Ep 364 - The Hustle Behind Prosperna
EPISODE INTRODUCTION
In this episode, we sit down with Dennis Velasco, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Prosperna, an online marketing and e-commerce platform designed to empower small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and real estate professionals in the Philippines.
Dennis shares his journey from growing up as an Asian-American in Texas to discovering entrepreneurship through his family’s businesses. He recalls his rise in Silicon Valley with companies like Salesforce, Cornerstone OnDemand, and Xero, and how launching a small business during the 2008 financial crisis shaped his entrepreneurial mindset. Ultimately, Dennis reveals what inspired him to return to the Philippines to found Prosperna, empowering SMEs to embrace e-commerce and digital growth.
Episode Timeline:
00:01:32 - Dennis Velasco of Prosperna and his background
00:04:59 - Prosperna’s mission to empower SMEs through e-commerce
00:07:19 - Cultural diversity and finding identity in Texas
00:12:02 - Realization: entrepreneurship as a normal path
00:16:16 - Transition to tech and early interest in innovation
00:20:36 - Asking “why” as the first sign of an entrepreneur
00:23:04 - On realizing value of time and purpose
00:28:51 - Finding innovation inside large organizations
00:33:12 - Laid off during 2008 recession and pivoting to survive
00:40:22 - Overcoming ego and doing what it takes to survive
00:44:42 - Starting with a non-glamorous role and proving value
00:49:00 - Transition to Cornerstone OnDemand and startup experience
00:53:44 - Deciding to join a smaller company for bigger vision
00:58:33 - Reflection on lessons from startup to IPO
01:04:19 - Vision to empower the country through technology
01:10:38 - Searching for the right tech talent and idea validation
01:14:32 - Building team and clients from day one
01:19:00 - Shifting toward SME and e-commerce empowerment
01:23:31 - Lessons on bootstrapping, growth, and purpose-driven funding
01:24:00 - Advice to founders: focus on solving problems, not chasing money
QUOTES
“It’s really hard to do something really, really well and be extremely successful at it if you only put 80% of your time into it. So if you have your time spent and allocated across two, three, four things, it’s not very easy.”– Dennis Velasco
CONNECT WITH DENNIS:
LinkedIn: https://ph.linkedin.com/in/dennis-velasco?
Website: https://www.prosperna.com/
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