How to craft a cocktail menu that sells

TriciaVM

F&B Report | November 2018
Photo by Ash Edmonds|Unsplash*

When it comes to the modern cocktail movement, Manila is steadily catching up to Asian neighbors Hong Kong and Singapore. The city is coming on its own, its drinking scene making up for lost time and covering the gamut from gritty street side dive bars and gastropubs in Poblacion and Escolta to luxury hotel rooftops and hidden whiskey retreats in Makati’s Legaspi and Salcedo villages. Continue reading “How to craft a cocktail menu that sells” →

Keep on truckin’

TriciaVM

FAS Maritime Magazine | Maiden Issue
Photography by Arabella Paner

Amidst a daunting modernization program, fuel price hikes, and turnaround delays, the men behind this humble but mighty industry forge on

From bananas to bicycles to beer, consumption levels are breaking records. Even amidst inflationary pressures, figures from the World Bank point to private consumption being among the Philippines’ main economic drivers, having grown at a moderate 7.3 percent in 2017 and contributing 10.3 percent (or $31.3 billion) to the same year’s GDP. This, a steadily growing economy, and the exponential rise of e-commerce in the country—payment solutions firm PayPal predicts Filipinos will be spending P121 billion on online shopping in 2018—mean more goods are waiting to be moved.

As the Philippines is lightyears away from self-driving trucks, the country needs more men like Misae Cagubgub hauling freight and making deliveries. Continue reading “Keep on truckin’” →

The Godfather of global transport: How Softbank gains the most from the Grab/Uber deal in Southeast Asia

TriciaVM

Inc. Southeast Asia | 26 March 2018
Photo c/o Getty Images
Co-reported with Marishka Cabrera

Japan’s SoftBank is positioning Uber in strategic locations where it doesn’t have to compete with local rivals

Is this a case of keeping your friends close but your enemies closer?

Following weeks of speculation, Grab finally made it official today that it has acquired Uber’s Southeast Asia operations and assets in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam—the largest-ever deal of its kind in Southeast Asia. Continue reading “The Godfather of global transport: How Softbank gains the most from the Grab/Uber deal in Southeast Asia” →

Sticky situations: 9GAG’s Ray Chan lists ways to increase your content’s ‘stickiness’

TriciaVM

Inc. Southeast Asia | 24 October 2017
Photo c/o Getty Images

With the amount of information online, it’s safe to assume you have a discerning audience that can smell ‘phony’ from a mile away Continue reading “Sticky situations: 9GAG’s Ray Chan lists ways to increase your content’s ‘stickiness’” →

Yen Kuok: The Guiltless brand of luxury

TriciaVM

IMG_6727

Inc. Southeast Asia | Tycoons 2.0
Photo c/o Guiltless

“Always think like the sneakiest version of yourself,” says Yen Kuok in an interview with Inc. Southeast Asia.

Sitting comfortably behind her desk at the Hong Kong headquarters of Guiltless—the luxury marketplace selling pre-loved (second-hand) and off-season designer clothing, handbags, shoes, jewelry, watches, and lifestyle products she founded in 2015—Kuok is recalling the one lesson her father, Malaysian sugar baron Robert Kuok, taught her about running a business. “Anticipate and imagine the worst-nightmare customers you could have—those out to get you, cheat you, and manipulate their way around your system. Put yourself in their shoes and if you can beat yourself at that game, then you’re likely set.” Continue reading “Yen Kuok: The Guiltless brand of luxury” →

Zilingo: The e-merchant of small things

TriciaVM

Inc. Southeast Asia | Beauty Killers
Photo by Joel Lim

Any shopaholic worth her salt has made the pilgrimage to Southeast Asia’s most vibrant weekend market: the busy and bustling sensory overload that is Chatuchak along Bangkok’s Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road. Continue reading “Zilingo: The e-merchant of small things” →

Remember the Twitter Fail Whale? Here are three design tips from its instigator

TriciaVM

Inc. Southeast Asia | 9 August 2017
Image by @YiyingLu 

Creative Yiying Lu shares tips on how start-ups can come up with design ideas that marry local flavor and global reach
 Continue reading “Remember the Twitter Fail Whale? Here are three design tips from its instigator” →

Context clues: Mark Britt of iflix on what it takes to successfully go native

TriciaVM

Inc. Southeast Asia | 19 July 2017

What gets this co-founder out of bed in the morning? Piracy, leading the entertainment revolution, and ‘little Raspberry Pis’ tracking Internet telemetry across 10 emerging markets Continue reading “Context clues: Mark Britt of iflix on what it takes to successfully go native” →

Go public or stay private? Five unfiltered growth lessons from Trivago’s CEO

TriciaVM

Inc. Southeast Asia | 25 July 2017

Rolf Schromgens dishes out the costs and benefits of taking his company public

 Continue reading “Go public or stay private? Five unfiltered growth lessons from Trivago’s CEO” →

Vroom to grow: This Cambodian start-up enables seamless transit in Southeast Asia

TriciaVM

Inc. Southeast Asia | 7 April 2017

BookMeBus is every traveler’s ticket to the touristic wonders of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam Continue reading “Vroom to grow: This Cambodian start-up enables seamless transit in Southeast Asia” →

How to create a truly original start-up in Asia

TriciaVM

Inc. Southeast Asia | 20 January 2017


A Filipino tech entrepreneur from Silicon Valley shares his thought process on creating start-ups that disrupt the status quo Continue reading “How to create a truly original start-up in Asia” →

Every Body Yoga

TriciaVM

Urbanyogi.ph

There isn’t a shortage of #yogininspiration #yogaeverydamnday photos across all social networks of lithe, limber women doing every enviable pose imaginable. From the usual handstands and backbends, to gravity-defying arm balances and that rather Exorcist-esque variation of Kala Bhairavasana (this is worth a google), these yoginis make seemingly impossible asanas look easy peasy. Continue reading “Every Body Yoga” →

Not all glitter and glam

TriciaVM

Style Weekend | The Pink Issue

The country’s top designers, models, and muses channel their creative vision to raise support for ICanServe Foundation and its advocacy of breast cancer awareness and early detection Continue reading “Not all glitter and glam” →