The best opportunities often come from stepping outside what you already know. In this episode, Coby Cobankiat, CEO of Solviva Energy, shares how his journey from marketing and FMCG to startups and solar shaped his approach to entrepreneurship, leadership, and building businesses around real customer needs.

Discover how Coby is making residential solar more accessible by addressing the barriers around cost, education, and trust, while giving Filipinos more choice and control over how they consume energy.

EPISODE TIMELINE

00:00:00 – Why Solviva is about empowerment, not just saving on electricity

00:02:24 – Meet Coby Cobankiat, CEO of Solviva Energy

00:04:15 – Coby's hustle and finding the opportunity in solar

00:07:26 – From basketball dreams to discovering the hustle through events

00:13:54 – Learning to say no and developing leadership endurance in university

00:17:34 – Moving to Canada and starting over from the ground up

00:21:45 – Adapting to a new culture and discovering a broader career identity

00:25:18 – Breaking down business through logic, data, and financial thinking

00:33:05 – The skill stack: preparation, P&L, data, and storytelling

00:40:32 – Rethinking hard work and learning to work smarter

00:42:24 – Building household brands and learning the power of innovation

00:46:34 – Returning to the Philippines and finding the path to Solviva

00:48:28 – Discovering Solviva through a secretive venture builder opportunity

00:51:12 – From rejection to becoming Solviva's head of marketing

00:56:19 – Building Solviva's brand around empowerment and living light

00:59:36 – Making complex solar technology easier for consumers to understand

01:00:27 – Why residential solar is an underserved opportunity

01:17:31 – The energy gap and the future of solar in the Philippines

01:19:28 – Solar, energy savings, and improving quality of life

01:22:30 – Building a focused business model around a specific customer

01:24:41 – What's next for Solviva and the future of residential solar

QUOTE/S FROM COBY

"Why do we need to save up to save? Why do you have to save up to save?"

"Living light to me means that you live with a choice. And you live a better quality of life because the cost of energy is a bit lower."

Resources:

LinkedIn (Coby Cobankiat): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/cobycobankiat

LinkedIn (Solviva Energy): https://www.linkedin.com/company/solviva-energy-philippines/

Website: https://www.solvivaenergy.com

Links/Sponsors:

OneCFO: https://www.onecfoph.co/

PayMongo: https://www.paymongo.com/

This episode is brought to you by Villgro Philippines: , Paymongo, GoTyme Bank & SeekCap

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The Hustle Behind Solviva with Coby Cobankiat | Hustleshare Ep 393

EPISODE TIMELINE