Kendrick Loves to Brand

My next guest is Rajan "Piku" Uttamchandani, Founder and CEO of Esquire Financing Inc., the leader in Growth Stage Financing for SME's. I first met Piku back in 2011 when EFI hired Antidote for their brand strategy. What was quickly clear to me was how much EFI's mission of empowering SME's meant to him and his team. Through several strategic planning sessions with him and leadership team, we ended up identifying their ideal client, the SME-for-now who has aspirations of growing out of being an SME. And with that, the brand positioning we developed was Growth Stage Financing, something that Piku truly embodied as evidenced by the over 20,000 SME's EFI has funded and guided to growth and success over the past decade plus. In this episode, you'll hear about all of this and more as he talked about his vision for SME's and what he is working towards to continue enabling the growth of more SME's into big corporations that will ultimately lead to more growth for the country. If you're an SME in need of financing for your business, head on over to Esquire's website to get more information on how to apply. 

The Acid House is one of the country's most established motion animation studios, having done excellent work for both local and global brands over its long tenure in the industry. Ivan Despi, who founded the studio with his wife, joins me on this episode to talk about how he discovered his love for animation and the leap he took to start his own studio. I love hearing stories like this because even for someone who has had a long history already with his studio, you can really hear the passion still going strong from creative entrepreneurs like Ivan. He tells the origin of The Acid House and how they built their name slowly but surely, all while keeping an extremely lean team backstopped by a network of collaborators and freelancers working harmoniously to produce the great works that the studio is known for. We Filipinos have always had the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, and stories like this hopefully inspire the next generation to take the leap and create their own path to showcase the best of what our country can create and produce. 

What an unbelievable honor to have the renowned, award-winning journalist and documentarist, Howie Severino on this episode. It's been almost two years in the making to finally record this and it was certainly worth the wait! I've long been fascinated with Howie's life and career and has him on my original list of guests to have on the podcast. Plus, Howie (and his wife Ipat) are two of our dear Ninong and Ninang from our wedding, so this was a real personal treat to document an insightful and in-depth conversation with him. #gratefulHowie drops so much pearls of wisdom throughout this episode on a broad range of topics: journalism and its importance in society, how to be a good documentarist, parenting and supporting your kids' interests, why he learned and started teaching Baybayin, secrets to staying relevant and thriving decades into a highly competitive field, his passion for studying our national hero's life, and many more! 

Finding a mentor is extremely important in one's journey to success, especially in business in order to learn the right steps in building a company while also avoiding the many possible pitfalls along the way. In this episode, I had the great fortune to sit and chat with Jasen Ko, Chairman of Laborem, a group of 6 diverse companies that he founded and oversees. Apart from this, he also actively mentors several other entrepreneurs and CEO's privately as well as in exclusive organizations that he is a part of. After the conversation that we had, I can honestly say anyone he is mentoring is indeed lucky for Jasen is sharp, insightful, and carries himself with a calm that will put you at ease while talking you through your challenges. And certainly, his vast experience running multiple thriving businesses is filled with gems of wisdom like the ones he drops all throughout this episode. Consider this episode a gateway to learning from someone who's not only mastered his craft, but is able to distill the process and teach it to other entrepreneurs both current and aspiring. To learn more about Laborem, head on over to their website www.laborem.orgQuick favor, if you listen to this podcast on iTunes or Spotify, please do leave a rating and review (on iTunes). Cheers!

Extremely grateful to bring this episode out with Ken Jeswani, CEO of Scent and Beaute, the leading fragrance and beauty distributor and retailer in the country. I've known Ken for a long time ever since he became one of Antidote's first clients back in 2009. In the years after, we collaborated and helped bring his vision to life of transforming the fragrance category here through several disruptive concepts like Art of Scent, Fresh Fragrance Bar, Perfume Express and more. Through all of it, we became really good friends who even helped each other propose to our then-girlfriends, now wives. So it was definitely great to reconnect recently and collaborate again, this time for this episode that will surely inspire you to think big and never take no for an answer especially when it comes to your life's work. Enjoy!Learn more by checking out www.artofscent.com and Scent and Beaute on Linkedin. 

As cliche as it sounds, that well-worn advice about us only having only one life to live still holds so much truth, especially given the times we live in. In this episode, AJ Dimarucot and I talk about living life on your own terms and designing your life to live creatively without that other cliche of being a struggling artist. AJ shares everything from how he realized his true path, how he fought for it, taking the leap, mistakes he made, steps he took to work with his dream brands, and many more. This is one of those episodes you will likely listen to multiple times if you're on a similar path of discovering how to take your creative talents and turn it into a viable and thriving business and lifestyle. AJ supplies not just the inspiration but the actual practical steps he went through to land his first freelance clients, how he networks and generates leads for future work, and more. Tag me @kendrickco on Instagram and use the hashtag #kendricklovestobrand when you post about the episodes you're listening to. Happy Holidays to all of you who support the show. Make sure to tune in because there's even more episodes coming your way in 2022! 

My heart is so full after this wide-ranging conversation with Robert Alejandro filled with so much joy and inspiration through the stories he shared. Entrepreneurship is clearly in Robert's blood as he talks about his beloved mother starting a business with no experience, but with grit and tenacity. Those lessons he received from his mom have shaped him and his siblings as they continue to thrive with Papemelroti for over 50 years now. Apart from the entrepreneurship and business lessons though, what struck me most was the joy he lives with every single day, truly enjoying the work he does and appreciating every moment of the day. It's clear that Robert has found the meaning to life and I'm beyond grateful to be able to share this beautiful chat with all of you. If you like this episode, please let me (@kendrickco) and Robert know by tagging him on Instagram @robert_alejandro when you share the episode. You may also check out his website http://www.robertalejandro.com/ to learn more about his art. And of course, support Papemelroti by visiting their website https://papemelroti.com/ or any of their branches nationwide. 

This is just a short solo episode to answer the most-asked question I've gotten from you guys this year, which is "Why are you not releasing more episodes?" Seriously, I really appreciate everyone who took the time to drop me a note/message on socials and even via email. Hope you can continue supporting the show and helping me build some momentum again. Let's go!

What's up guys! The pod is back with a brand new episode after a short (ok, lengthy) hiatus. And this time we are joined by Ed Bonoan, the General Manager for Marketing for Epson Philippines. We had an insightful conversation about building the Epson business here in the Philippines, both in terms of marketing and operations. Whether you're a solopreneur or running a start-up or SME, there's a lot of great advice here, especially in terms of leadership and growing your team. Listen in and get to know what it takes to manage a leading brand like Epson. To learn more about Epson, visit their website. This episode is presented to you by Epson. The accumulation of carbon emissions is on the rise in the printing industry, with approximately 1 gram of carbon dioxide produced per 1 page printed using a laser printer. For businesses, it can be tricky balancing productivity against sustainability, but in reality, the two don't have to be mutually exclusive.  Epson's EcoTank and Business Inkjet printers use a Heat-Free Technology that increases productivity and helps reduce environmental impact with no compromise. It even uses less power as there's no more need for Epson printers to warm up! Even save time with its consistent high speed printing, and reduced amount of intervention required brought by its topnotch PrecisionCore Technology!  Make the green choice now, and start experiencing Heat-Free! To learn how you can make the switch to sustainable technology, visit https://www.epson.com.ph/heat-free or get in touch with your local Epson Authorised Dealers.

Chris Roxas on how he approaches growth both for himself and for his team.

There's plenty of opportunities out there to help us break through. Sometimes, you just have to raise your hand to get a shot!

Episode 57 features one of the country's brightest and big-hearted entrepreneur, Melissa Yeung Yap.

Friend of the program Mark Del Rosario of Let's Eat Pare drops by to take one last look at the year that was for lessons we can take in the new year.

Losses are part of the entrepreneurial journey. It's what you take away from the loss that matters.

Jacqe Gutierrez of Happy Skin/BLK Cosmetics joins the show to talk about what it takes to build not one, but two game-changing cosmetic brands.

Great conversation with the award-winning director and Head of Globe Studios, Quark Henares.

Episode 44 features Christine Ong Te of COTE Events, one of the country's top wedding and events planner for the past 20 years already!