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SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS
IN THE PHILIPPINES
Being an entrepreneur requires specific skills. While some
skills might be innate, others can be developed through
practice. Entrepreneurs are individuals who take risks
without having a strong assurance of success. Any forms of
failure are hard to accept. However, the ones who persevere
are the most successful ones. Entrepreneurs acknowledge
failure not as an endpoint but as a pathway to growth.
HENRY SY, SHOE MART
Henry Sy was born in a poor family in Jinjiang, China. Since a child,
he wants to become the best businessman. Due to poverty, the
young henry went to the Philippines and tried his luck. He would buy
goods from "Divisoria" and sell it to their store, which his father
called "sari-sari." World War II broke out, and the store of his father
was robbed and burned down. During the war, he did lots of buying
and selling to help his family survive. After the war, he saw an
opportunity to sell surplus military boots and other surplus goods
from his American soldier friends.

His success in his venture led to the opening of his first shoe store
in Avenida, Manila. Henry had difficulties finding shoe
manufacturers who could design shoes according to what he had in
mind, but he persisted. He spoke to customers and built his network
of suppliers and manufacturers. That persistent attitude got Henry
Sy to his success: one of the world's richest who provides
opportunities to both entrepreneurs and the working class.
TONY TAN CAKTIONG, JOLLIBEE

Coming from a poor immigrant family from China,

Tony learned the value of hard work and commitment
from his father, who worked as a cook in a Buddhist
temple and later established a Chinese restaurant in
Manila using his savings to send the young Tony to
college. In 1975, with a 350,000 pesos capital, Tony
bought a Magnolia ice cream parlor. However, it didn't
generate enough revenue. After consulting his customers
and people within the neighborhood, Tony decided to
include sandwiches, fried chicken, and French fries. In
time, the restaurant found itself having many customers.

By 1978, Tony had six more restaurants with ice

cream no longer the main menu. Tony then decided to
adapt to the McDonald's concept of business and called
his franchise "Jollibee" based on his work ethic of being
as busy as a bee. On this day, Jollibee has expanded to
more than 2,500 stores in the Philippines, plus locations
outside the country and some parts of Europe.
JOHN GOKONGWEI JR., JG HOLDINGS

John Jr. was born in China to a wealthy Filipino-Chinese Clan in

Cebu. Their family had much business and was known to be one of the
richest in Cebu. When his father died, so did their business, and their
family fortune soon followed. John Jr. decides to support his family by
peddling goods alongside the streets of Cebu over a bicycle. Soon, he
started trading items by boat to Lucene City and Manila by truck.
Eventually, his importation of goods from the U.S. began.

John Jr. has begun to realize that importing goods has too
much risk and but low margins. Thus, he started his own corn milling
business with the money he received from a bank loan, the Universal
Corn Products. By 1961, Universal began to diversify its products and
launched various brands such as the Blend 45. The company was later
renamed the Universal Robina Corporation. On this day, the Gokongwei
family owns several successful and highly diversified businesses.
Among these are Robinsons Land Corporation, Universal Robina
Corporation, and Cebu Pacific.
SOCORRO RAMOS, NATIONAL BOOKSTORE
From being a saleslady to becoming a millionaire. Socorro was only 18 years old
when she started working as a saleslady in a branch of Goodwill Bookstore Escolta,
Manila. Impressed with her skills, she was entrusted with full management of the
business. In the same store, Socorro met her husband, Jose Ramos. At a young age,
her parents were against their relationship and were forced to go back to their
province in Laguna and was barred from seeing Jose. Later on, defying her parent's
disapproval, Socorro decided to go back to Manila and married Jose in 1940.

In the same year, Maria and Jose decided to open their own store. They started
selling books, G.I. novels, and supplies. The store's name comes from the word
"National," which Socorro often sees in the stamp of their cash register. Their
business was not always smooth. When World War II broke out, their store was
damaged and later forced to changed products from books to soap due to
censorship that was being imposed by the Japanese.

After the war, they resume their bookstore business, but this time, in a barong-barong
outside their house in Avenida. Their business was working well until a typhoon struck,
destroying their house and business. But the couple was

determined to recover and continued to work hard. All of the hard work was paid off
when they managed to construct a two-story building that became their store for many
years. National Bookstore continued to succeed. The business expanded and has now
branched across the country employing more than 2,500 employees.
CECILIO KWOK PEDRO, LAMOIYAN CORPORATION
Cecilio's life is not a usual rags-to-riches story; instead, it symbolizes the
entrepreneurial spirit of beating seemingly impossible odds. Cecilio
graduated from Ateneo de Manila with a degree in Business Management. In
1975, he borrowed Php 20,000 from his father and founded Aluminum
Container Inc., which supplies aluminum toothpaste tubes to Colgate-
Palmolive, Procter and Gamble, and Philippine Refining Company (now
Unilever). However, due to environmental concerns, his clients decided to
shift to plastic-laminated toothpaste tubes instead. Cecilio's company took a
huge blow and failed. It was prompting him to close his business in 1986.

Cecilio K. Pedro did not allow his past failure to put him down. He decided to
start again and put up Lamoiyan Corporation. He developed and
manufactured his brand of toothpaste that was priced almost 50% lower than
its competitors, Hapee. The foreign brand countered by lowering their brands
by 20%, but Mr. Pedro managed to cope up by introducing toothpaste
targeted for children that featured the characters from the famous children's
T.V. program Sesame Street.

Many people believed that Cecilio K. Pedro was crazy for going against big
companies in the toothpaste industry. Many years later, Hapee toothpaste
remains a major competitor against global brands in the Philippines.
 MARIANO QUE, MERCURY DRUGSTORE

100 pesos. That was all the money Mariano Que had in his pocket after World War
II. Mariano found opportunities to help his countrymen while earning money after
World War 2. He had been working in a local drugstore when the war destroyed
several businesses in the city. An employee of a drugstore before the war,
Mariano recognized the need to supply sulfa drugs, a medicine used to cure
bacterial infections.

Mariano started to purchase sulfa tablets and sold them a piece to make it more
affordable. He sold high-quality sulfa tablets, which provides him a steady
clientele. After making a profit from the selling of sulfa drugs, he was able to
purchase other medicines and a pushcart and sell his medicines to the public.
After all his hard work in selling medicines through his pushcart, in 1945, Mariano
put up his first drug store, which he named Mercury Drug. The name was inspired
by the Roman god Mercury which is known for its speed. The Roman god also
carries the caduceus, which is a symbol in the medical industry.

Mariano invested his earnings back to the company and initiated many
innovations in the service. He knows that people would need medicines at any
time of the day, so he introduced a drug-delivery service to customers and stores
that are open 24/7. Mariano invested in technological innovations such as
biological refrigerators and computerized controls when he opened his second
branch at the newly constructed Ayala shopping center in Makati. Mariano Que's
devotion to his business has allowed Mercury Drug into 700 stores and a widely
recognized name for quality pharmaceuticals.
 ALFREDO M. YAO, ZEST-O

Alfredo Yao was born to a simple family. At the age of 12, his father
died; he left his mother to support him and his siblings by peddling
goods on the sidewalk. As the eldest among his siblings, Alfredo had
sacrificed a lot and became a breadwinner at an early age. With the
help from a relative, he was able to reach but did not complete college
at the Mapúa Institute of Technology. At the age of 18, he managed to
start his own printing business with a 3,000-peso loan from the bank
and became a full-fledged businessman.

Alfredo’s printing business was doing well. In 1979, while on a

business trip in Europe, he discovered a new way of packaging that
later became the turning point of his entrepreneurial career; the
Doypack. It is a sealed bag made of plastic and aluminum that’s
designed to stand upright. Knowing its potential, he introduced the
system to local juice manufacturers, but no one was interested.

Not wanting the potential of his discovery goes to waste, Alfredo

ventured into the juice business by concocting flavors in his kitchen
and packaged it using the daypacks. The juice products were not only
delicious but also appealing to parents as they found the light and
brightly colored packaging. The material of the packaging is tailored
to quickly chill the drink if refrigerated. Zest-O was born!
 CORAZON D. ONG, CDO FOODSPHERE

Corazon was a professional dietician who used her knowledge to create a

cheap processed meat product that could compete with the already
established brands. Initially, as a hobby, she was able to develop corned
beef, hamburger patties, meatloaf, and hotdogs that she sold the in-home
business that later became a big brand.

Corazon D. Ong founded the CDO Foodsphere in 1975 out of a 60,000-

peso loan from a local bank. The reputation of developing high-quality but
low-priced processed meats quickly spread and made CDO a regular
staple in every shopping cart. Corazon’s business was doing well.
However, tragedies cannot be avoided. In 1987, a fire broke out in the
company’s processing area, destroying almost all of their advanced
processing equipment. The incident challenged the faith and dedication
of Corazon. But she stood above it. CDO Foodsphere Inc. was again back
on its feet to serve the Filipino people.

As a mother, Corazon understood the value of having meals prepared

easily, taste good, and fit the family budget. In time, CDO expanded to
industrial markets. On this day, CDO supplies processed meats to 90% of
quick-service restaurants or QSRs in the country.
 GREGORIO SANCHEZ JR., LACTO PAFI

Mr. Sanchez noticed that the pigs sold in the market were
malnourished. In his spare time, he decided to investigate the
cause of malnutrition. Using only pots and pans, Mr. Sanchez
conducted several tests and experiments on alleviating Cebu
livestock's state of malnutrition.

Despite failures, he managed to stride through by being

persistent. Later on, he discovered the pigs were suffering from a
type of bad bacteria. His solution was a probiotic bacterium that
would alleviate the level of good bacteria in pigs.

The bacterium is called the LactoPAFI Probiotic. Mr. Sanchez's

innovation has reached global markets as a market leader in
probiotics. It is now exported to Various countries such as New
Zealand, Norway, France, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and the
U.S.
 EDGAR “INJAP” SIA, MANG INASAL

Edgar J. Sia II made waves in the local fast-food industry in the

mid-to-late 2000s with his idea, Mang Inasal, which he began in
2003 in Iloilo City. The restaurant became popular for its tender
and tasty barbecued chicken paired with "unlimited" rice servings;
a combination made more tempting by its friendly price. Several
years later, Mang Inasal branches were reaping up in Visayas and
Mindanao. Soon, Luzon caught the chicken-and-unli-rice bug. At
some time, there were already more than a hundred Mang Inasal
branches nationwide.

The homegrown fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corporation

bought the 70 percent stake in the owner and of Mang Inasal for
over P3 billion in 2010. A year after, Mr. Sia landed on Forbes
magazine's 2011 list of the Philippines' 40 richest persons. Mr.
Sia became the youngest billionaire in the country.
THE END