Couple with classified success

The cliche “a marriage made in heaven” holds true for the Davids: From the classroom (they were   high school classmates/sweethearts) to the corporate world as business partners, from holding office in the bedroom to the borderless boardroom of the digital world to carving a niche as an emerging economy-driver.

RJ and  Arianne David founded Sulit.com.ph (now renamed OLX) in September 2006 with a capital of just P2,400 and never did they expect it to make  a huge splash as the country’s leading classified ads online, so much so that they opened a Cebu office last week at the Keppel Building in Cebu Business Park.

A licensed mechanical engineer from UP Diliman,  RJ  teamed up with his then  girlfriend-turned-spouse Arianne in the venture even as they
individually took on employment.

RJ acted as the website developer/architect/master-SEO  while Arianne was web designer/test engineer/creative director. The site’s traffic continued to increase so the partners  eventually left their day jobs to pursue full-time management of Sulit.

But it wasn’t as easy as that: After her shift, Arianne who was slowly climbing the corporate ladder  would pinch-hit for RJ  until the wee hours because he would be up and about practically the whole day. But, for all that work, the reward was a booming enterprise that got them both to land in the Go Negosyo: 50 Inspiring Stories of Young Entrepreneurs book in 2012, among other recognitions, including Technopreneur Award for Go Negosyo’s Filipino Technopreneur Summit in 2013.

The Play! pool cornered the couple during their visit to the Queen City and witnessed a chemistry beyond compare: how they finish each other’s sentences and peals of laughter the way honeymooners discover a secret together, how their passionate love for each other has brought them practically all over the world as a power tandem behind the think tank of a dot com company that has grown exponentially, and how much passion they pour into their work.

We read that you guys were classmates in college.
RJ: Even way back high school.

Did you like each other right away?
RJ: Actually, fourth year high school nanligaw na ako sa kanya and then in college we decided that we shouldn’t be in the same school because feeling namin maapektuhan yung studies namin so we went to separate schools in college.

Arianne: Supposedly PUP ako kaya lang napunta ako sa malapit na school, yung Central Colleges of the Philippines, and I took Computer
Science

RJ: University of the Philippines. My uncle who was in Saudi promised me that if I finished Mechanical Engineering he’d give me a good job.

Siya naman, her first choice was Interior design, and I influenced her to take CS and it was a good thing na pumayag siya.

Arianne: Kasi naman it was in demand during that time and hearing it from most of my interior designer friends na CS was it. I took the chance.

How did you court Arianne?  
RJ: It was so funny ‘cause wala pang cellphone during that time kaya nag-uusap na kami by 5 p.m. Magkikita kami sa FoodCourt ng SM Cubao para sabay na kami umuwi. Now there are times na naka-cut ‘yung classes namin like once bumagyo. One time, I was out 10 a.m., so ang
ginawa ko, pumunta ako sa school nila, nag-abang sa labas. ‘Yun pala pinalabas din sila!

Arianne: Ako naman, pumunta ako ng Cubao at hinintay ko siya.

RJ: So umuwi muna ako, pero nung tumawag ako sa bahay nila, sabi hindi pa daw siya nakakauwi.

So anong oras ka na nakuwi?
RJ: Gabi na 7 or 8 yata. So, memorable talaga ‘yung time na yon.

When did you know that you’re attracted to each other?
Arianne: Simula first year hanggang fourth year, inis na ako sa kanya kasi siya ‘yung tipong Mr. Know-It-All. Well, he was the valedictorian, the president so sobrang kino-correct nya ako. Like one time, I think we were in second year high school nagtanong siya sa akin.

RJ: Yung fruit vegetable..

Arianne: Yeah, yung fruit vegetable!

RJ: ‘Eh, hindi ako makakapayag—fruit vegetable!

Arianne: ‘Eh nabasa ko lang naman siya sa research ko na tomato ata ‘yun. So nu’ng time na ‘yun, gigil na gigil na ako at yabang na yabang na ako sa kanya. Pero nu’ng third year namin, nag-iba na, ‘cause one time nag shout ako, “Classmates, pakopya naman!” And dun, na shock ako ‘cause nag-abot siya ng kanyang notes.

And when did you decide na mag business together? Did you  also work for other companies?
RJ: I was raised na I will go to school, get good grades, be part of the corporate world. That’s how life was implanted sa akin. Siya naman, she had to go through making ends meet. She had to work at Jollibee to pay for school fees, and I was against that. Para sa akin, I had extra allowance, pahihiramin kita. Iba ‘yung view ko ‘eh. Pero now, actually, inggit na inggit ako sa kanya after na realize ko ‘yung experience nya.

Arianne: I was able to work after college, but sadly, nag close ‘yung dalawang company that I was with. Sunod sunod ‘yung kamalasan. So I tried putting up a small business—nag barbecue ako in front of our house but unfortunately hindi siya nag click. After 10 months, I realized na hindi na kami nakakabayad ng kuryente, so I needed to work. Luckily, I was able to land a leadership-type na job in a bank and I handled the remittance system of UCPB.

RJ: Siya kasi nagta-try. Pag may naisip siya talon agad. Ako naman, it’s more of a calculated risk. Gusto ko malaman kung saan ako magla-landing. Hahaha!

How did the business start?
RJ: That time, while I was teaching for a year in UP, I was also practicing it.

Sadly nahuli ako ng boss ko na gumagawa ng website. Only then did  I realized na hindi ko gusto ‘yung ginagawa ko, so a week after, nag resign ako. I jumped sa IT world pero walang tumanggap sa akin for programming kasi mechanical engineer ako. I have to stay at the bottom ulit  as QA software test engineer. But during the night, nagfre-freelance ako to  hone my skills. Then nag release ako ng open-source projects… that’s when dumami yung projects. Then may kakilala siya. Siya kasi ‘yung sa programming. Doon ko na na-realize na kaya kong gumawa ng malaking system. That was the time na umusbong yung mga startups—young people creating a space in the industry. I thought—why not  do something for ourselves? The problem is, we don’t know what to create specifically.

Who thought of the idea of a business like sulit.com?
RJ: One time, on the way to Tagaytay for a presentation with a Korean client, that’s when she thought of coming up with something similar to classified ads.

Arianne: So it’s more of identifying or tracking what is popular and focusing on it. For example, if it’s cars, that’s it.

If it’s real estate, that’s it.

RJ: First three months, it was the cars that was popular. However, other categories were also growing. So we realized na  there’s something about this. So instead of focusing on one, we expanded to almost a hundred categories. And we became sulit.com—that was September 2006.

What was the setup back then?
RJ: We literally launched it inside my room. Hahaha! She was still with UCPB. Since we were supporting our families, our deal was huwag ka munang magre-resign. At least we’ll have a backup if it won’t work. If we earn at least P70,000 monthly from this, that’s when she will resign. So in the morning I would maintain the site and she would come in around 6 p.m. That’s when she, in turn, handle everything while I sleep. It was a sacrifice during the first few months.

Arianne: It was kinda awkward ‘cause it was at his house, inside his room, so palaging naka open ‘yung door. And then we decided to work sa kanilang verandah, turn the terrace into a two-man office space. By August 2007, we were earning over P100,000. We were just lucky that his parents agreed to have it in his house.

What’s the current standing of the business?
RJ: We have 100 people in the company. Two offices in one building. The third office would be here in Cebu.

Why are you setting up in Cebu?
RJ: Before we used to think of the Philippines as one country. Whatever works in Manila would work anywhere. But we realized na whatever works in Manila would only work in Luzon. When I first came here and tried to get the feel of Cebu, talking to the common people, the taxi drivers, we realized we are not that strong in this area. That’s when we analyzed the situation and we figured out from Visayas and Mindanao it’s the language issue that’s prevalent. So we decided that we need to conquer Cebu. Tapping Visayas and Mindanao… it’s a different culture here.

Arianne: Access-wise, we believe that Cebu is our gateway to Mindanao.

How do you unwind?
RJ: I really love long drives. We talk a lot during these long drives and that’s when I realize na everything started from it. We would go to Tagaytay. And nag Pagudpud din kami. Hinahanap ko talaga ‘yun ‘cause na fre-free up kasi ‘yung mind ko. And we discuss. We brainstorm.

Arianne: I do yoga, but not intensive. I love collecting Starbucks mugs as souvenir item from  every country that we would go to.

RJ: So every time na pag uwi ko, madali lang—punta lang ako sa Starbucks! But since we’ve talked about travel, we’re actually members of NASPERS, which is a South African media company. They’re funding all of our travels and they’re very good at knowledge transfer.  ‘Yung mga trainings, seminars, a small Harvard training every six months. Travel is important.

Did you expect na magiging ganito kayo kalaki as a business?
Arianne: Dream namin siya.

RJ: Pero never na ganito kabilis. ‘Yung pag-angat namin from a bedroom project to veranda… and two years after, we bagged Philippine Daily Inquirer’s award for Most Visited Site. We have to learn so much.

Do you have kids?
Arianne: Wala pa. We’re working on it!

How do you see yourself in the next five years?
RJ: Smooth sailing as OLX and becoming a part of a global company. This industry is a fast-paced industry and what we know now may become obsolute in the coming months, so its a challenge for us.

Arianne: Develop. We will continue building things.

So, what to you is the secret of a successful marriage, at the same time business partners?
Arianne: It is really challenging. Madalas kaming nag aaway kasi we have sometimes we different decisions. Good thing, he somehow balances things. He is more on  the business side, while ako naman yung sa creative.

RJ: It took years to develop the kind of relationship we have because, admittedly, we do argue. There was even a time na our team would know na there is something wrong… nag-aaway kami or nagkakagalit kami. Until such time na we realized na we have to separate personal and business—that’s when we decided na we have to stop talking about work when we’re at home na, and not talk about home when we’re in the office. It help us, especially since ‘yung pinagaawayan namin is mostly business- related.

Arianne: Minsan … less EQ kasi siya. Ako naman, more into people. Lumalambot talaga ako.

Do you think you’re destined to do this?
Arianne: Nung dati naniwala ako dun. Pero now, I’ve realized na destiny is not by chance—it’s by choice. Pinili ko siya. It’s all about choices.
RJ: Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. We did something to get here. Circumstances pushed us here. It was mahirap, but we pushed ourselves because we’re hungry. Both our parents have no jobs, so we had to do something. Thinking about what we went through… well, the good thing is that we are wiser and we can now delegate things.

On that note—what’s your theme song as a couple?
Arianne: “Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko.”

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