippines: Nanotronics, Inc. Nanotronics is a proudly Philippine-bsed technology start up that produces bio-based nanomaterials called cellulose nanocrystals made from indigenous plants to help sustainably reduce plastic waste. We're sitting down with the Scientist and CEO of Nanotronics, Inc. Dr. Jerome O. Palaganas on th...

Up next on The RJ Ledesma Podcast, we have Cesar Wee and as well as Carson Choa who are, respectively, the CEO & Founder and the COO of Wee Community Developers, Inc. - a Real Estate Company that produces premium homes in the key places of the country to ensure the betterment of living. How did they dominate this year's 8th PropertyGuru Property Awards with nine awards (including the Best Hous...

Businesses all over the country have gone from physical to digital since the pandemic began, which gives a lot of sellers opportunities to expand their reach. Founder and CEO of Philippine-based social e-commerce platform Resellee, Marc Concio shares how they recently secured their US$1 million in a seed round from MinTech Enterprises and Hofan Capital, and as well as his vision for providing sust...

Alfamart, as COO Harvey Ong describes it, is the 'small fish swimming among the sharks'. However, business has yet to wane for them - as of last year, 750 Alfamart stores have been opened all over the country. On top of that, they have also recently managed to open their 1000th store in the Philippines amidst the tough situations brought by the pandemic. Find out how Alfamart Philippines came to b...