Ep 367 - The Hustle Behind Scale NCR

EPISODE INTRODUCTION

This week on Hustleshare, host Ron Baetiong sits down with Cristina “Indo” Ibanez, president of Scale NCR and head of Miriam College’s Innovation Center. From growing up in a family of entrepreneurs to championing collaboration among university-based incubators, Indo shares how she’s turning classrooms into launchpads for the next wave of Filipino founders.

Episode Timeline:
[00:02:55] – Indo’s hustle: shaping future founders through education and innovation 
[00:05:13] – Early foundations in a family-run business 
[00:09:51] – Learning entrepreneurship beyond the classroom 
[00:17:48] – Why most students never launch their own ventures
[00:23:44] – Finding purpose in teaching and mentorship 
[00:30:32]– Building Miriam College’s first Innovation Center and startup incubator 
[00:41:07] – Running a non-engineering incubator in a tech-driven ecosystem 
[00:50:43] – Creating Scale NCR to unite university-based incubators 
[00:59:13] – Breaking the limits of ambition among young Filipino founders 
[01:03:10] – The role of mentorship in developing investable founders 
[01:12:45] – What’s next for Scale NCR and Philippine Startup Week 2025

QUOTES
“I realized that... madami pala akong pwedeng gawin, madami akong pwedeng i-share sa mga students. And I could mold them in really becoming an entrepreneur and giving them opportunities so that ma-realize nila na, it's okay to fail. Funding can be a problem but there is a way.”- Cristina Ibanez

CONNECT WITH CRISTINA:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcibanez/ 
Facebook (Scale NCR): https://www.facebook.com/SCALENCR/ 
Website (Philippine Startup Week 2025): https://www.phstartupweek.com/

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