A Week in Manila with My Co-founder
My co-founder Marshall and I have been hard at work to grow Shepherd over the last three years.
From just two people who did everything themselves, our Shepherd team has grown to over 100 members. I know, it’s pretty amazing!
Last August 2022, we finally had the chance to bring the entire gang together when Marshall visited us all the way from the States. The fact that this is our first time seeing each other since the pandemic made the week-long visit even more special.
“Him coming here and finally getting to meet everyone is validation that we are staying true to what Shepherd is about: family, care, and relationships.”
Day 1: Meeting Marshall
The Shepherd leadership team and I hung out at Conrad Manila while waiting for Marshall’s flight to arrive. While I was excited to meet my friend and co-founder, I was more excited for our leadership team who will be meeting him for the first time.
You’ll see Pammy (Head of People and Culture) and Jacqy (Head of Process Excellence) discussing the best way to greet Marshall. Pammy wanted to give Marshall a fist-bump. I went for a good old bro hug.
Day 2: Subic Yacht Hangout
Leading up to our big townhall, we had time for a chill hangout at Subic. It was the perfect time for Marshall to chill out after his super long flight and the perfect chance for everyone to get to know each other in a more laid-back environment.
And what’s more laid-back than spending the day on a relaxing cruise with good food and good company, right?
We rented a yacht, took lots of photos, and got to enjoy water sports like jetski. It was an awesome day.
Day 3: Tracing our roots
We spent Day 3 going back to our roots. Marshall and I went back to the place where I first pitched Shepherd more than 3 years ago. It all started in this small coffee shop in BGC. It’s humbling to look back to that day and see how we’ve grown in such a short time.
Co-founding Shepherd has been life-changing, not just for me but for our families, team members, and the talents we’ve hired. Remote work has given us the freedom to work on our own terms, spend more time with our loved ones, and create financially fulfilling careers for ourselves without sitting for hours in traffic.
“Before I joined Shepherd, I was working for a company in Ortigas," shares Oyence, who leads our branding and creatives team.
“I would take the bus and it would take me like two hours to get there and then another two hours to go home. I remember always getting sick because of the transportation and all the noise and smog.”
Other team members also shared their experiences before joining Shepherd. Jara, our operations lead, worked as a trainer who would wake up hours before her graveyard shift just to get to work. Bea, who leads client services, used to work in Doha, Qatar as a flight attendant. Hearing stories like these from our own team reminded me why we built Shepherd in the first place.
Day 4: August Town Hall at Casa Ibarra
Finally, it was time for the main event: our August Townhall and Meet and Greet. Our team put a lot of effort into this and it was so exciting to see everything come together. Some folks took long trips just to see their online colleagues in person, so we wanted it to be really special.
Thankfully, it did not disappoint.
The evening was full of laughter, music, and good food. We recognized our top performers, reported on our progress, and even had a Q&A portion where Marshall gamely answered some questions from our team.
As with any Filipino gathering, we had a live band and an open mic later that night. The team and I really had a great time.
Of course, no townhall would be complete without speeches. I spoke about how awesome the internet is and how it has the power to change lives. It surely changed mine.
Marshall’s talk inspired everyone to keep that hungry startup mentality to sustain our momentum. And he’s right — we’ve only just begun. I truly believe that the best is yet to come for Shepherd.
We ended the night with a truly epic selfie. Can you spot me in the crowd?
Day 5: The send-off
After spending almost a week in Manila, it was time to send Marshall off. It was bittersweet, but I’m confident that we can see each other again. Maybe this time, our team will be bigger. Or who knows? I might visit him in Texas soon. We’ll see 😉
What did Marshall have to say about the whole trip?
“It’s been great to meet all the leaders and hang out with them and get to know them personally. You just can’t beat that.”
"It's been a good trip. Really productive and a lot of fun," he shared.
Same here, Marshall. Can’t wait to hang out again in person!
Well, that’s it for this blog post. I hope you enjoyed getting a little sneak peek at what goes behind the scenes at Shepherd.
Here’s to more of these posts in the future!
