The Journey
My Story
Self-taught builder from the Philippines.
From the Slums
I grew up in the slums in the Philippines. We didn't have much, and I didn't have a computer at home. But I already knew what I was working toward — building something people actually want, and one day starting my own company. 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.
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 with CaterX, our startup. 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. 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.
Still Shipping
The story's not over. 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.