Soco: Self-made leader, successful entrepreneur
Born under the lucky spell of affluence, Glenn Anthony Ocampo Soco's journey to entrepreneurship could have been easier as picking a low-hanging fruit, but just like the others he also struggled on his way up.
In fact, he is more than known as a self-made leader and successful entrepreneur despite bearing a respected family name in Cebu's business and political scenes built by his father Guillermo R. Soco.
Glenn is one of the pioneers in the coffee shop chain industry in the Philippines, through his personal "pet" Coffee Dream chain of coffee shops.
A celebrated and fearless business leader, Glenn recently turned over his seat as President of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) to Stanley Go, few months after he tied the knot to wife Krizia Lim Nuñez.
HITTING THE
GROUND
A graduate of Industrial Engineering at the University of San Carlos (USC), this collegehunk chose to play the field taken by many after graduation, and threw himself to the employment circle. Although he could have directly helped the family's established business in manpower recruitment and other few ventures.
"I worked for an industrial company. Just like my contemporaries," Glenn shared recalling his short stint in the corporate world with fondness and regarded it as his foundation prior to his entry to the field of entrepreneurship.
Surrounded with entrepreneurs and people in the business wavelength while growing up, Glenn said he always wanted to build his own name, not necessarily following the shadow of his already prominent family.
True enough, while he was building his own network of friends in the corporate and social worlds, his cunning charm of interpersonal connection caught the attention of business acquaintances to join a project that needed a little of 10 workers for a special promotional campaign of a brand.
This opportunity led him to source the personnel requirement back to the business he grew up with.
Although he was trying to keep himself away from the family business — in an attempt to make a name of his own, he was dragged back to his own backyard and unconsciously turned the family's business around in a short span of time,
In 1995, after wandering off to find his own fate in entrepreneurship apart from family's business, the young Soco re-organized the family's manpower company, then known as Mandaue Integrated Janitorial Services, and re-named it to Mandaue Integrated Manpower Services to expand its scope.
However, while helping the family's corporation to make more money and expand its market reach, Glenn never stopped sending resumes for employment opportunities to other industrial firms, banking institutions, wherever job openings are advertised.
While his hands were already full in tending the family business, Glenn said he wanted to hit the ground first and stay there for a while. Meaning, putting himself on the ground--in the rank-and-file level, that would give him more fulfillment and perhaps few shots of well-roundedness.
Surprisingly, despite his remarkable credentials and strong personality references, his applications where all rejected, for the reasons he never bothered to investigate.
From there, he understood that he was born for a greater purpose.
BORN TO BE A BOSS
After a year of managing the family's business with Ayala Center Cebu contracting most of its contractual workers particularly janitorial services, Glenn was able to spot another opportunity and eventually won the bid to operate and manage the mall's Cinema business. Thus, the birth of Satellite Entertainment Inc.
That same year in 1996, Glenn established a business, which he can personally claim as his own — the Coffee Dream coffee chain, operating under the corporate license of G. A. Satellite Ventures Inc.
Today, more than the manpower services empire of his family, which he expanded as holdings of integrated services, including training Institute and other related offerings, Glenn is more known as the "Coffee guy", having been able to withstand the avalanche of coffee chain brands from other countries, particularly the mighty Starbucks.
"Coffee Dream is something that I personally created," said Glenn with immense pride of being able to survive in the crowded market dominated by giant names.
Together with other Cebuano-owned and successful coffee shop brand, which is also owned and created by his friend, Glenn likewise pursues a greater goal of promoting Filipino coffee beans — his small contribution to reclaiming the Philippines' top position as coffee bean producer in the world.
Glenn, through his network of Coffee Dream coffee shops around the country, is not only helping boost employment, but also becoming the big boss to a growing number of coffee farmers around the country.
HEART FOR PUBLIC
SERVICE
Alongside his success as a "Coffee guy", Glenn is often gravitated to serve the community. In fact, he attempted his luck in politics when he ran for Vice Governor in Cebu province. Although, he never made it to the Capitol’s "oval office", Glenn proceeded to satisfy his cravings for public service and became the President of MCCI in 2016.
This opened up more opportunities for him to indulge his passion to serve the community. Here, he was able to lead fearless advocacies and campaigns that somehow stirred the attention of both local and national governments for upfront actions on issues that affect the business sector.
Glenn is one of the most vocal and fearless business leaders in Mandaue business community. One of his legacies is recognizing and uplifting the old brands and Mandaue-based successful enterprises through its own version of Chamber Awards called "M Awards."
In his own business, Coffee Dream is the most active supporter of Tuburan Coffee farming industry. It is (so far) the only Coffee Shop chain that offers a special Tuburan Coffee blend.
BUSINESS AT HOME
After establishing a name for himself in the field of entrepreneurship and "unconventional" way of doing public service, Glenn is giving himself a break from the limelight. This time, he will make his new home and young family as his playground, while overlooking his business from home.
After-all, success in wealth and fame are irrelevant without a loving family to come home to at the end of the day.