LaunchStrong helps turn Filipino founders into e-commerce builders

Insider Spotlight

• LaunchStrong has mentored more than 150 first-time Filipino founders since its launch in 2025
• The five-week mentorship program has helped develop more than 100 homegrown e-commerce brands across consumer categories
• About 80 percent of participants who entered without a product or e-commerce background have progressed toward launching their first online business
  
  
  

LaunchStrong is marking its first year as an e-commerce mentorship program after helping more than 150 first-time Filipino founders and facilitating the development of more than 100 homegrown brands.

Founded in 2025 by entrepreneur Jungie Gumiran, the five-week live program guides aspiring founders through product ideation and validation, supplier sourcing, positioning, pricing, branding, launch strategy, customer acquisition and early-stage growth.

First-time founders

LaunchStrong said about 80 percent of first-time founders who joined without an existing product or e-commerce background have progressed toward launching their first online business.

Brands supported by the program span wellness and supplements, food and beverage, personal care, pet care and fashion. They include Eat Move Love, Pharmatrust, Magic Bowl, Tonios, TELA Pinoy and NanaPro Litter.

Survive and scale

“E-commerce in the Philippines is becoming much easier to enter, but harder to win,” Gumiran said in a press statement. 

“Opening a marketplace store or having a good product is no longer enough. Aspiring founders can generate sales and still lose money if they don’t fully understand business economics, platform fees, logistics, inventory, and cash flow. Success, more than just the launch, is making better decisions before putting hard-earned capital at risk so the business can survive and scale,” he added.

Gumiran's approach draws from building wellness brand JUJU Lifestyle, which the release said had served more than 300,000 customers. Through AdsLevelUp, he has also coached more than 30,000 CEOs, freelancers, marketers and business owners across more than 200 training sessions and workshops since 2019.

‘Practical perspective’

LaunchStrong plans to continue supporting aspiring and first-time Filipino founders as it enters its second year.

“Our vision is to give first-time founders the practical perspective to realize that they can build a brand from scratch, regardless of where they are starting from,” Gumiran said. 

“In our second year, we want to equip more Filipinos with the skills, discipline, and execution capability to build sustainable consumer brands that can compete nationally and eventually scale beyond the Philippines.”

Its next five-week live mentorship cohort is scheduled for December 2026. —Vanessa Hidalgo | Ed: Corrie S. Narisma