8 Filipino Entrepreneurs Share Their Lessons for Business Success

Walt Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” But did you know that Disney was fired by his editor for lacking imagination and having no good ideas? He was also turned down by hundreds of bankers before he received the funding he needed for his Disneyland in California. When he was young, he also had to declare bankruptcy several times while establishing the Disney empire that we all know and love today.

Walt Disney proved that success can be achieved in many ways, and success is never limited to a certain group of people. Equipping yourself with the right set of skills and having a good set of values can help set you on the road to greatness.

Here are more inspiring stories of big names in the Philippines. Let these success stories of entrepreneurs serve as an inspiration and guide for those who dare to dream big.

 1. Henry Sy, SM Group of Companies: On Perseverance

Henry Sy, the man who built the SM empire from the ground up, is living proof that success can only be achieved through perseverance. He started out buying and selling items such as shoes during the post-World War II era, and, despite encountering difficulties finding shoe manufacturers, he persisted in pursuing his vision.

His legacy can be seen and experienced through his company’s large-scale shopping malls all over the country, including the recently built SM Aura in Taguig.

2. Tony Tan, Jollibee: On Focusing on the Business

Tony came from humble beginnings before he rose to the top.

Tony’s father was a cook at a Buddhist temple in Manila who later opened his own Chinese restaurant through hard work. In 1975, Tony himself ventured into the food business and started selling fries and fried chicken at affordable prices.

His fast food outlets quickly became the country’s largest local fast food chain, Jollibee. And after the brand’s success, Tony built other restaurant chains such as Greenwich Pizza, Chowking, Red Ribbon, and DeliFrance.

3. Cecilio K. Pedro, Lamoiyan Corporation: On Determination

Cecilio K. Pedro was able to reach the pinnacle of success despite tough odds. After earning his business management degree at the Ateneo de Manila University, he ventured into an aluminum business that he later had to shut down. He then decided to compete with toothpaste multinationals by introducing locally produced toothpastes that cost only a fraction of the leading brand’s price. In his effort to appeal to the Filipino market, he introduced fruity flavored toothpastes for children.

Today, his Hapee and Kutitap toothpaste brands have reached other Southeast Asian countries.

4. Alfredo Yao, Zest-O Corporation: On Being Ambitious

Alfredo Yao started the Zest-O Corporation through sheer determination. He’s a self-made businessman who lived an impoverished life as he finished his elementary and high school education. The family’s breadwinner at age 12, after his father died, Yao was unable to finish his degree at Mapua Institute of Technology because of financial difficulties.

Yao was already in the printing press business when he hit on the idea of doypack pouches for packaging beverages. He initially pitched the idea to beverage manufacturers in the Philippines, but none of them were interested.

So he ventured into the juice manufacturing business himself in 1980, and the rest is history. Zest-O is now a household name, and many Filipino families have been enjoying the juice brand for years.

5. Socorro Ramos, National Bookstore: On Flexibility

The woman behind the largest chain of bookstores in the Philippines chipped in to augment the family income as a child. As fate would have it, she later married the heir to a family business despite her family’s objections, and she became very involved in running it. The business experienced some setbacks during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines, since books were considered propaganda back then. But this did not make  Ramos give up.

The business grew into what is now known as the country’s largest, most popular source of fiction and non-fiction books, textbooks, and school and office supplies.

6. Ernest Cu, Globe Telecom, Inc.: On Innovation

Ernest Cu came from the BPO sector before moving to lead Globe Telecom as its president and CEO. Before the BPO industry boomed, it went through some false starts and Cu was there at the forefront struggling to make his business survive and thrive. 

He started as an entrepreneur with a dream to provide services to many clients at the same time. By using creative approaches, he grew a simple data entry service company into one of the country’s largest outsourcing providers. This led him to be recognized as one of the founding fathers of BPO in the country.

He applied the lessons he learned in the BPO industry to Globe, and transformed it into a stronger, more dynamic company with a customer-centered culture. Believing that he needed to move fast to stay on top, he modernized Globe’s network and IT infrastructure to better provide customers’ needs. 

Interested in working for this industry? Check out these Telco jobs!

7. John Gokongwei Jr., JG Summit Holdings, Inc.: On Never Giving Up 

The founder of JG Summit Holdings, which has interests in air transportation, banking, hotels, food manufacturing, and many other  businesses, was born in China. Life was hard for his family there, so they moved to Cebu, where his father made good business. The young John grew up having a life of comfort and abundance. However, that all crashed when John’s father died.At the age of 13, John and his family were practically destitute. He dropped out of school to help his family. He sold everything from roasted peanuts, soap, and candles to make ends meet. But despite all the challenges he faced, he never gave up.

He believed in himself and his ideas. Slowly, with small daily gains, he built up a trading company. But when banks turned him down when he applied for a loan to establish a cornstarch-manufacturing business, he kept on looking for funding until he found it. The company he started, Universal Corn Products, was the foundation of the huge conglomerate that JG Summit is today. 

8. Manny Villar, Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc.: On Entrepreneurship

He is the richest Filipino on Forbes’ 2022 World’s Billionaire List, but real estate mogul Manny Villar was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Instead, he came from humble beginnings and reached his present success through hard work and perseverance.Born in Tondo, Manila, the young Manny helped his mother sell seafood at the Divisoria market to help support the family. He started his career as an employee, working as an accountant before starting his first business with P10,000 capital.  

Today, he is well known for having many different kinds of businesses – he owns the country’s largest homebuilding company, and has ventured into mall development, office buildings, and a convenience store chain, among many other endeavors.

Manny’s entrepreneurial spirit, coupled with a drive to succeed, put him at the very top. 

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These Filipino tycoons learned their lessons in life the hard way, and now we can benefit from their stories and examples. Want to learn more from the best in business? Here are other success stories of entrepreneurs that will inspire and motivate you.Ready to find career and entrepreneurship opportunities? #LetsGetToWork by creating or updating your profile. Visit JobStreet or download the JobStreet app on Google Play or the App Store.