The Journey
My Story
I learned to code at a public library, started companies that failed and ones that worked, and kept building things in my spare time. It was never a straight line — just a lot of trying, learning, and not giving up.
From the Slums
I grew up in the slums in the Philippines. We didn't have much, and I definitely didn't have my own computer. But I really wanted to learn how to build things. So after school, I'd go straight to the local library, use their computers and free internet, and teach myself to code — often staying until they closed for the night. What started as something fun to try slowly became something I couldn't stop thinking about.
Experiment, Fail, Repeat
My classmate Leian felt the same way — we both just wanted to build something. For two years we tried idea after idea. Most of them didn't work out. In 2018 we found out about the Young Founder's Summit through TechInAsia and flew to Singapore to compete. We didn't win, but it gave us the push we needed to keep going.
CaterX Takes Off
CaterX, our startup, passed $1 million in sales. After that, we started the first high school startup program in the Philippines and got ₱2.5 million in government funding to help other young people who wanted to start something of their own.
Side Projects & Viral Moments
I kept building things on the side while working on startups. hangout.ph started from a simple idea with friends. Then Twitter Memories took off — over 50,000 people used it, and it got picked up by Forbes, ESPN, and ClutchPoints, especially in the NBA community.
Sandbox Philippines
By 2021, things looked different at home. I could finally help with bills and give our family a better life. I co-founded Sandbox Philippines to help young Filipinos learn about starting a business, with mentors from 500 Global and PayMongo showing aspiring founders the ropes.
Day Job & Side Projects
I worked full-time as an engineer — first at Lab@Home, then at Bridge — building products for both teams. But I never stopped working on my own stuff at night and on weekends. Odonto Pay, Odonto, and Rollback were all side projects I built while holding down the day job.
Still Shipping
The story's not over. Odonto grew into something real clinics across the Philippines actually use. macro went viral and had 50k+ downloads in 2 months. I'm still building — still trying to make software that helps everyday people, one project at a time.