Connect Who or what is your inspiration in business?

Growing up in the Philippines, I learned early that poverty is not just an absence of resources - it's also an absence of opportunities and privileges. So when you're already in the position of privilege, it becomes your moral responsibility to help. When I co-founded CoWorq, many Filipino VAs earned $1/hr. When I founded Isla & Co., many artisans still earned $1/day despite $2.5T fashion industry. When I built scaling programs, most small businesses never scale and fail within 5 years.

How do you stay motivated?

By being grounded - grounded on what's happening with my communities of women entrepreneurs and small businesses here in the US and communities of Filipino remote professionals back in the Philippines. By being aware - aware not only of my privileges but how to leverage them to compound our impact. By consistently reminding myself that I can only scale my business and our mission if I scale myself first.

What would you do with the $25,000?

We are on a mission to help 1M businesses scale while helping 1M Filipino remote professionals. The $25K enables us to move the needle on this quicker: In the US, I will use it to: - Reach MORE small businesses and expand access to "On Fridays, We Scale" masterclasses/programs. - Develop infrastructure to support small businesses in their scaling. At the same time: - Expand CoWorq Nexus: Reach MORE Filipino remote pros to uplevel and upskill - Expand Worqflow workspace