EPISODE INTRODUCTION

To be a successful entrepreneur, you need a combination of skills that you might not expect. In today’s episode, we have Rafael Jouwena, the CEO and founder of Cocotel. He started his career in the corporate world, but has always wanted to be an entrepreneur. He took the leap of faith and moved back to the Philippines to start his own business in the hospitality sector. Seeing an opportunity in the tourism industry, Rafael wanted to take advantage of it despite the pandemic. Now, Cocotel is the biggest getaway hotel chain in the Philippines, and they have expanded their market to Sydney, Australia and Penang, Malaysia.

EPISODE TOPICS

[1:47] Introducing Rafael Jouwena

[3:18] What’s Your Hustle?

[4:32] Hustleshare Time Machine

[5:00] Rafael’s Origin Story - where he grew up and discovered entrepreneurship

[6:44] Growing up on Indonesian culture & norms

[8:12] Exposure to Entrepreneurship

[10:50] Building Career on his own

[14:52] What were the skills Rafael accumulated working with JP Morgan and SC Johnson?

[17:25] Hospitality sector in the Philippines 

[20:25] What made Rafael grab this huge opportunity?

[23:00] Unexpected tribulations

[26:41] Values Cocotel carries

[33:20] The pivots and challenges Rafael went through

[41:24] The pieces of advice that got Rafael out of the dark

[50:36] How did Rafael get to profitability?

[53:57] What are the type of people and their skillsets that Rafael focuses on?

[57:24] Rafael’s biggest learning

[1:00:57] What’s next for Cocotel?

Quotes from the Episode

• “Failure is a ladder.” - Ron Baetiong

• “Okay, so at the end of the day, just like going back again to my root, that I really want to change the world. And we can start with the hospitality industry in the Philippines.” - Rafael Jouwena

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