Hello, po!
Welcome and Mabuhay. My name is Justine, founder of Filipino Startup Network. A proud Pinay, having grown up in beautiful Manila for 17 years, retail and startup professional, loving wife, daughter, inaanak, and all around BFF to many.
Currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I am the Director of Accelerator Programs at Target, I lead programs that facilitate the connection between startups and the Target enterprise. My life’s purpose is to help others succeed, whether through education, technology or mentorship.
Previously, I lived in Queens, New York and served as the Senior Vice President at Satisfi Labs, an AI chat software platform. (Yes, I got to work with robots, Alexa and Siri!) Prior to joining Satisfi Labs, I held multiple roles in Marketing, Innovation and Digital at Macy’s - a life highlight is definitely marching in the Thanksgiving Day Parade. I’m a proud alum of Boston University’s Questrom School of Business where I was part of the Filipino Students Association and Fusion Dance team.
How it all started
Filipino Startup Network started as an idea, a dream I had when I first worked in the startup world. As a sales person, I would pitch to hundreds of people a year, and meet thousands of people at conferences and trade shows, and I would rarely see anyone that looked or sounded like me.
The network didn’t become a reality until 2020, where I started meeting more and more Filipinos through our Accelerators partnerships at Target; whenever I would find out that I was meeting a fellow Filipino, the experience was always the same: we were all so amazed and honestly, shocked to even find each other. After this happened 4 times in a row, I knew it was time to create a space for us, by us.
If the pandemic taught me anything, it’s this: we got to stick together. We have to help each other, treat others with grace, and pull each other up when we’re down. And that is my goal: to bring us together and help push everyone to greater heights.
-Justine