Don’t Slip Into The Entrepreneur Entitlement Trap

June 18, 2013 By 1 Comment
entitlement

It was one of my most painful learning experiences as an entrepreneur. Around 3 years ago I was invited to be an investor/co-founder in a mobile startup. We were four people. The resumes of my co-founders were dazzling - Ivy League degrees, corporate stalwarts, multiple successful ventures. I signed up immediately. I also proceeded to make the most sizeable investment I've ever made (not my usual fare as a passionate proponent of bootstrapping and  minimum seeding) We met once a week. On Skype. There was no one fulltime among the founders. The company was everyone's second or even third priority. The deadlines were soft, chewy, and unaccounted for. We were burning money … [Read more...]

Filed Under: GOD@WORK, STARTUP ADVICE Tagged With:

On the New Storm Office, the Infamous Orange Chair, and Why You Can Do It!

June 7, 2013 By 7 Comments
Steel restaurant chair

STORM transferred to its newest office a few weeks ago. I love it! It's brightly lit, incredibly functional, spaceous, and comfortable to work in. There are no "manager" rooms. There are whiteboards and wallboards everywhere, and multiple spaces for different kinds of meetings. Pictures below! Looking closely, you would also see rather peculiar items in the office: Like this old restaurant-style chair... And of course, our infamous "orange chair." These "artifacts" belonged to the very first Storm office - the one-bedroom condo where I lived.  The bedroom became my house - everything else was transformed into the office. (how I wish my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bootstrapping, GOD@WORK, TAKE THAT LEAP! Tagged With: ,

Forget Your Career And Pursue Your Vocation

March 31, 2013 By 7 Comments
discernment

My So-called Career Development For the most part of my adult life, I thought I knew what I had wanted to do. I wanted to pursue a career in HR. I wanted to make money. I wanted to make my resume as impressive as I could possible make it. And so I tried my very best to achieve these. I knew they would make me happy. At particular points, I would find myself dissatisfied with certain facets. So, I just decided on changing some things along the way. Not enough money? Join a better-paying firm. Resume not impressive enough? Get an advanced degree. Still not happy? Party and go out with friends. In my fourth company, Chikka, I became extremely confused. I was doing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: GOD@WORK, TAKE THAT LEAP!, Wunderkinds Tagged With: , ,

The Sounding Board: Be Heard for A Change

January 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Sounding Board

Sharing information about your startup with other groups can be scary. You've put sweat and tears into building your business and sometimes you'd rather not share because others might just tear it down. It takes a lot of trust and confidence to bare your heart and soul to any individual or group. It's understandable, but you have to get passed that apprehension. Seeking advice and counsel is crucial to the success of your business. As proverbs says, "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14). The message is clear: seek counsel from a group to prevent the fall. Now the challenge in seeking counsel is finding a group … [Read more...]

Filed Under: GOD@WORK, Wunderkinds Tagged With: , , , , ,

He Gives and Takes Away

January 24, 2013 By 2 Comments
open-hands

Around three months ago, I got a call from my wife Pauline. She was frantic. She was crying. "I don't know what to do." She was pregnant with what would be our fourth child. She was pregnant only after a few months of giving birth to our third child. With all the strength I could muster, I talked to her as calmly as I could, saying I would be home soon and we could sort it out. On the way back home though, it hit me. Hard. I thought and worried about escalating tuition fees multiplied by a larger factor, an ever-expanding household, how we won't be fitting in our current family car anymore, and my ability to be a loving father to four children. I was worried also for my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: GOD@WORK, TAKE THAT LEAP! Tagged With: ,

On Power, Spiritual Leaders, Achieving the Impossible, and Other Random Motivational Thoughts

January 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment
impossible1

This is my third attempt at writing a blogpost today. Currently, I’m experiencing that same feeling that I get when I’m being moved to write. The experience in which the spirit takes over and I am provoked to let go of inhibition because I’m being called to send a message. I’m not sure what I’m being called to say, but here it goes: Money will not give you power. Respect and humility in your work will go a long way Leaders are spiritual. Something greater than their idea of self is at work. If we accept the call, then we must lead unafraid of what the world thinks If we are trying to change things in the world, something in it apparently isn’t … [Read more...]

Filed Under: GOD@WORK, STARTUP ADVICE, TAKE THAT LEAP! Tagged With: , ,

Flipping the Script: My Inspiring Interview with Peter

January 9, 2013 By 2 Comments
Peter Cauton, Founder of Juan Great Leap, sharing a father-son moment with his son, Wakeen

This past Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, I sat down with Peter to experience Startup Saturdays first-hand. Initially, my initial vision for the interview was to ask as many thought-provoking questions as I could to get the insider's scoop on the person behind Juan Great Leap. I sought to reveal a different side of Peter that showcased him as not just the inspiring founder behind Juan Great Leap, but also as an ordinary fellow. However, as I was playing back the interview and transcribing his words something really clicked (it sometimes takes me a while to process things), I realized that Peter isn't ordinary, and that we already know him. He's already poured out his heart and soul to those … [Read more...]

Filed Under: GOD@WORK, Life in a Startup, TAKE THAT LEAP! Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A Merry Christmas Never Comes too Late

December 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Christmas can be a very busy time of the year, especially here in the Philippines. In the Philippines, Christmas is not just a one day celebration, but rather a series of celebrations that starts weeks and sometimes months in advance. Here, Christmas is a marathon of celebrations. I attended my first Christmas party at the end of November and started exchanging presents at the beginning of this month. It's been non-stop since then. Just thinking about all the Christmas parties I've attended makes me exhausted. As I stop to think about how my Christmas has been spent, and is being spent, I'm starting to realize that I've been very selfish this Christmas. I've received so much, but … [Read more...]

Filed Under: GOD@WORK Tagged With:

Don’t let Christmas be a Corporate Cliché

December 25, 2012 By 3 Comments
nativity

I spent a twelve years in corporate, from one company to another. Across these dozen years, I have bounced around in different firms. Christmas is celebrated more or less the same way: A big “Christmas” party is planned The party starts with a token prayer (typically by the HR guy) The CEO starts a speech, usually beginning with something like “Hey, I know you guys want to party, so I’ll keep this short!” (he usually doesn’t).  It’s on       dreaded Powerpoint. It’s filled with graphs about the company, how it performed, how next year would be even more amazing. Then the CEO ends the speech with something like a “KAIN TAYO!” Food and drinks are served A … [Read more...]

Filed Under: GOD@WORK Tagged With: ,

How to Avoid The Marshmallow Career

December 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
marshmallow_test

In a landmark study done in 1972 by Stanford psychologist Walter Mischel, hundreds of children were offered a marshmallow. However, each child was told that if they could resist eating the marshmallow for 15 minutes, they would receive a second marshmallow. Decades after, it was found that the children who delayed gratification (around a third of the 600 students who participated), were described as more competent, had higher SAT scores, and went on to have better careers. A few days ago an entrepreneurial friend of mine posted a quick "Pera o Passion?" poll on his Facebook page. The last I checked, "pera" was leading.  It was understandable, but I have to admit, I felt a bit … [Read more...]

Filed Under: GETTING STARTED, GOD@WORK, TAKE THAT LEAP! Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,804 other followers