Years ago when I graduated, I had no special commendations. My grades were slightly above-average. Flunked one or two, if I remember right. I have no MBA. No special connections. I was raised in a middle-income family, where I contributed a portion of my earnings as a breadwinner along with my brother. I never got the chance…
At work, when we talk about hiring (which we talk about A LOT nowadays), I usually tell my co-managers that I am very interested in hiring "entrepreneurial-minded" people. Then I'd get often asked: What does that mean? That's a question I've been mulling about for ages. What exactly is it? How do you evaluate if someone has…
It still amazes me how so many of the largest companies in world started out as some crazy idea in someone's head. Then, these individuals began talking about it with another person. Perhaps Larry invited Sergey over for a coffee chat, perhaps Steve started an argument with Woz, Hewlett started brainstorming with Packard, Procter meets with Gamble…
Fear has been my constant companion all throughout my startup career. I remember feeling I might be laughed at as I was about to present my idea to potential partners or investors. I remember that crippling feeling. That extreme doubt I felt when I was about to resign from my fulltime job. I remember hearing all the…
I'll be meeting around 5 student leaders next Wednesday, 4pm, at the STORM conference room, at Unit 602, Centerpoint Building, along Julia Vargas. The main agenda will be: 1) How to push entrepreneurship and the startup movement in universities 2) How to help student entrepreneurs (Map here) Our conference room seats around 10 people, so there are…
I think sometimes we overestimate what it takes to "start" - especially for those of us who are first-time entreps and don't exactly know what were doing. (welcome thought: I suspect most first-time startup founders fall into this category - everyone starts out feeling stupid) Perhaps we're thinking: "Oh gosh, I need to raise a million bucks." or…
I've been trying to push myself to blog Post Startups Unplugged, and share all the instances of serendipity that truly made this miracle happen. However, I thought that it would be more effective if I were to cut to the chase about what I actually learned from it all. Here it goes! These are the 5 things…
One of my favorite things about blogging on Juan Great Leap is that I get to document my entrepreneurial journey without much apprehension. The cathartic experience that comes from sharing, as a crazy individual who is just starting in the Philippines, enables me to embrace the fear monster. From my first Open Coffee to witnessing the art…
Actions speak louder than words. We can all agree on that, right? Words can simply be thrown around like this "Hello...how...are you? Good. Great." Am I giving you any value with those fillers? No, I don't believe so. Let me get straight to the point. Words lose their value if they don't spark action. Even if you're…
From 1:00pm to 6:00 pm every Friday afternoon, all Storm employees are required to work on a pet project of their choice. We call this “Innovation Friday.” The endeavor isn’t exactly original. I know Google employees need to devote 20% of their time on a personal project of their own. The difference here is the forced schedule.…