Who or what is your inspiration in business?

My father was an immigrant who came to America a broken man. In India he struggled to keep his manufacturing business afloat and one setback after another caused him to throw in the towel. But he never gave up hope. In America he quickly rose to the top of his industry as an inspired creative engineer of appliances. In 1988 he founded his own company and created the residential stainless steel stove and bbq grill markets. He grew the company to $100 million in gross sales. So Dad is our Hero.

How do you stay motivated?

Family is everything for me. My greatest motivator is my son, who is also my conscience. My wife is also my great inspiration. She keeps me grounded and motivated with her positivity and unstoppable drive. I am also motivated by my desire to succeed!

What would you do with the $25,000?

We would use to help us establish our own brick and mortar restaurant where we could bring the joy of Filipino gourmet to the masses, from operating capital, to down payment on a lease, FFE to payroll, raw materials and marketing. Starting, maintaining, and growing a business is both costly and complex and the money would help us achieve our goals. We would also use 5% to pay it forward to the Food Bank Contra Costa Solano to help fight hunger in our communities.