5 Successful Stories of Filipino Entrepreneurs from Rags to Riches

Success stories of filipino entrepreneurs - Researching for new business ideas highly involves us or the research begins within us. We need to dig deeper and know what gives us the passion in life and determining this will pave our path towards success.

It's not just about making money but also giving the satisfaction in our heart. It has been observed that a vague passion will not help sustain or will not take us further.

Once this is identified, we need to write down the things that we know about our business idea and determine which aspect we need to improvise and search for to keep going.

Knowing is also identical to doing it, surely, aspirations will spark our enthusiasm but without effort -  this is useless.

Surround ourself with the people that reflect our dreams and interests. People who are familiar with the know-how’s of the business that we’d like to put up. Listen and learn from them - they will lead us to the right questions and answers.

Gather information from suppliers, people who have the skills, which are our target niche, who are our possible competitors, who should we collaborate with, and the list goes on. Reading books that are relevant can also help us.

Here are the top 5 most successful entrepreneurs from rags to riches in the Philippines to inspire all of us:

1. Lucio Tan - PAL, Fortune T0bacc0

Lucio Tan

It’s hard to believe Lucio Tan - who doesn’t sm0ke - owns the biggest c1garette manufacturing company in the country, Fortune T0bacc0.

He was born in Fujian Province, China on July 17. As a child Tan had to work in Bataan T0bacc0 Factory to help the family.

Tan was able to push himself to elementary and high school. Via a work-study program Tan earned some units at the University of the East for Chemical Engineering.

Although unable to finish college, he saw the big opportunity and put up his own c1garette company in 1966 starting with just two c1garette-making machines. Eventually, Tan was able to introduce such budget brands as “Hope”.

Tan never looked back and through his sharp business acumen was able to salvage dying businesses and grow them to dynamic structures.

Examples include Philippine Airlines and Tanduay Distillers. Today 80 percents of the c1garette market in the Philippines is captured by his company and PAL is the leading carrier in the airline industry.

2. Alfredo Yao - Zest-O: from Street Vendor to "Juice King"

Alfredo Yao

His father died when he was twelve-years old. Yao had five siblings. To feed the family Yao's mother sold just about anything a side walk vendor could sell.

With a relative’s help, Yao was able to finish elementary and high school. However, even with odd jobs working in a warehouse of a packaging company, Yao was unable to finish his degree in MIT (Mapua Institute of Technology).

With the help of a cousin who was working for a printing press business, Yao learned the rudiments of printing cellophane wrappers both for candies and biscuits.

Boldly, Yao decided to venture into the printing press business. Perfecting Yao's products, he made use of the potential of “doy packs”, flexible foil packs.

Then, Yao found use for this packs by venturing into the juice manufacturing business himself founding Zest-O in the process, leading the way for ready-to-drink juices.

Yao's juices has secured 80 percents of the packed juice market in Philippines and has been exported all over the world.

3. Julie Gandiongco - Julie’s Bakeshop: From a Small Town to All Over the Philippines

Julie Gandiongco

How would we like to start business when we’re in 50’s? Seems too late, right?

But that didn't stop Julie Gandiongco to succeed. She kept herself always busy, keeping a sari-sari store and accepting sewing jobs from the neighborhood everytime her husband, Diegs, transferred location as a Pepsico employee.

Julie went where her husband was assigned, packed up everything – her children and sewing business, to start all over again.

Her husband resigned his job to concentrate on a thirty-hectare sugar plantation in Dumaguete. Again she went with her husband helping supervise farm hands.

However, sugar's price suddenly dropped worldwide. So, they lost the farm and had to move back to Cebu.

Not wanting to get back to sewing, Julie applied and became a canteen concessionaire in a large factory in Cebu.

Though based on credit as most workers pay only on payday, she soon realized her customers’ need for bread. Meeting a baker who want to work for her, Julie opened her first bakeshop, aptly named it Julie’s Bakeshop and that time she was fifty.

She never expected to be able to build a corporation. Julia just for wanted to help her husband with her expenses.

Her Bakery shop started its brand from a small town in Mandaue City, Cebu. Now, it's a household name that runs more than 500 stores all over the Philippines.

Her company is said to be the one that revolutionized the baking industry in Cebu. This revolution came from her idea of providing training and uniforms to their staff and showing customers the process of how their products are made.

Some of her bakeshops awards include a Plaque of Recognition as “Success Story of the Year” from the Cebu Business Month Grand Chamber, “Outstanding Countryside Investor” from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and “Outstanding Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneur Award” from the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce.

4. Corazon D. Ong: The Woman Behind the Success of CDO Foodsphere Inc.

Corazon D. Ong

Ong was working as a dietitian for a hospital. However, Ong decided to give up her job to focus on her family.

Ong put her dietitian skills to good use in preparing “baon” for her husband Jose and native snacks for her two-kids. Ong experimented with a new filling for siopao for instance.

Eventually, Ong developed a skinless longanisa for her homemade siopao. Once the neighbors tasted it, it became such a hit.

Word spread fast. And soon enough Ong had to borrow PhP 60,000 to fill in on all the incoming orders.

Eventually, Ong founded CDO Foodsphere in 1995 which soon become a household name in quality food products.

Today, Ong's Foodsphere is a highly-recognized supplier of meat toppings for Yum! Restaurant International, a known operator of global Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), which includes Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell and Long John Silver.

Locally, CDO supplies the meat toppings to 9 out of 10 QSRs operating in the Philippines. The clamor for CDO products stems from numerous awards and recognitions that the processed meat products have received, owing to their quality and excellence.

Moreover, the company has built marketing and distribution channels to bring its products to all Filipino households.

Under Ong's leadership, CDO-Foodsphere has become a modern and leading food company known for its product innovation that provides the best quality and affordable food products, earning the trust of the Filipino people. She is indeed a great inspiration to all Filipino women and to all Filipino entrepreneurs.

5. Diosdado Banatao - Monstroni, Chips and Technologies: The Bill Gates of the Philippines

Diosdado "Dado" Banatao

Dado used to walk barefoot to get elementary and high school education and now he become the “Bill Gates” of the Philippines.

He was born to a rice farmer and a plain housewife in a barrio in Cagayan Valley, he had to do just that to finish Malabbac Elementary School.

Decided to pursue higher learning, he was called pursued his Electrical Engineering degree in MIT (Mapua Institute of Technology) graduating cum laude.

Faith would soon find him in the US as he was offered a design engineer job for Boeing Co., after a stint with Philippine Airlines as a pilot trainee.

There Dado completed a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and finished it in Stanford University.

Joining the now-famous Homebrew Computer Club, Dado met Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

His design capabilities allowed him to develop several milestone products in the computer industry (e.g., single-chip controller, chip sets).

Soon enough, Dado founded his own companies. One of which, Chips and Technologies Co., was bought by Intel for a whopping $430 million.

Today Malabbac Elementary School is the only public school with the most advanced computer system.

All of us often get inspired by rags-to-riches plot of success. I mean it or not, to be a millionaire is everybody’s dream but also be reminded that most business empires’ tales of success did not come true in just a snap of a finger.

Top businesses’ story of triumph didn't happen overnight or past midnight. If we are planning to put up our own business someday, hopefully these stories inspire all of us.

The core of the success in any business is believing in what we’re doing. In that, we’ll be driven to ensure our own success.