Wicked Thoughts with Fleire Castro

In this episode, we sit down with Kennette Canales, the founder of Jiph, a cutting-edge fintech app that aims to make remittances from abroad to the Philippines - instant, cheaper and convenient Since the recording of this episode, Kennette and the Jiph team has recently raising $500k from private investors for the seed round and has rebranded the app from Payhiram to Jiph. He also talks about the company's plans to expand operations and how Jiph is poised to disrupt the industry. Join us for an exciting conversation with an entrepreneur at the forefront of innovation in the fintech space.

Finally! Back from the Big O's of 2022 to my podcast Season 4 on a Dash of Social.

On the Wicked Thoughts Podcast, I'm talking to not just one but TWO performance marketers.

Floyd Surban is a Creative Digital Marketer for SMEs, eCommerce, and Financial Institutions with a focus on Facebook Ads and Social Media. He manages a small team of freelancers with expertise in design, development, and marketing.

Lean is a social media marketing specialist with a focus on local lead generation, marketing automation, copywriting for social media, and strategy. She has worked with various small businesses, as well as global brands such as F45, Anytime Fitness, Orange Theory, among others.

We discuss various things including the sales funnel - brand awareness for SMEs, prospecting, local lead generation, and remarketing.

This week on the Wicked Thoughts Podcast, I'm talking to Lee O'Brian - Founder of PokLee Food Products, media talent and actor in the Philippines, and now a startup food business founder.

We discuss how to move from the physical space to the online space, how to maintain and reinvent your business and offerings through the pandemic time, and of course, about work-life balance.

This week on the Wicked Thoughts Podcast, I'm talking to Reinart Bacalso - CEO of Augmen Digital, avid learner, and all-around numbers geek.

We catch up on what's changed since we last spoke - from growing his team to delving into the local marketing scene and overcoming challenges. "Part of business is trying to find creative solutions to get through these challenges," he shares.

We take it back to his college days and why today, transparency is a core value at Augmen Digital (it's a fun story). After discussing the future of social media, the Shopee/Lazada phenomenon, and the challenge of Facebook ads, Reinart takes it full-circle with his wicked thought: transparency wins over everything. Enjoy the episode!

This week, I'm catching up with my good friend Mr. Nas Arcayan, founder of Mothership and cognitive branding specialist. We start things off with what it means to build a "cognitive brand" and how one can connect with customers in the deepest, most meaningful ways. "Branding is not about connecting with the eyes it's about connecting with the mind," Nas shares. Nas drops some valuable knowledge for our MSME friends - the 3 most important facets of your business: your category, your customer, and your company. Using case studies and relating concepts to real-life situations, even first-time entrepreneurs can easily grasp these nuggets of wisdom. There's just so much to learn in this episode!

This week on the Wicked Thoughts Podcast, we're learning a whole lot from Jason Cruz - communication and brand strategist, business coach, and content creator.

As a guest lecturer for various academic institutions, Jason has a unique perspective on teaching digital marketing, drawing from his past and ongoing experiences in the space. We talk a little about the importance of keeping up to date with trends and choosing to learn from people who are in the thick of things.

We cover the boom of the creator economy, the value of GenZ customers, the Facebook outage, and how you don't have to be on every social media platform. The secret is in understanding your target market and using platforms to reach them. And as if he hasn't spoiled us enough with all his knowledge, Jason breaks things down for all our MSMEs out there looking to thrive in the digital space - a framework that also, somehow, applies to dating. So if you're gunning for a strong digital presence (and a life partner), have a listen!

This week on the Wicked Thoughts Podcast, it's S4E4 and I'm talking to Javier Lorenzana, co-founder, and CEO of Up Next, a platform that offers cohort-based programs to help accelerate professionals for the digital age. To begin, Javier shares how Up Next came to be -- how it was born out of a hunger for community and a need to learn beyond the four walls of a classroom. Today, Up Next stands at the forefront of modern education infrastructure in South East Asia, where connection and community are of the utmost importance. And of course... Is an episode even complete without me geeking out with a guest about social media? We discuss planning vs. over-planning, the importance of a strong strategy, and balancing that with the ability to rethink and adjust. But in the end, we come full circle with a Wicked Thought that brought us here, to begin with: the value of community.

This week on the Wicked Thoughts Podcast, I talk to social media specialist and digital leadership coach -- Ms. Janette Toral!

In keeping with the season 4 theme, we get into a dash of social and discuss how e-commerce businesses can use social media to their advantage.

Where does one even start? Ms. Janette advises it's important to establish fundamentals and invest in relationship building. After all, no one wants to do business with someone they don't like! We get into the specifics with a rundown of the different social media platforms and how helpful each can be -- from Twitter to Tiktok. It can all get a little overwhelming. But take it from Ms. Janette -- decide who you want to serve and how you can best add value to that market.