Ignacio Phelan is the Chief Operating Officer of WeClean. They're a tech-enabled laundry chain that aims to be ASEAN's largest laundry player.

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👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

My job is to manage the operations and lead the fundraising efforts for WeClean Philippines. We currently have a portfolio of 64 branches across all of Metro Manila, Philippines.

🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

Every day is different from the previous one. This is reflected when I deal with different stakeholders from different backgrounds. Working side-by-side with these stakeholders has proved to be a phenomenal working experience.

🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

The largest highlight of my career is building the largest laundry business in Metro Manila in less than a year. It has been a challenging year trying to expand the business, but everything worth doing is hard to achieve.

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🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?

A startup trend we're watching closely is ESG. Given our large footprint, we want to offer our customers additional services that enhance their lives. For example, we're planning on installing small water stations in all our branches to provide very cheap water to the neighborhoods we serve. We believe that having a positive impact on the lives of our customers is essential to having a long-lasting relationship with them.

We also plan to partner with Grab to offer our pick-up and delivery to customers across Metro Manila. We have a large enough branch footprint to serve the millions of Filipinos with the Grab app downloaded on their phones. We're also in the final stages of developing our own in-house app that will bring various new laundry services to our customers.

💼 What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

Patience and determination are the two most important traits in this industry. Also, if you have a high-grossing laundry shop, please give me a call!

🗣 What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?

Investment opportunities regardless of asset class, sector or industry.

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show?

Breaking Bad

🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?

Pistachio