In this episode, Chris is joined by Monique Avila, Head of Customer Success at Payoneer, the fintech platform helping small and medium-sized businesses thrive on the global stage.
Together, they discuss how Filipino entrepreneurs and freelancers are breaking barriers, building international businesses right from home. Discover how Payoneer is reshaping the way Filipinos get paid, connect with clients worldwide, and transform local talent into a powerful global force.
📍 TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – How Filipinos are building careers and income streams from home
5:00 – Payoneer’s Monique Avila joins the conversation
8:15 – What Payoneer Philippines looked like then vs. now
10:25 – The Origins of Payoneer
13:50 – How Payoneer earned the trust of freelancers and businesses
16:30 – Why Payoneer set its sights on emerging markets
18:13 – How Payoneer gained its first users in the Philippines
22:00 – Stories of how Payoneer changed lives for Filipino freelancers
26:22 – What the next 10 years looks like for Payoneer
29:00 – Payoneer’s Promo: Why you should sign up now
🎁 PAYONEER PROMO: Register to Payoneer and get a $40 cashback reward once you reach $4,000 in outgoing eligible transactions within the first 90 days. Promo runs until November 15, 2025. See the full terms and conditions in the link. Sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/pdec46us
Watsons has become a household name in the Philippines. You’ll find it in nearly every SM mall, beside every grocery, and in almost every city. But how did this happen? And why did SM choose to partner with Watsons over Mercury Drug, the country’s most established pharmacy chain at the time?
In this episode of Brand Origins, we uncover the complete history of Watsons in the Philippines and how it became one of SM’s most powerful retail partners. From its beginnings as A.S. Watson & Co. in 19th-century Hong Kong, to its massive expansion across Asia, to its eventual partnership with SM Investments, this video breaks down how the brand grew from a small apothecary into one of the largest health and beauty retailers in the world.
We’ll explore how Watsons built its image of trust, accessibility, and convenience, and how SM’s business strategy helped the brand dominate the Philippine market.📌 Timestamps:00:00 Intro00:58 Henry Sy's Vow to Crush Mercury Drug02:40 How Britain Took Hong Kong06:49 The Hong Kong Dispensary7:55 AS Watson's Rapid Growth10:17 Watsons Water11:07 Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock11:23 How Li Ka-Shing acquired the company12:02 Brands AS Watson Owns14:20 Watsons in the Philippines15:08 Watsons' Secret Cash Cow (Optimo)18:39 Watsons Pink19:43 Outro💼 SponsorshipsWant your brand to be featured in future episodes? Let’s collaborate.📩 Visit chrisgarin.com for sponsorship inquiries, partnerships, or collaboration opportunities.
In this episode, Chris talks about BBK Electronics — the Chinese smartphone company behind Vivo, Oppo, Realme, OnePlus, and iQOO. Learn about why they decided to launch multiple brands instead of just launching one big brand, their growth strategies, and how they defended their market share against the threat of Xiaomi.
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TIMESTAMPS:
(3:00) - Humble beginnings of Duan YongPing and BBK Electronics
(8:49) - The Real reason why Vivo and Oppo invest heavily on advertising
(12:37) - The Battle for India: Xiaomi vs. BBK
(15:26) - Why BBK launched Realme
(17:18) - Why BBK launched multiple brands instead of just one big brand
(21:50) - BBK Electronics clever distribution strategy
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In this episode, Chris breaks down the auto industry in the Philippines, the auto manufacturing industry in China, the history of each Chinese car brand that has entered the country, and whether China-made cars are finally worth considering.
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TIMESTAMPS:
(4:26) - Which car brand is winning in the Philippines?
(7:29) - The auto manufacturing industry of China
(13:38) - "The Big Four", the largest automakers in China
(15:54) - Brief history of each Chinese car brand (Geely, MG, Changan, etc.)
(22:54) - Can we trust Chinese brands?
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Shopee and Lazada implemented different strategies in terms of logistics, funding, marketing, inventory, expansion, and even management style. Go in-depth into the reasons why they different routes, and how it affected their present-day situation.
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Learn about Rocket Internet, the startup incubator that founded Lazada. Learn about the logistical and cultural problems that Lazada had to find solutions to in order to get people to embrace eCommerce. And most importantly, learn about the Alibaba acquisition and how Lazada became as big as it is today.
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This episode covers the complete history of Shopee. I talk about Sea Limited, the mother company of Shopee, Garena, and SeaMoney. Learn about the strategy that Shopee used to dominate Southeast Asia, and why the synergy of the three companies makes Sea Limited an unstoppable force.
Lastly, learn about the reasons why Shopee has recently been on the decline, and why the collapse of the company may be near if they don't become profitable soon.
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Learn how Starbucks converted me from a hater into a Starbucks superfan. I talk about what Starbucks does right, and what smaller local coffee shops can learn from them so that they can create customer loyalty.
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In this episode, I talk about how virtual influencers will dethrone human influencers, Rings of Power budget vs. House of the Dragon's budget, the Tolkien Estate, Liquid Death's Branding masterclass, and the business of FreeWater.
(1:00) - Marketing Examples by Harry Dry
(7:15) - Virtual influencers vs. Human influencers
(15:57) - Starting an investment group with your classmates
(20:30) - Rings of Power's massive budget
(28:44) - Liquid Death's branding masterclass
(34:25) - FreeWater
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In this episode, I talk about status symbol businesses. Ryan Holiday's The Painted Porch perfectly fits my idea of the status symbol business I aspire to build. What's yours?
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Tennyson Chen never expected that he'd go from running his own poultry farm to owning one of the biggest fast-food chains in the world. This is the story of the unexpected birth of the roasted chicken giant - Chooks to Go.
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Learn how Shein started, why they steal designs, Shein's unorthodox strategy, how Shein beat Zara, and why Gen Z love Shein even though it is destroying the environment.
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Share your story at chrisgarin.com
Subscribe to my YouTube channel
Message me on Instagram
Want to sponsor an episode? Check out the details on my website.
Timestamps:
* 1:30 - Otis, fractional investing in collectibles
* 6:54 - Farmtogether, FarmFolio
* 8:48 - Alternative investments, Alts.co
* 10:32 - Walnut, disrupting healthcare
* 17:26 - Tabs for Cats
* 19:52 - Ivella, banking for couples
* 22:35 - Travel Influencers, Beautiful Destinations
* 26:50 - Share your story
In this episode, learn about the complete history of National Bookstore, the inspiring story of Socorro Ramos, and how she navigated through the challenges that life threw her way.
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Melanie Perkins and Clifford Obrecht weren’t programmers, they didn’t have millionaire parents, they didn’t have the connections, and they weren’t based in the US - they both simply spotted a problem that needed to be solved. This is the story of how they built Canva.
Canva Free Trial: https://bit.ly/3CxiiRi
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Chris talks about the complete history of Louis Vuitton in this brand origin story episode.
TIMESTAMPS:
Louis Vuitton myths (3:05)
How Louis Vuitton started (6:30)
The LV Monogram (12:05)
Louis Vuitton during WW2 (14:25)
Louis Vuitton goes public (17:55)
Bernard Arnault & the LVMH Merger (18:29)
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In this special episode, I talk about challenges I've overcome this past year, and how it has made me more grateful. This is my way of saying thank you to all of you listeners. No origin stories or business ideas to steal in this one.
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Follow me on Twitter: @garinchris
Here's an idea worth stealing: create a business around teaching seniors how to play video games. Chris also talks about Netflix's brilliant marketing move in promoting the film 'Red Notice' when they stole the Mall of Asia globe, and the success of Mr. Beast's Squid Game YouTube video.
(0:40) - MrBeast's Squid Game video
(4:23) - Mall of Asia Globe / Red Notice promo
(8:29) - Mall of Asia Globe / Red Notice promo
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In this Steal This Idea episode, Chris talks about the lucrative business behind the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, and how all restaurants can have their own drive-thru by doing one simple change.
(0:15) - Restaurant Drive-Thrus
(7:40) - Myers-Briggs Business
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Hosted by Chris Garin - @garinchris
What if there was a stock market, but instead of investing in companies, you invest in people? In this episode of Steal My Idea, Chris talks about Human IPO, and Girls Auto Clinic, a car repair center for women.
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TIMESTAMPS:
*(1:52) - Human IPO
*(13:00) - Car repair center for women
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SHOWNOTES:
Visit my website: chrisgarin.com
Wired.com article about Mike Merrill
Human IPO: humanipo.app
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LINKS
Subscribe to my YouTube channel. Video versions of my episodes are uploaded there.
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Hosted by Chris Garin - @garinchris