Jan Pabellon of Smile API joins us in this episode as he shares his inspiring story of how he became co-founder of Smile API after failing his first startup. He also tells how he got into tech on his own which led him to create his own dev shop. Jan also shares the lessons he learned after deciding to go into corporate and how he got exposed to the problems of Filipinos not having good credit data. Jan also shares what made him jump to be a founder again along with valuable lessons in managing startups and Smile API’s grand vision in solving the problem of financial inclusion in the Philippines.

Links/Sponsors:

OneCFO: https://www.onecfoph.co/

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Diamond Supporters: Sarisuki, PayMongo, SeekCap, Shoppable Business, Qapita, GoTyme Bank, Sprout Solutions, UNO Digital Bank

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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 putting bamboo ceilings on themselves.

Ep Timeline:

00:03:07 – Pam's hustle: leveling up the Philippines as a global tech hub

00:10:13 – Origin story: from Alaminos, Laguna to leadership roles early on

00:16:18 – The skills that matter: treating people with respect, optimism, and sports discipline

00:21:27 – Why accountancy fundamentals are critical for every founder

00:30:41 – The pivot: from Big 4 accounting to Winston Damarillo's startup world

00:38:42 – Why Filipino founders must work in high-growth startups first before going all in

00:48:05 – The trigger to take the leap of starting her own company

00:56:38 – Finding the right co-founder: Dennis, the CTO who worked with Pam for 2 years first

01:02:54 – How Umpisa grew methodically: revenues, cashflow, execution, and the right people

01:10:14 – Growing and evolving as a leader and as an organization

01:22:31 – Mentors who shaped Pam’s entrepreneurial journey, in and out of Endeavor’s Scale Up

01:29:04 – How to achieve Umpisa’s ultimate goal

Resources:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pambelen/

Website: https://umpisa.co

Email: pam@umpisa.co

Links/Sponsors:

OneCFO: https://www.onecfoph.co/

PLDT Enterprise: https://pldtenterprise.com

Hustleshare is powered by Podmachine

Diamond Supporters: Sarisuki, PayMongo, SeekCap, Shoppable Business, Qapita, GoTyme Bank, Sprout Solutions, UNO Digital Bank

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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 became one of the first Filipino nurses there in 1974.

Resources:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphael-rey-bacolod

Website: https://www.workinaustria.com/en/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workinaustria

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ABAWorkinAustria/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@austrianbusinessagency

Links/Sponsors:

OneCFO: https://www.onecfoph.co/

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 unprecedented access to Globe’s scale, data, and distribution.

Resources:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinceyamat/

Website: https://917ventures.com/

Links/Sponsors:

OneCFO: https://www.onecfoph.co/

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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.linkedin.com/in/mcibanez/

Facebook (Scale NCR): https://www.facebook.com/SCALENCR/

Website (Philippine Startup Week 2025): https://www.phstartupweek.com/

Links/Sponsors:

OneCFO: https://www.onecfoph.co/

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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 Philippine startup ecosystem.

Links/Sponsors:

OneCFO: https://www.onecfoph.co/

Hustleshare is powered by Podmachine

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 businesses in emerging markets.

Links/Sponsors:

OneCFO: The Philippines' leading fractional CFO services provider. https://www.onecfoph.co/

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In this episode, Ronster chats with Dennis Velasco of Prosperna to uncover how a former Silicon Valley executive leveraged his global experience to build the Philippines' leading online marketing platform for real estate.

Dennis shares his journey, from his humble beginnings growing up as an Asian in Texas to his early exposure to entrepreneurship. He recounts his path to the heart of tech innovation in Silicon Valley, the pivotal business he started to stay afloat during the 2008 financial crisis, and his impressive career stops at giants like Salesforce, Cornerstone OnDemand, and Xero.

Ultimately, he reveals why he chose to move back to the Philippines to launch his own startup. Listen in as Dennis shares the strategy behind their consistent four-year growth despite being bootstrapped, and provides invaluable advice for employees contemplating the jump to entrepreneurship and for those currently navigating financial struggles amid the pandemic.

Links/Sponsors:

OneCFO: https://www.onecfoph.co/

Hustleshare is powered by Podmachine

Listen to our brand new podcast: Founders Only HERE

Diamond Supporters: Sarisuki, PayMongo, SeekCap, Shoppable Business, Qapita, GoTyme Bank, Sprout Solutions, UNO Digital Bank.

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