Disrupted the realestate industry with ZipMatch; but this driving force in her field today still has her feet planted firmly on the ground

rom years of working in sales, Chow Paredes discovered that the best way to sell to people was to identify their need, find a way to address that, and sell this to them. This approach led her to cofound ZipMatch in 2013, the country’s leading real-estate portal which provides curated data on property listings, reviews, and 360-degree virtual tours, as well as helpful articles for home buyers. Today, ZipMatch is the ultimate tool in navigating the real-estate market.

Paredes foresees that the future of this traditional industry will prosper in the digital world, no matter how hard the shift to digital may be. “Searching is definitely online, but most parts of the real-estate process are still manual and challenging to translate to purely digital.”

She became one of the first licensed real-estate brokers when the industry was professionalised in 2009. Hailing from a family of lawyers, Paredes’ sharp mind and critical thinking has helped her in becoming a trailblazing entrepreneur. Her secret to success? Her team. “Talent is the most valuable asset in a company. I talk to my team to know what motivates them. I am their number one cheerleader in helping them achieve their goals in life,” she says. Being an entrepreneur in a cutthroat industry is not without its challenges; and in especially difficult times, she looks to her dad for support, whom she calls her rock. As to her personal well-being, she says, “I am more balanced now in terms of maintaining a healthy mind. I do yoga, meditation, and I work out most days of the week.”