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/

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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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In this episode of Hustleshare, we chat with Phil Renner, co-founder and CEO of Dr. Shiba, to share how a German-born McKinsey consultant turned his love for pets into one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing pet care brands. Phil breaks down how his multicultural upbringing shaped his hustle, why he bet on the Philippines’ booming e-commerce scene, and how Dr. Shiba became a go-to brand for pet parents across the region. He also talks about scaling from startup to multi-market player, the tough calls behind culture and hiring, and what it takes to build a proudly Filipino-led global brand from the ground up.

Episode:

[00:02:18] – Phil’s Hustle: Building Dr. Shiba and Southeast Asia’s leading pet ecosystem

[00:04:24] – Early Roots: Growing up in China, Singapore, and Germany with his first pets

[00:08:40] – Cultural Exposure: Lessons from a global upbringing and adaptability

[00:13:31] – McKinsey Years: Learning structure, stakeholder management, and problem-solving

[00:23:53] – The Founder’s Itch: From consultant to entrepreneur and taking the leap

[00:32:53] – Scaling Dr. Shiba: Betting on pets, building culture, and keeping the right team

[00:41:02] – Why the Philippines: Choosing the market and building data-driven brands

[00:49:15] – Scaling the Brand: Managing supply, premium positioning, and quality control

[00:59:04] – Leading Remotely: Evolving as a global leader in a fully remote setup

[01:03:54] – What’s Next: Expanding Dr. Shiba, Prof. Bengal, and entering new markets

“The other thing is empowering people a lot. In a lot of Filipino companies, people are very hierarchical in the way they act. Breaking down these barriers and empowering people to take some risks—and not punishing them for mistakes—goes a long way.”

Resources:

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

Website: https://dr-shiba.com

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.

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

In this episode of Hustleshare, we chat with Mansueto "Joel" Callao, Chairman and CEO of NYXSYS, to travel through his journey from a PUP graduate breaking into multinational sales to leading one of the Philippines’ biggest players in digital out-of-home advertising. Joel shares how persistence helped him land major clients, why a ₱26M billboard deal with no location became his first big break, and how a spectacular installation failure pushed him to level up. He opens up about shifting from static billboards to Asia’s largest LED displays, pivoting during the pandemic to build AI-powered audience measurement, and the leadership lessons he’s learned from working with Gen Z talent. Joel also gets real about staying true to your company’s “why,” keeping innovation constant, and why embracing failure is essential to long-term success.

Resources:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mansueto-callao-73a110a4

Website: https://nyxsys.ph

Links/Sponsors:

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

PLDT Enterprise: MSME Fiberbiz and 5G SIM Only

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In this episode of Hustleshare, we chat with Mel Nava, founder and CEO of 1Export, to talk about her journey from hustling as a bazaarista and working in export sales to building a tech startup that empowers Filipino SMEs to expand globally. Mel opens up about the struggles of bootstrapping a company, losing her co-founders, and battling depression, and why she chose resilience over giving up. She also shares how 1Export turned a “rejected idea” into a fast-growing export platform, the lessons she learned from her MBA at AIM, and how the company is making compliance, documentation, and global market access easier for small businesses.

Resources:

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

Website: https://1export.com/

Links/Sponsors:

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

Hustleshare is powered by Podmachine

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

In this episode of Hustleshare, we chat with Vincent Mendoza, founder and CEO of Farmvocacy, to talk about his journey from selling security systems door-to-door and launching beverages at URC to building a climate fintech startup that empowers Filipino farmers. Vincent opens up about the failures that forced him to start over, why he chose purpose over a stable corporate career, and how Farmvocacy is breaking the cycle of farmer debt with commodity-backed financing and sustainable partnerships. He also shares the lessons he’s learned from surviving multiple “valleys of death,” and how grit, humility, and faith continue to guide him as he brings Filipino innovation to the global stage.

Resources:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincent-roy-mendoza-b39a64121/

Website: https://farmvocacy.com/

Links/Sponsors:

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

Hustleshare is powered by Podmachine

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

In this episode of Hustleshare, we chat with Lester Cruz, CEO of Singlife Philippines, to talk about the journey that took him from his early sales grind and 15 years at Citi to pioneering digital banking at CIMB and Uno before leading one of the country’s most innovative digital insurers. Lester gets real about the rejections that built his grit, the leadership lessons he learned climbing the corporate ladder, and why he chose to take on the massive challenge of closing the Philippines’ insurance gap. He also shares how he’s redefining the insurance experience for Filipinos, and what running, resilience, and family have taught him about leadership and balance.

Resources:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lester-cruz-0243ab122

Website: https://singlife.com.ph

Links/Sponsors:

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

Hustleshare is powered by Podmachine

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

In this episode of Hustleshare, we chat with Nel Laygo, Founder and CEO of Peddlr, to unpack the wild journey that took him from hustling as a kid in Catbalogan, Samar to building one of the Philippines’ fastest-growing fintech startups for micro and small businesses. Nel gets real about how early side hustles shaped his entrepreneurial grit, why breaking through barriers in Region 8 gave him a chip on his shoulder, and what it took to scale Peddlr from idea to 250,000 downloads in just six months. He also shares how he tackled user trust issues, built a grassroots community that became their biggest growth driver, and what he learned moving from bootstrapping to finally raising investor capital.

Resources:

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nel-laygo-a2486686

Website:

https://www.peddlr.io

Links/Sponsors:

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

Hustleshare is powered by Podmachine

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

In this episode of Hustleshare, we explore the story of Carl Orale, a repeat founder and CEO of Ticket Nation Philippines—an innovative platform helping venues and event producers deliver seamless ticketing experiences. Carl takes us through his rollercoaster journey: from running his first internet café as a college student, to building a 50-person BPO, to enduring three bankruptcies—including a crushing collapse during the pandemic. He opens up about how his upbringing fueled his hustle, how gaming sparked his passion for tech and entrepreneurship, and the tough lessons learned from financial missteps, scaling too fast, and bearing the responsibility of dozens of employees. Most importantly, Carl shares how he found the grit to rise again—launching Ticket Nation in 2020 and generating over $1.4 million in ticket sales in under a year.

Resources:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-angelo-orale/

Website: https://ticketnation.ph/

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

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

X (Twitter): https://x.com/ticketnationph

Links/Sponsors:

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

Hustleshare is powered by Podmachine

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