In this episode of Hustleshare, we chat with Mel Nava, founder and CEO of 1Export, to talk about her journey from hustling as a bazaarista and working in export sales to building a tech startup that empowers Filipino SMEs to expand globally. Mel opens up about the struggles of bootstrapping a company, losing her co-founders, and battling depression, and why she chose resilience over giving up. She also shares how 1Export turned a “rejected idea” into a fast-growing export platform, the lessons she learned from her MBA at AIM, and how the company is making compliance, documentation, and global market access easier for small businesses.

startupsHustleshare PodcastSeptember 29, 2025interview, Interview, melnava, 1exportComment

Ep 67 - The Hustle Behind 1Export

How do you disrupt a very traditional industry like exporting using technology? In this episode, Ronster chats with Mel Nava, Founder and CEO of 1Export. Mel will share how she started at a very young age by doing volunteer work while being a student. Mel also shares the experiences she got in her first jobs in the exporting business that inspired her to create 1Export. Mel also shares how her MBA honed her to be a better founder and equipped her with the right skills needed to execute her startup. Lastly, Mel shares the challenges she went through and how she overcame depression and take 1Export to unprecedented heights now in this scintillating episode brought to you by AWS.

startupsHustleshare PodcastJanuary 20, 2020interview, hustle, startup, business, 1export, mel nava, export Comments

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