My Story

In 2016, as a 15-year-old high school student in the Philippines, I found myself drawn to the world of startups. Despite not having my own computer, I spent late nights at the local library, teaching myself to code using their free internet and computers. What started as curiosity turned into an obsession—I wanted to build something real.

My classmate and future co-founder, Leian, shared the same drive. We spent the next two years experimenting with ideas, facing rejection after rejection, but each failure pushed us to improve. In 2018, we discovered the Young Founder's Summit through TechInAsia and made it to Singapore to compete. We didn't win, but the experience motivated us to push even harder.

By 2019, our startup, CaterX, had surpassed $1 million in GMV. Building on this success, we launched the first high school startup program in the Philippines, securing ₱2.5 million in government funding to help other young founders.

In 2021, I co-founded Sandbox Philippines, a nationwide initiative exposing young Filipinos to entrepreneurship. With mentorship from leaders at 500 Global and PayMongo, we helped aspiring founders take their first steps.

Later that year, I built Twitter Memories, a side project that quickly went viral. It made waves in the NBA communityand was featured by major outlets like ESPN, Forbes, and ClutchPoints.

From learning to code at a library to launching startups and seeing my projects gain real traction, my journey has been fueled by persistence, curiosity, and an unshakable belief in technology's power to create impact.