Strong businesses are built by strong teams, and strong teams are built by leaders who earn trust every single day.

In our latest episode of Founders Only, Mel Nava of Zendease shares valuable lessons on leadership, personal growth, and building a culture where people remain committed even during the toughest moments. Discover why resilience, accountability, and continuous self-improvement are just as important as strategy when creating a business that lasts.

EPISODE TIMELINE

00:00:00 – Why founders need to give themselves grace to grow

00:01:38 – Mel Nava returns to Founders Only for her third appearance

00:03:20 – Revisiting the challenges and heartbreak of 2023

00:06:38 – Surviving rock bottom with honesty, grit, and teamwork

00:09:28 – Pivoting the business and adapting to a changing startup landscape

00:11:54 – Leading a team through crisis and prioritizing survival

00:14:44 – The family and investors who helped Mel keep going

00:19:26 – How hardship transformed Mel into a stronger founder

00:20:55 – Self-awareness, forgiveness, and redefining leadership

00:24:15 – Staying mission-driven through global disruptions and uncertainty

00:29:34 – How ZendEase expanded from the Philippines to Southeast Asia

00:31:29 – Why Mel went all in on Indonesia and Vietnam

00:34:24 – Building an international company despite limited resources

00:39:35 – Comparing export opportunities across Southeast Asia

00:46:06 – Finding product-market fit through customer feedback

00:50:23 – Leading multicultural teams across three countries

00:57:50 – Evaluating markets before expanding internationally

01:02:01 – Recognizing when the business moved beyond survival mode

01:07:26 – Reflecting on ten years of entrepreneurship

01:17:12 – What Mel would do differently if she started over

01:19:04 – What's next for ZendEase and Mel Nava

QUOTE/S FROM MEL:

“We will probably never get the version we want forever. We will all, as humans, maybe never be fully content with ourselves. But I think to give yourself a little grace and space to grow and to be that version that is a much better version than you were yesterday or a few months ago is important because you can only be a good founder, you can only have a good company if you are a good founder yourself."

Resources:

LinkedIn (Mel Nava) : https://www.linkedin.com/in/melnava/

LinkedIn (Zendease): https://www.linkedin.com/company/zendease

Website: https://zendease.com/

Links/Sponsors:

OneCFO: https://www.onecfoph.co/

PayMongo: https://www.paymongo.com/

PLDT Enterprise: https://pldtenterprise.com

- MSME Fiberbiz: https://bit.ly/pldtenterprise-ROId-nbsi-fiberbiz

- 5G SIM Only: https://bit.ly/pldtenterprise-ROId-nbsi-smart-postpaid

This episode is brought to you by Villgro Philippines: , Paymongo, GoTyme Bank & SeekCap

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