15. Ginger Gaddi, 27, @ginger_eventstyling
Ginger Gaddi launched Ginger Event Styling as a registered business in September 2017. “It’s a funny story, actually,” she shares. “It all started when my older sister took me to a vacation in Batanes. Being both free-spirited and adventurous, we never thought we would end up meeting the mayor of Batanes and would gatecrash a wedding at the famous Sabtang Light House.” During that wedding, Ginger became curious and intrigued by the couple’s backdrop, lights, flower arrangement, and every other detail. She thought to herself that she could DIY something like that. “It was beautiful,” she reminisces. “I was amazed by how the stylist made it all come together.” That was the day Ginger realized what she wanted to do in life. Soon after that, she did her research and enrolled in SoFA to hone her talents and expand my knowledge in event styling and the arts.
14. Samantha Dizon, 25, @samthingtodo
Samantha Dizon owns Candid Clothing (@candidclothing.ph), a fashion social enterprise dedicated to creating sustainable clothing and providing our local garment workers with fair wages. It has been around for two years now. “I grew up with my seamstress grandmother and saw how difficult it was for garment workers to support their families through their trade,” Samantha shares. “With the rise of fast fashion, they only get paid 5-15 pesos per piece, so I wanted to create a business that would help them.” Samantha also loves eco-tourism and hopes to have her own AirBnB by a beach someday.
13. Brenna Gamboa, 29, @brennagamboa
Originally from Victorville, CA, Brenna Gamboa is a nurse by profession. She started iPong Manila (@ipongmnl) 1.5 years ago with a group of good friends who love to drink and play beer pong. “I guess we never left college,” she laughs.
12. Maiko Williams, 27, @mc.maiko
Maiko Williams is the owner of Propel – Real Estate Solutions (@propel_ph), which has been around for just over a year now. “When I arrived in Manila back in 2014 and wanted to rent my first condo in BGC, I struggled securing the right home for me because of the lack of professionalism of most people I dealt with,” she shares. “From there, I saw the need for a competitive real estate company in BGC that can provide services that meet clients’ expectations.”
On Maiko’s days off, she always makes sure to get some “me” time by doing some of her favorite hobbies like wakeboarding and kiteboarding. As much as possible, she also travels every two months.
11. Rizza Lana – Sebastian, 29, @rizzalana
Rizza Lana owns Le Cat Coffee Shop (@lecatcoffeeshop), a place where you can enjoy coffee with cats, and Lana PH (@lana.ph), a cruelty-free skincare and zero waste lifestyle brand. “I honestly thought I was a corporate career woman through and through, but little did I know that I could slowly contribute to the society by giving them high quality and low waste options,” Rizza shares. Rizza is in a constant state of trying to live a low waste lifestyle. Her passion is to create sustainable and environmentally conscious businesses one step at a time. She is also a self-proclaimed crazy catmama.
10. Ayn Bernos, 25, @aynbernos
Ayn Bernos is the founder of Morena the Label (@morenathelabel), a clothing line that celebrates sun-kissed skin. “I’ve always been entrepreneurial as a kid, selling band T-shirts and used books,” Ayn shares. “So, when I realized I wanted to create something I personally wanted to wear as a morena advocate; I just decided to do it myself and start the brand.”
Ayn is also a vlogger and a writer, mostly creating content about travel, lifestyle, and confidence, focusing on empowering others to love their skin and their body.
9. Sarsi Jonsson, 29, @sarsistar
Sarsi Jonsson is the owner and co-founder of three business: buttrcoffee (a high performance cafe that serves delicious bulletproof coffee known to burn fat, enhance cognitive functions and cut cravings), FightShape Studio (focuses on achieving peak performance through corrective physical therapy movement, strength training and martial arts), and LuminGroup Inc. (a hospitality solutions provider aiming to promote tourism by showcasing homegrown products, talent and exemplary customer service in independently-owned hotels and restaurants with product offerings from training and development to full-scale property management).
At the age of 24, Sarsi felt that the only way she could own her time and start living the life she had envisioned for herself was by building her own business. So she did. Her hobbies and passions include wine and traveling. “I’m obsessed with knowing everything I can about it and I’ve been thinking about building a wine bar soon,” she winks.
8. Abbie Victorino, 29, @abbievictorino
Abbie Victorino is the owner of StyleGenie Asia, the first online personal styling service that has been delivering curated outfits in a box since August 2016. Abbie has actually been selling fashion stuff online since 2009, way back when eCommerce wasn’t a big thing yet. “I wanted to offer a platform that can help shoppers get styled and mix-and-match clothes easier using data,” she shares.
StyleGenie aside, Abbie loves reading and traveling because she believes in continuously learning and getting inspiration from every place and person that she meets.
Abbie is also passionate about circular fashion and hopes that through their platforms, they can create not just a scalable business model, but one that can also improve lives and save the environment.
7. Abi Sy, 29, @abifrsy
Abi Sy is the owner of FRNK Milk Bar (@frnkmilkbar), BLK 513 (@blk513ph), and Yugen (@yugenmanila). Abi considers herself very fortunate to have grown up in a family of entrepreneurs because she was able to undergo real-world business experience long before many of her peers began their professional paths. Abi opened her retail brand when she was in college, but had to let go of it three years later to focus on her corporate career. She was in advertising and fashion for many years before she decided to go back to building her own business in 2015 out of entrepreneurial instinct. While working in a corporate setting had its satisfactions and Abi loved her previous jobs, she also found it limiting. “It suddenly boiled down to ticking checkboxes and reaching KPIs, and once I had done the work, there was an emptiness I felt,” she shares. “I didn’t see a grander picture to it all and I wanted more. It was also the fact that I knew I could do more and produce greater things, that drove me back to my first love, entrepreneurship.”
Outside of her businesses, Abi loves fashion. Having been in that industry for years, it left a mark on her to be able to experience that firsthand. She invests in clothes and work to define her personal style. She was even able to influence my husband who has now caught on to my love for fashion. Aside from that, Abi is also passionate about health and wellness, making sure she lives a healthy lifestyle as much as she can from scheduling gym sessions during free time to doing meal prep for herself and her husband. “I do it all by myself while also being a full-time wife which is gratifying in its own right,” she says.
6. Camille Montesur Bautista, 24
Camille Montesur Bautista owns Camilla PH (@camilla_ph), Tonic Mobile Bar (@tonicmobilebar), Joana Camille Photography, and Partysentials PH. Camille started getting into business when she was 19 because she had to feed her first-born. Fortunately, the business boomed and grew quickly.
Aside from growing businesses, Camille is a crafty momma and a photographer by passion. She likes traveling, surfing, and public speaking, as well.
5. Bianca Amparo, 24
Bianca Amparo and her partner Nikko Pilongo own Luna Organics (@lunaorganics.ph), a local FDA-registered startup brand that aims to provide affordable, safe and effective products since March 2019. They are the pioneer of local clayblushes, focusing on multi-way products making sure you get your money’s worth. They showcase diversity, universally flattering shades and always made for Filipinos.
Having a love for art and beauty, Bianca shares that makeup truly is her passion. For her, makeup is a stress reliever and she experiences a simple joy when trying out new products. The business came about when Bianca got pregnant and had to look for alternative yet affordable cosmetics to use. That’s when she decided to start a business of affordable cosmetics that are okay for people who have sensitive skin, are pregnant, and don’t want to burn a whole in their wallets. Luna also happens to be the name of their baby.
4. Courtney Sayson, 24, @courtneysayson
Courtney Sayson owns a Macao Imperial Tea branch located at Unimart, Capitol Commons, Pasig, which just celebrated its first year anniversary last September 21. She is also opening two more branches, hopefully before the year ends at the new Estancia Expansion and Unimart, Greenhills!
Courtney admits that she started this business with zero knowledge (she was an art student), barely enough money (it was literally just enough to start a business, fail on that and they wouldn’t have anything left), but with a hopeful outlook on a brand she really believes in. One day, she decided to quit her office job and just decided to go for it, full on head first, without really thinking about it too much. “I guess you can say I saw an opportunity, seized that opportunity, put everything on the line, and made it happen,” she says. You can read the full story here.
Besides managing the store full time and lurking on Funko Pop buy and sell groups, Courtney makes sure she practices her first loves: photography and art. They recently just launched a design studio called Chase Studio and they’re open to working with new clients! She also dreams of creating her own production/design agency someday.
In case you didn’t know yet, we have a page dedicated to all things business. Check it out here!
And now here are our top 3 inspiring Filipina entrepreneurs:
3. Paula del Rosario, 16, @paulaadelro
Since Paula is not of legal age yet, all of her business ideas and plans generally find their way to their family business, Big Al’s Cookie Jar, the main product line of which is decadent chocolate cake. “In line with our product diversification plan, I helped develop the recipes for our cookies and ala mode soft-served ice cream, the new product lines of Big Al’s,” she says. Big Al a Mode’s soft-served ice cream is currently only available at bazaars that her family business regularly participates in.
Inspired by her mom and sister, Paula started baking in 8th grade. “I experimented baking different types of pastries, like cookies, brownies, and silvanas,” she shares. “My friends and family were my strongest critics, and their honest and well-meaning reviews helped me create pastries that they deemed were ready for the market.” Paula would usually sell her pastries to her friends when she needed to save up for something that she wanted. After some time, her family decided to include her cookies as another product line of Big Al’s, encouraging Paula to explore other food creations, which led to the formulation of our soft-served ice cream. Paula recently, co-founded her group’s project, Ben and Terry’s, as well, which sells yogurt at her school’s Eco Fair.
Besides her involvement in her family business, Paula is also the Promotions and Marketing Committee Head of her high school. “This experience has strengthened my love for business, particularly the marketing aspect,” she concludes. “I am also able to connect and exchange ideas with students holding similar posts in different schools.” Paula also has a passion for music.
She loves singing and playing the guitar, as well as singing in her high school glee club.
1. and 2. Andrie Jamila Co and Jacqueline Go, 26, @andriejamila and @jacqui.go
Andrie Co and Jacqueline Go own Coco x Fifi, The Penthouse, Paragon by The Penthouse, and Momo & Pee Creatives. Since Andrie is always game to try new things, starting a business was a way for her to get out of her comfort zone and do something different. For Jacqui, it was always her passion since she always wanted to something for her own. The two started Coco x Fifi when they were still in college. “It forced us to grow up, and learn how to manage our time and finances better,” Andrie points out. “Likewise, it pushed us out of our comfort zones; which would eventually be helpful in building our other businesses later on.”
Besides being hands on with their businesses, Andrie also teaches on the side. The two share a love for food and travel, and they recently also started vlogging.
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