Growing up, I never thought that I would be a businessman. The books that surrounded me in childhood pointed to a life of writing—and to a great degree, that was what I pursued. I started with plays and later dabbled in film and television before settling down with fiction. I never thought my brain and temperament was in any way wired beyond the comfort and power of words. But life likes to throw curve balls once in a while.
One evening I went to pick my wife up from her workplace. Arriving early, I was invited to brainstorm with the creative folk at her agency while waiting for her. So I dove in, contributed an idea or two. This ultimately resulted in my being the group’s GM for their Hong Kong arm—a whirlwind that firmly affixed me in the corporate world. From there, a series of fortunate events and great partnerships led me to the realm of the entrepreneur, founding my own company. But through all of this I considered myself an accidental businessman.
Then came an irresistible opportunity named Binalot. My business partner and I met with Rommel Juan and through the power of time-lapse photography I found myself the happy franchisee of Binalot at SM Megamall. Full story.