Ep 195 - The Hustle Behind Kaya Founders

July 10, 2022 Hustleshare Podcast

EPISODE INTRODUCTION

Raya Buensuceso of Kaya Founders joins us in this episode to share how Kaya Founders is investing into the bright future of the Philippine startup ecosystem. Raya will share her amazing journey studying in an international school in the Philippines and how she got into Princeton and hustled while studying there. She will also share how she got into Kaya Founders and how they built the fund along with how they did their first few investments. Raya will also share how Kaya Founders helps startups that they decide to support and the 4 types of founders they typically invest in.

GUEST LINKS

Follow Raya Buensuceso on LinkedIn

Find more about Kaya Founders on their o fficial website.

EPISODE TOPICS

[3:24] What’s Your Hustle?

[4:59] Hustleshare Time Machine

[8:45] Studying at Brent

[11:11] Having Supportive Parents

[13:13] What She Learned From Sports

[15:34] Studying in Princeton

[18:04] Side Hustles in America

[19:56] Getting Over Homesickness

[21:35] Carrying The Filipino Flag

[26:23] Valuable Skills In Her Current Role

[29:56] How Raya Became Kaya

[34:33] What Makes A Startup Venture-Backable

[49:21] Being Institutional Co-Founders

[52:51] Why Kaya?

[1:00:47] Advice To Founders In The Philippines

JARGONS USED

Venture-backed - used to describe a business financed by venture capital
MVP - minimum viable product, is a product with enough features to attract early-adopter customers and validate a product idea early in the product development cycle
Bear market - when a market experiences prolonged price declines

QUOTES FROM THE EPISODE

Traction will follow. But [before that,] we need to lock down the first two ingredients: idea and potential.
As a founder, you have to wear multiple hats.
Despite the downturn in the market, we still feel optimistic. We feel like it’s the best time to secure the big deals.
Seek out mentorship. Keep the faith. Be authentic.
If you’re a Filipino founder solving Filipino problems, make sure you’re solving the problems here. There’s a tendency for founders to copy-paste the solutions abroad but the chances of success are slimmer.

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