Batch 2024: It’s your turn not to give up - Reflections after 11 years as a Technology Entrepreneur from the Philippines

2 weeks ago I felt like I "finally entered the startling line of scaling a startup at a global stage".

Imagine that after 11 years, I'm just about to start living my dreams?

I started this dream at 17 and I'm now 28.

I'm writing this today because I'm inspired by the young people I've met over the last week.

I wanted to show the graduating class of dreamers & technology entrepreneurs that failure is part of the process through my own story & multiple failures.

I'm not a success, I'm just getting started.

And If I can get started, you can too.

No study abroad. No work abroad.

No special talents, skills, network, intelligence, pedigree, etc.

I want to prove everyone wrong that there's no global founder talent in the Philippines.

I hope this helps the next generation.

I’m sick and tired of hearing this complaint from VC’s, analysts, and spectators.

I’m going to help fix it myself one person at a time.

Give me time but we won't take our time.

We won’t be on the beach, conferences, and podcasts.

We will do the fucking work.

No more me-too copy-paste startups in SEA!

No more great businesses with software valuations in SEA!

No more services powered by software in SEA!

No more scammy web3 & crypto projects in SEA!

We will build excellent software products & export them globally.

It's the digital age. It's the AI age. It’s all fair game.

We are no longer prisoners of geography. It's only our mindset that shackles us.

I'm angry because I feel the anger of the younger generation at the generation that came before them that pissed all over the opportunities of kids from the Philippines.

These kids deserve a fighting chance.

Let's prove them wrong together.

Hail Hydra!

April 27. 2024

It’s been 11 years since I set out to build b2b tech startups because of the mentorship of Kai Elmer Sotto as a senior in high school. When I told him that tech was an impossible dream for a kid in the Philippines, he told me the story of Dado Banatao and said: “If a son of a farmer from Cagayan De Orgo can do it, what’s your fucking excuse?!”

These words still ring in my head everyday.

I can’t believe I’m finally able to live the dream I set out 11 years ago to build a b2b startup that impacts a billion lives and I’m proud to fight everyday alongside Casper Chan, King, Jeff, Angela, Roca, Tim, and the rest of our amazing dockers to keep this dream and mission alive.

What a journey!

Looking back..

It took 8 years for me to learn how to find product market fit and build software products people love
we spent 3 years failing and iterating on 1 idea from 2017 to 2019 (b2b marketplace). We kept failing and pivoting as we looked for the right segment to serve and by luck stumbled upon freight forwarding and documentation
and it’s only now after getting to product market fit and raising 18.5M USD I get to truly begin to learn how to scale a company globally and build a great culture that lasts for decades to come (after 11 years of fucking trying!)

After 11 years of failure, heartbreak, and literally sleepless months (ending work at 5am for months on end because I was working to get Expedock sales off the ground), I get to finally start learning how to scale a company and build culture as a leader for real!

Thank you to everyone who has taught and mentored me along the way (special shout out to Casper Chan who’s been the tank, healer, and my personal carry hero all through out my professional career).

The opportunity to fight and learn would not be possible without the love and support of my amazing wife, Dianne, who has our the best parts of me as a human, thinker, and a leader. I read Taleb to court her as Antifragile was her favorite book!

To my wife, thank you for catching me every time I stumbled along the way and failed. Thank you for loving me and inspiring me to the best I can every day!

We have such a long way to go (1% towards our true ambitions) and it literally feels like we just entered the starting line! Let’s fucking go!!!!!