The True Story Behind PayMongo's Struggles And Bounce Back with Jojo Malolos
This week on Founders Only, we sit down with Jojo Malolos of PayMongo for a powerful conversation about one of the most compelling turnaround stories in the local business landscape.
In this episode, we take a deep dive into what it truly means to step into a company at its lowest point. Jojo shares the reality of walking into an organization that many believed was beyond saving — a company facing internal challenges, shaken confidence, and the lingering impact of a highly publicized controversy in 2022.
Episode Timeline:
00:00:00 - Revenue over headcount: Core turnaround principle
00:01:52 - Welcoming Jojo Malolos, CEO of PayMongo
00:03:57 - Origin of GoTyme: Jojo as co-founder and first CEO
00:06:33 - What made Jojo say yes despite the mess
00:09:24 - Convincing the wife and kids for one last mission
00:12:49 - Day 1–4: "Mess was an understatement"
00:18:21 - First moves of the turnaround
00:21:24 - Regulators, BSP, investment community
00:23:27 - External credibility vs. internal indifference
00:26:19 - How do you build momentum from zero trust?
00:29:22 - Double down on existing merchants
00:32:34 - Game-changer hire: New CTO from TravelLocal
00:35:47 - 2025 declared as the profitability year
00:43:29 - If you're not growing with us, we'll refer you elsewhere
00:47:34 - VC math is a tool, not the destination. Profit is.
00:51:46 - Jojo was holding it together — more anger than tears
00:56:51 - Own the challenge, own the success. Or you can't claim either.
01:01:16 - Self-discovery: Patience he didn't know he had
01:06:32 - Bringing family values into the organization
01:10:47 - "Failure session, not succession"
01:14:19 - Impact over product love. Solve a real problem.
01:18:19 - What Jojo actually asks when founders pitch him
01:20:11 - Bootstrap first. Don't go to a VC with just an idea.
01:21:27 - When the angel comes in
01:22:01 - What's next for PayMongo in 2026
QUOTES FROM JOJO:
When I tell my team, "Don't fall in love with your product. You fall in love with the problem that you're trying to solve." Because if you fall in love with your product, then there's no problem that you will be able to solve. Because you will continue to make it work. You will continue to make it work. Even though you know that it's not working, you will continue to make it work. By the time you know how it works, it's a different market already, and there's still no problem that you're able to solve.
Resources:
Linkedin (Jojo Malolos): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jojo-malolos-5990a71/
Website: (Paymongo): https://www.paymongo.com/
Links/Sponsors: ;
OneCFO: https://www.onecfoph.co/
This episode is brought to you by Villgro Philippines, Paymongo, GoTyme Bank & SeekCap
Hustleshare is powered by Podmachine