Hustleshare

Discover the tactical blueprint of Katrina Chan, the force behind the Philippines’ premier startup launchpad, as she reveals the high-stakes diplomacy and "founder’s grit" required to build a national ecosystem from scratch. This episode of Founders Only delivers a raw masterclass in navigating public-private partnerships, overcoming burnout, and unifying a fragmented market into a world-class eng...

In this episode of Founders Only, we are joined by Dennis Velasco of Prosperna, for an unfiltered and deep dive into the high-stakes reality of leadership that most business books gloss over. Dennis pulls back the curtain on the psychological toll of managing a team, sharing a candid look at the unique stresses and "lonely-at-the-top" difficulties that only those in the driver's seat can truly und...

On the latest episode of Hustleshare, celebrating Women’s Month, Noreen Baetiong shares her inspiring journey into entrepreneurship, shaped by early struggles and hard-earned lessons. Through resilience and determination, she rose to become a business owner, embodying the strength and perseverance needed to thrive in a competitive industry. Her story highlights the importance of courage, persisten...

In this episode of Founders Only, Symph co-founder David Marquez recounts the rise and eventual decline of Shipmates amidst a shifting e-commerce landscape. He opens up about the "emotional reckoning" required to acknowledge that the venture was no longer sustainable despite his deep personal investment. David illustrates that true resilience often lies in the maturity to accept a setback rather t...

This week on Founders Only, we sit down with James Fernando of Armada Brands as he opens up about one of the most honest and emotional journeys a founder can experience. From reaching the heights of success to facing unexpected setbacks, James shares what it truly feels like to go from being on top to suddenly finding yourself starting over again. In this episode, he reflects on the bittersweet re...

This week on Founders Only, we sit down with Jojo Malolos of PayMongo for a powerful conversation about one of the most compelling turnaround stories in the local business landscape. In this episode, we take a deep dive into what it truly means to step into a company at its lowest point. Jojo shares the reality of walking into an organization that many believed was beyond saving — a company facing...

This week on Founders Only, we mark an exciting new chapter with the official relaunch of the show — and we’re kicking it off in a big way. To celebrate, we’re joined by two of the most influential figures in the venture capital landscape: Paulo Campos of Kaya Founders and Franco Varona of Foxmont. In this special episode, they take us behind the curtain of how venture capital truly operates...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Michael McCullough, Chairman of KMC Solutions, to unpack how a lemonade stand kid from Oregon built one of the largest flexible office and offshoring platforms in the Philippines, powering 800+ companies and 20,000 desks nationwide. From coding MVPs and battling 2.5 Mbps internet to betting big on Filipino talent, Michael reveals the grit,...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Donald Lim, COO of DITO CME, to unpack his journey from selling lighting products in Binondo and cleaning toilets at Burger King to leading digital transformation across agencies, media giants, and the country’s third telco. From building Yehey in the early internet days to shaping strategy at ABS-CBN and beyond, Donald shares why humility...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Dom Sagolla and Anna Spisak, the minds behind Developer Camp, an 18-year-old global hackathon movement that began in Silicon Valley and is now coming to Manila. From the early days of Twitter and the first iPhone Dev Camps to building inclusive tech communities worldwide, they share how cooperation, mentorship, and community-first innovati...

This week on Hustleshare, Ron Baetiong sits down with Paulo Canivel, GM of Evro Mobility Solutions, to unpack his journey from scrappy side hustles and barbershops to building the Philippines’ leading EV charging platform under 917Ventures and AC Mobility. Paulo shares how betting early, learning faster than the market, and staying relentlessly adaptable helped him go zero-to-one—again—while...

This week on Hustle Share, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Cris Azaña, co-founder and CEO of Kazam, to trace her journey from growing up in a household shaped by kasambahays to building a tech platform that connects homeowners and domestic workers in a safer, smarter way. Cris shares hard-earned lessons on grit, family expectations, and founder conviction—revealing what it really takes to solve m...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Julian Legazpi, founder and chief venture officer of Infi Group, to trace his journey from growing up Filipino-Canadian to becoming a global operator, angel investor, and venture builder across Southeast Asia. Julian shares hard-earned lessons on grit, diaspora identity, and what it really takes to build, fund, and scale companies in emerg...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong welcomes Stephanie Kubota, president and CEO of Rush Technologies—one of 917Ventures’ most successful portfolio companies. Steph shares her journey from being a Subway sandwich artist in Boston to becoming one of the youngest CEOs in the Globe ecosystem, navigating imposter syndrome, building social capital, and making the hardest call any founder faces:...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Ernest Cu, President and CEO of Globe Telecom, to trace the journey from helping in a family business and studying in the U.S. to building a career in tech and returning home to make his mark. They dive into Ernest’s first entrepreneurial leap, his role in shaping the Philippines’ BPO boom, and the leadership mindset that helped transform...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with tech pioneer Dado Banatao, alongside Maria Banatao of the Phildev Foundation, to trace the journey that earned him the title “Bill Gates of the Philippines”—from a rural barrio to engineering school, Boeing, and Silicon Valley. They also dive into Dado’s semiconductor breakthroughs, early entrepreneurial setbacks, and the VC framework he n...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Nina Ellaine Dizon, the founder of Colourette Cosmetics, as she shares her journey from selling items in school to accidentally entering the beauty space through soap—and scaling the brand exponentially through online growth. Nina also opens up about her decision to raise venture capital and how it reshaped Colourette’s trajectory from a s...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Kim Lato, founder and CEO of KimStore, the Philippines' longest-running and largest electronics e-tailer. Kim shares her incredible 19-year journey from selling cameras on Multiply as an 18-year-old college student to building an e-commerce empire that survived platform shutdowns, customs controversies, family tragedy, and a global pandemi...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Smile API co-founder Jan Pabellon to uncover how he bounced back from a failed first startup, taught himself tech, built his own dev shop, and discovered the massive credit data gap holding millions of Filipinos back. Jan also reveals what pushed him to become a founder again and how Smile API is now taking on one of the biggest challenges...

This week on Hustleshare, Ron Baetiong sits down with Pam Belen, Founder and CEO of Umpisa, to unpack how a CPA-turned-tech-founder is on a mission to make the Philippines recognized globally as a tech hub. Pam shares her journey from accountancy to winning a startup weekend in San Francisco, the fundamentals that keep Umpisa profitable and sustainable, and why Filipino founders need to stop putti...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Raphael Rey Bacolod, director of the Austrian Business Agency (ABA), who’s leading Austria’s push to recruit top Filipino talent in IT, engineering, and healthcare. Rafael shares how Filipinos can land jobs in Austria with no placement fees, bring their families, and enjoy world-class quality of life—just like his grandmother did when she...

This week on Hustleshare, Ron Baetiong sits down with Vince Yamat, CEO and Managing Director of 917Ventures, to unpack how the country’s top venture builder is reshaping Philippine innovation through people-first leadership, relentless experimentation, and a powerful ecosystem advantage. Vince shares the wins, failures, and bold new direction behind Velocity—917V’s program giving startups unpreced...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Cristina “Indo” Ibanez, president of Scale NCR and head of Miriam College’s Innovation Center. From growing up in a family of entrepreneurs to championing collaboration among university-based incubators, Indo shares how she’s turning classrooms into launchpads for the next wave of Filipino founders. Resources: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedi...

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Dave Del Rosario, Program Manager of DLSU Animo Labs and one of the unsung heroes behind Philippine Startup Week. From his early days as an intern at IdeaSpace to empowering innovators across Mindanao, Dave shares how his grassroots experience continues to shape the next generation of founders and drive inclusive growth within the Philippi...

Kevin Brockland, Founder of Indelible Ventures, reveals the hard-earned lessons from the 2008 financial crisis that now fuel his venture capital success backing B2B tech startups across Southeast Asia. From small-town Missouri to Malaysia's dynamic startup scene, he unpacks the reality of impact investing, what makes companies truly investor-ready, and the keys to building resilient, scalable tech...