Ep 352 - Alex De Leon - The Hustle Of Growing PropertyGuru

EPISODE INTRODUCTION

In this episode of Hustleshare, we chat with Alex de Leon, Group VP of Marketing at PropertyGuru, to unpack the wild journey that took him from tinkering with computers in Manila to working at Google in Silicon Valley—and eventually marketing for one of Southeast Asia's biggest proptech companies. Alex shares how growing up between cultures shaped his hustle, what working three jobs in college taught him about grit, and why it took 26 tries before he finally landed at Google. He also gets real about what it’s like starting from customer support, how being a generalist became his edge in tech, and why building from scratch in the Philippines was the most career-defining move he made.

Episode Timeline: 

[00:02:38] – Alex’s hustle: Making sure that marketing is done correctly
[00:04:25] – Alex’s Roots: Upbringing, Early Hustles, and Core Skills
[00:08:16] – College Years & Early Lessons: Boston, Multiple Jobs, Customer Service
[00:15:01] – Becoming a Polymath: Adaptability, Generalists in an AI World
[00:16:44] – Breaking Into Tech: Time Warner, Deloitte, and Getting into Google
[00:25:14] – Building Google Philippines: Launch, Market Education, and Growth Tactics
[00:44:15] – Career Philosophy: When to Leave Google & Transitioning to Meta
[00:49:17] – Meta Years: Scaling SEA, Product Launches, and Platform vs. Consumer Marketing
[00:58:52] – HBO & Consumer Marketing: Building Brand Communities & Influencer Flywheels
[01:06:12] – PropertyGuru: Brand Evolution and Winning Modern Marketing
[01:10:33] – Branded Content as Growth Engine: Social, Community, and Acquisition
[01:15:28] – Startup Marketing & Angel Investing: Lessons, Mistakes, and What Investors Seek
[01:25:29] – Advice for Filipino Startups: Product-Market Fit, MVPs, AI Future
[01:27:41] – The Future of Marketing: Taste, Agency, and Speed

QUOTES
“I have a lot of conviction on the power of compounding—not just in finance. People always say if you invest early and grow at 1% today, it compounds exponentially. I think the same holds true for jobs and careers. In college, every time I had the chance to work—summer or school year—I was working. That first job allowed me to get the second one, then the third. I was trying to progress into bigger roles with more scope and money. A lot of my peers were partying and traveling. I had that FOMO too, but I had my eyes on the prize. If I wanted to get where I wanted in my career, I had to do the dirty work—to build up my portfolio, experiences, and credibility.”– Alex de Leon

CONNECT WITH ALEX:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandermdeleon 
Website: https://www.propertygurugroup.com/

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