Posts in startups
Ep 127 - The Hustle Behind Kimstore

Kim Lato of Kimstore joins us in this episode to share her very inspiring story in being one of the e-commerce pioneers in the Philippines. Kim will share her humble beginnings and how she hustled to get Kimstore off the ground and how she grew the company from being a small team to professionalizing and scaling their operations. She will also share how she overcame incredible hurdles that came along Kimstore's 15-year journey.

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Playbook #12 Clubhouse Edition - How To Choose Co-Founders with Roland Ros and Rexy Dorado of Kumu 👋

Roland Ros and Rexy Dorado, the co-founders of Kumu, along with Atty. Josef Acuña of Podcast Network Asia joins us in this playbook to teach how to choose the right co-founders for your startup. They will discuss the characteristics of what to look for in a co-founder and how to look for them and convince them to join your startup. They will also provide great tips and examples of how they recruited co-founders and looked for the right talent to bring in within Kumu as they grew their company.

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Ep 126 - The Hustle Behind Thinking Machines

Stephanie Sy of Thinking Machines joins us in this episode to share her hustle in leading the AI revolution in the Philippines by helping the government and companies make better decisions through frameworks and data. Stef will also share her amazing journey starting out in Silicon Valley while studying in Stanford, putting up her own startup, joining a startup that got acquired and eventually joining Google. She will also share why she chose to come back and launch a Machine Learning and Data Science startup in the Philippines and the projects they do that affect the lives of millions of people.

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Ep 125 - The Hustle Behind 917Ventures

Vince Yamat, Managing Director of 917Ventures, joins us in this episode to share how passionate Filipinos can turn their ideas into the next big startup powered by Globe Telecom through the corporate biggest venture builder in the country. He will also share how he started out his career in tech and how he moved up the ranks in his earlier hustles and in Globe telecom. Vince also shares how aspiring startup founders can take maximize the perks that 917Ventures gives to scale their startup idea.

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Ep 124 - The Hustle Behind Adulting With Joyce Pring

Joyce Pring joins us for our 2nd Anniversary episode to share her journey in lifelong communication that culminated in creating her podcast Adulting With Joyce Pring. She will share her humble beginnings and the sacrifices that she went through growing up to provide for her family. Joyce will also share the inspiration on how she created her podcast and how she creates great content for her audience.

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Ep 123 - The Hustle Behind Nomad Finance Girl

Nikki Jurado also known as Nomad Finance Girl joins us in this episode to share her lifelong entrepreneurial journey that started at the age of 6. She will share all the business ventures she started even as a minor and raising money to start all her numerous businesses without having the personal capital at the start. She will also share how she started her journey in sharing her business successes and failures through NFG to help people with their businesses and finances.

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Ep 122 - The Hustle Behind Quanta Digital

Ash Mandhyan of Quanta Digital, An ex-Lazada and ex-Facebook executive joins us in this episode to share his experience in being a vital part of the growth of big tech companies he worked for. He will also bring us back to how he worked and led the digital transformation of the SM group and what ultimately led him to take the jump and become a full time entrepreneur.

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Ep 121 - The Hustle Behind CrewBloom

Brianna Carney and Kate Ringcodan of Crewbloom joins Ronster in this episode to share how they built a recruitment agency connecting businesses to the top 2% of remote professionals. Brianna and Kate also shares their very unique past hustles and how they decided to come together to grow CrewBloom. They will also share their 7 Core values that startups can use to build amazing culture with.

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Ep 120 - The Hustle Behind TeamAsia

Monette Itturalde - Hamlin - Founder and President of TeamAsia joins us in this episode how she overcame unthinkable hurdles to put up TeamAsia and make it grow from its humble beginnings. She will also share how she grew the team and how TeamAsia was able to withstand the constant evolution of demands of their clientele and become a team which is at the forefront of innovation in marketing despite going through numerous challenges along the way.

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Ep 119 - The Hustle Of Growing Go Daddy

Tina Shieh - Marketing Director of GoDaddy Asia visits us to tell the importance of having the right domain for your startup and how founders can leverage the tools that GoDaddy has for entrepreneurs. She also shares with us how she hustled in her career and how she helped grow GoDaddy in Asia. She also talked about the recently concluded Project Go and brought the winner, Pearl De Guzman of Staffz, to talk about how their experience doing the show in the middle of a pandemic.

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Ep 118 - The Hustle Behind Foxmont Capital

Franco Varona, Managing Partner of Foxmont Capital Partners joins us in the episode to give a fresh perspective of a Filipino Venture Capitalist and the world of startup investments:

  • He shares how he grew up in Canada and fell in love with the Philippines after moving here

  • How he hustled early in his career bouncing from country to country to do sales

  • How he struggled in his first foray into entrepreneurship and how he ended up as a founding member of Grab in the Philippines

  • He shares how Foxmont was formed what the landscape of Venture Capital is in the Philippines

  • How they choose the startups they decide to invest in and what their plans are in the near future

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Ep 117 - The Hustle Behind CloudCfo

Mickael Cardoso - Co-Founder and CEO of CloudCFO shares with us the importance of starting the year right by having your business above board in your finances in this episode:

  • He shared how he studied business school in Paris and Masters in Australia

  • How he decided to stay put in the Philippines to work in the cargo business ICTSI

  • How he became a CFO in a project in Australia

  • How he decided to become an entrepreneur because he didn’t want to be comfortable in his corporate job

  • How important it is to run financial statements to ensure the success of your business

  • He also shared the common mistakes of startups with their finances and how you can avoid them

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Ep 116 - The Hustle Of The Marketing Guru

Josiah Go - The Marketing Guru, Chairman of Mansmith & Fielders and Waters Philippines kicks off the new year by sharing his hustle with us in this episode:

  • How he got exposed to entrepreneurship by his father at a young age

  • How he sacrificed early by studying concepts in business

  • How he built his companies Mansmith & Fielders and Waters Philippines

  • How he became a professor and an educator

  • How he created the Business Model Map and how it can help entrepreneurs and executives

  • He also shares his great advice for entrepreneurs this 2021

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Ep 115 - The Hustle Behind B21

How easy is it to invest in cryptocurrencies? In this episode, Ronster chats with Nitin Agarwal of B21. Nitin will share how he started out his career in payment processing highlighted by his stint as a product manager in PayPal. He will also share how he mastered business development and sales in Wave Crest Group before he decided to create his own startup. Nitin also gives light on the state of cryptocurrencies now and how B21 levels the playing field for the common man to invest in cryptocurrencies in this episode brought to you by B21.

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Ep 114 - The Hustle Behind CCIX Global and Veloquence Capital

What does it take to get a crypto or blockchain company funded? In this episode, Ronster chats with Vishal Uttam of CCIX Global and Veloquence Capital. Vishal will share what it was like growing up in the Philippines and how it was like studying and working in the states at an early age. He will also share the experience he got while working in a software development company and how he eventually founded his own company. Vishal will also share how he created CCIX Global and Veloquence Capital to fuel ambitious startups in reaching their goals in this episode brought to you by B21.

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Ep 113 - The Hustle Behind Ideaspace

What does it take to get chosen in the Ideaspace Startup Competition? In this episode, Ronster chats with Diane Eustaquio of Ideaspace. Diane will share how she mastered the art of nurturing people by becoming an EA to CEOs and executives of big companies. She will also share how and why Ideaspace was formed and how the competition has evolved over the years to help the local startup ecosystem. Diane will also share the characteristics they look for in startup founders and the startups they are looking for in this upcoming acceleration program in this very episode brought to you by B21.

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Ep 111 - The Hustle Behind Aqwire

How do you raise $2.1 Million Series A round during a pandemic? In this episode, Ronster welcomes back Ray Refundo of Qwikwire. Ray will share how they were able to get massive traction to close out 2019 and get a lead investor. However, things fell apart in 2020 because of the pandemic and Ray will share how they were able to bounce back and get the Series A round closed. He will also share what's in store for Aqwire in this episode brought to you by B21.

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Ep 110 - The Hustle Behind Kahon.ph

How is Kahon.ph changing how space and storage is done in the Philippines? In this episode, Ronster chats with Nick Padilla of Kahon.ph. Nick will share his humble beginnings as a photographer in Zalora and how he was able to climb up the ranks there. He will also share how he became an integral part of Rockwell Land's digitalization and how he eventually launched Kahon.ph to address a growing space and storage problem that Metro Manila has. He will also share key learnings on how they were able to grow organically and pivoted during the pandemic in this episode brought to you by B21.

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Ep 109- The Hustle Behind PH Startup Week

How big is the Philippine Startup Ecosystem now? In this episode, Ronster chats with Natasha Bautista of QBO and PH Startup Week. Natasha will share how she got into the startup industry early in her career and how she contributed to growing Grab in the Philippines. She will also share her low points in joining startups that were not a fit and how she eventually found a home in QBO to help more Filipino Startups. Natasha will also share the dynamics and the hustle that the QBO team does to help the ecosystem along with all the exciting things that will happen this year during the PH Startup Week in this episode brought to you by B21.

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Ep 108- The Hustle Behind PouchNATION

How did PouchNATION become the leading cashless payment and brand activation provider in Southeast Asia? In this episode, Ronster chats with Ilya Kravstov, Founder and CEO of PouchNATION. Ilya will share what it was like travelling the world and learning to adapt to different cultures and how he decided to stay put in Southeast Asia. He will also share why he decided to create his own startup versus doing an MBA. Ilya will also share how he decided to go back to corporate after the first iteration of Pouch didn't pan out and how they pivoted into events activation and wearable tech. He'll also share how they were successfully able to scale in Southeast Asia despite tough competition and hectic event schedules. Ilya also share how the pandemic forced them to pivot again into using their wearable tech for COVID-19 contact tracing in this episode brought to you by B21.

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