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/

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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.

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In this episode of Hustleshare, we sit down with Clive Aranha, General Manager of Hotel Casiana, to talk about how he went from running bars on cruise ships to leading one of the top hotels in Tagaytay. Clive shares how growing up in the hustle of Mumbai sparked his love for hospitality, how he built and sold his own restaurant in Australia, and what brought him back to the Philippines. He also talks about the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, building strong teams, and how he helped turn things around at Hotel Casiana in just over a year—with the help of partners to fix key challenges and support their rapid growth.

Learn more about Clive Aranha

Official Website: https://www.hotelcasiana.com/

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

Sponsors:

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

PLDT Enterprise: https://pldtenterprise.com

- MSME Fiberbiz - https://bit.ly/pldtenterprise-ROId-nbsi-fiberbiz

- 5G SIM Only - https://bit.ly/pldtenterprise-ROId-nbsi-smart-postpaid

Hustleshare is powered by Podmachine

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

In this episode of Hustleshare, we chat with Stephanie Sy, founder and CEO of Thinking Machines, to unpack her journey from Stanford and Silicon Valley to building one of the Philippines’ leading AI and data science companies. Stephanie shares how her early startup attempts and time at Google shaped her hustle, why she made the leap back home to start from scratch, and what it took to grow Thinking Machines in a market that was still new to data science. She also gets real about the challenges of building an AI team in a resource-constrained environment, the scrappy moves that helped them thrive, and how purpose-driven projects are helping shape the future of tech in Southeast Asia.

Learn more about Stephanie Sy:

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

Website: https://thinkingmachin.es/

Links/Sponsors:

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

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

In this episode of Hustleshare, we sit down with Jake Go, Founder and CEO of Springboard Philippines, to trace his path from coasting through a dead-end dev job to running one of the country’s most resilient niche staffing firms. He shares how lessons from his grandma’s tiny Recto canteen stuck with him, the career-shaping mentorship he got at Kalibrr, and the leap into entrepreneurship that saw him earn back his first investment in six months—completely bootstrapped. Jake talks about winning boardroom deals as a baby-faced 23-year-old, how teaming up with his wife brought a much-needed dose of frugality, and why balancing “push” and “pull” has kept Springboard profitable for over a decade. He also opens up about teaching at La Salle, mentoring students, and the leadership shifts that turned him from a people-pleasing founder into a decisive, purpose-driven leader.

Resources:

Email: jake@springboardph.com

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

Website: https://springboard.com.ph & https://speedregalo.com

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 sit down with Bimbo Adewoyin, founder and CTO of Doublesquare Networks Inc., to talk about how he went from installing DIY wireless setups in college to leading a nationwide tech company. Bimbo shares how growing up in Nigeria shaped his work ethic, how he adjusted to life in Bicol, and how he hustled his way into city-wide projects—all while figuring things out on his own. He also talks about building a team, learning the ropes of government procurement, and how PLDT Enterprise helped them grow through the toughest moments of the pandemic.

Resources:

Official Website:

https://dsnetworks.net

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bimboblade

Sponsors:

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

PLDT Enterprise: https://pldtenterprise.com

- MSME Fiberbiz - https://bit.ly/pldtenterprise-ROId-nbsi-fiberbiz

- 5G SIM Only - https://bit.ly/pldtenterprise-ROId-nbsi-smart-postpaid

Hustleshare is powered by Podmachine

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

Jessica Ouano of Kinabuhi and Nikki Sevilla of EcoNest Philippines sit down for a real, no-frills conversation on building businesses that put people and the planet first. From crafting handwoven fashion with artisan weavers to producing cassava-based bioplastics for everyday packaging, they share how personal values—and frustrations—turned into sustainable ventures. With support from Villgro Philippines, they talk about the highs and lows of bootstrapping, what it really takes to get quality and pricing right, and why staying mission-driven matters when things get tough. It’s a story about making room for impact, one challenge at a time.

Resources:

LinkedIn (Jessica Ouano): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-ouano-433321180

Website (Kinabuhi): https://www.kinabuhi.com

LinkedIn (Nikki Sevilla): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkisevilla2018

Website (EcoNest Philippines): https://www.econestph.com

Links/Sponsors:

Villgro Philippines: https://villgrophilippines.org/

Paymongo: https://www.paymongo.com/

GoTyme Bank: https://www.gotyme.com.ph/

SeekCap: https://www.seekcap.ph/

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

In this episode of Hustleshare, we chat with Alex de Leon, Group VP of Marketing at PropertyGuru, to unpack the wild journey that took him from tinkering with computers in Manila to working at Google in Silicon Valley—and eventually marketing for one of Southeast Asia's biggest proptech companies. Alex shares how growing up between cultures shaped his hustle, what working three jobs in college taught him about grit, and why it took 26 tries before he finally landed at Google. He also gets real about what it’s like starting from customer support, how being a generalist became his edge in tech, and why building from scratch in the Philippines was the most career-defining move he made.

Resources:

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandermdeleon

Website:

https://www.propertygurugroup.com/

Links/Sponsors:

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

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