Today, we invited and interviewed Mr. Gilmar Padua, the owner of Infinity Hub. He’s a Digital Marketer, Digital Strategist, and he also has a background in web development. In this interview, we will learn more about Mr. Glimar and his company, Infinity Hub. This interview is conducted and hosted by Noemi Balog, with her interview partner, Kathleen Jucutan.
Self Introduction: Could you tell us briefly about yourself?
Gilmar:
“I’m Gilmar Padua. I’m a Digital Marketing Specialist or Digital Marketing Strategist. So I started as a humble beginning, so before I put up my company, it [took] a lot of experience and learning. After college, I started being an employee. I was employed with one of the leading broadcasting [networks] here in the Philippines, which was ABS-CBN. I became a video editor during that time. I worked for almost two years there, so my creativity was really enhanced. “Although during that time, during my college days, I’m planning to put up an IT firm. During that time, the term was ‘IT firm,’ not ‘Digital Marketing Agencies.’ To be able to put up an IT first, of course, you need to have a lot of learning experience. So after I worked with the leading broadcasting company, my question during that time [was] I wanted to be able to learn how to code or how to program, so I was employed with Aboitiz company during that time as a Software Developer, not a Web [Developer] but Software [Developer]. “After Aboitiz, I jumped to the call center because, during that time, the call center was good in terms of communication, diction, talking to clients, and handling some conflicts with clients. So I worked there for several months. So I never put up a company first; freelancer first. During that time, clients for me were not a problem because most of my clients told me once they hired me, they hired jackpot because I know creative, I know how to code, and at the same time, I can communicate, and I know some project management skills. Their analogy about me is ‘one person but have four to five skillsets.’ So that’s why clients for me are not a problem. That’s my humble beginning.” |
Noemi:
“Sir, I think you are a Jack of all trades because you can do a lot of things. You mentioned that you can do one thing, and aside from that, you can do other things that you are excelling at.” |
Company Introduction: Could you please, tell us about your company’s background
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Gilmar:
“It’s an exciting journey to be able to form a company, and I believe that to start a company, it takes a lot of risks and sacrifices. I started with a small room. During that time, I started freelancing, getting some clients. And as time passed by, I started hiring one or two just to shadow my work. Actually, I didn’t have a plan to be able to start an Infinity Hub because, of course, once you start a company, you have to register it in the Philippines. The bureaucracy of the process, I mean, takes longer for me. For me, it’s very hard to manage people; I’d rather do work on my own.” “At first, it was just a small office because we were just five people and then most of them are virtual. We just had one headquarters. Wherein if in case that someone will have no internet then they can have a small space where they can go. So that’s the start of Infinity Hub.” “And then what makes us unique? I guess it’s more about learning. Because once you’re in the technology field, there is a saying that whatever you learned last year, it doesn’t mean it’s significant also these current days; because technology, from time to time, changes, algorithm changes. So you need to adapt to different changes. That’s why if you check my website, which is gilmarpadua.com, there are a lot of certifications attached to my name. So I think that’s what makes Infinity Hub unique; we make sure that we follow the current trend.” |
Who are your target customers and clients?
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Gilmar:
“So most of the time, our target market is from small to large companies. But I make sure that the company or that particular client has an appreciation of the digital space; they believe in the digital space, they believe in the technology, and they have an understanding of the benefits. Because if you get clients, then clients will require you, ‘Okay, I get you, I pay your monthly juice or whatever the service that you have,’ and they already expect sales in just a month through your effort. “So I’ve been burned out with that kind of client that’s why I always ask every time that I engage with a client before the client will get on board, I always ask the client, ‘Do you have an understanding of the digital marketing, or the social media marketing?’ Or if the client will require a web development project, ‘Do you have any experience [in] handling web development? Are you certain with your goal, [or] with your timeline?’ Because along the way, in the middle of the conversation, clients will expect something.” “And sometimes, I always [tell] the clients ‘I’m not a magician. I can’t produce it immediately. It will take time and will require a process.’ So I always emphasize to the client that there [are] a lot of processes. It doesn’t mean you have a website, people will visit it, and traffic will increase dramatically. It doesn’t work that way. So that’s why every time I engage with clients, I prefer a client that believes [in] technology or digital marketing.” |
How many employees do you have?
Kathleen:
“So earlier, you mentioned about how you started with just you as a one-man company and then you proceeded with two and then three. So we are kind of interested and curious about how many are your employees today.” |
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Gilmar:
“Right now, I have 20+ employees in terms of regular basis. We also have staffs we get on a project basis. Because there are [projects] that require a specific skill set. But those projects are seasonal that’s why I have a lot of project-based staff. In terms of the regular, most of them are 20+ staff under me.” |
Do your employees work primarily in an office or do they work from home or both?
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Gilmar:
“For the setup of Infinity Hub, 80% of the staff are working in the office for the purpose of we want to be more efficient in terms of our clients. Because the office promotes collaboration, they can meet each other, they can help each other, or if someone needs something, someone can respond immediately.” |
What tools, programs, or programming languages do you use in your company?
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Gilmar:
“For the tools, I think it depends on the preference of the developers. It depends on the complexity of the requirements. But [in] the general, usually most of my developers, since they’re building it through online or cloud, they’re using PHP. Sometimes, in most of the systems, there are some clients that want us to continue working on their projects, and then most of their projects are legacy systems or old projects. So usually, we use some native PHP. But for our new projects, we use some Laravel, some CodeIgniter in terms of our tools, and of course HTML5 and CSS.” “For the mobile application, we use Flatter, especially when the deadline is very short. And if the mobile app requires a lot of deadlines and the projects are complex, we use some React. So those are the programming languages and tools.” |
Do you have job openings in your company right now?
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Kathleen:
“For our [readers] right now, do you have any job openings?” |
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Gilmar:
“Currently, yes. I’m looking for more web developers, particularly in the area of mobile apps. Those are the needs that I have right now based on the project requirements that we are having as of this moment.” |
What are the requirements you are looking for in a candidate or a developer?
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Gilmar:
“I always emphasize with the portfolio. Every time that someone applies to me, not just in the developer section, I always ask for the portfolio. But attitude, for me, is very important. Because that is something that you cannot teach. Unlike with skills, you can train someone to become a good developer or to become an advanced developer. But once we talk about attitude, it requires a lot of effort for me to adjust and be patient. In the long run, that employee will become a liability [to] the company, which I don’t want to happen.” |
Why did you join Village 88 Employer Network?
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Gilmar:
“For the question of ‘why,’ before I accepted the interview, I searched the website that you have right now, one thing that I really like is that you have Filipinos, you offer free training, you incubate some startup ideas, the company invests in raw or potential Filipino developers, which I really like. For me, I really like the amateurs and then become a hero because I came from a startup company; I came from nothing. Of course, someone helped me out to be able to achieve whatever I have right now.” “So the same thing with Village 88. It has a strong community of developers, and it gives me an impression that whatever you’re doing, somehow it’s helping the Filipinos; not just to be competitive in our country, but to be competitive internationally.” |
Words of Wisdom for Filipino Web Developers?
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Gilmar:
“Okay, word of advice, of course, don’t settle for average. Always excel in your area. So the saying “Pwede na. Pwede na” is not good once you’re on the tech side. It doesn’t work that way. Always thrive to excel. Of course, understand the process. Not everything can be a shortcut. Especially if you’re a web developer, you cannot shortcut your skill sets. You’re gonna start with a foundation, basics, accept some small projects, test on it, and before you become a senior. So being in the tech industry, it doesn’t matter how long you are in the industry, but it’s more about the learning, the execution, and the output that you’re producing. “And, of course, always embrace the challenges and obstacles because once you choose a certain path, there’s no such thing as an easy path. Sometimes, it requires left turns or right turns. There’s no such thing as a straight line.” “And always ask the right questions so that you can get the right answers. Because many of us, from the start, ask the wrong questions like ‘Am I able to do this?’ ‘Am I going to get this certain applicant?’ So if you ask the wrong questions, you get wrong answers. I always embrace this saying, ‘If you’re not willing to learn, then no one can help you. But if you are determined to learn, then no one can stop you.’” “So thank you for the opportunity.” |
Noemi:
“I’d want our [readers] who are reading this to be inspired that things will change eventually if you just believe in yourself. Pray hard and work hard because success needs hard work.” |
Conclusion
We really learned a lot from Infinity Hub’s owner, Gilmar, and we hope you are just as inspired as us! Now, If you are interested in applying to Infinity, you can visit their website: https://infinityhub.com/ for their contact information in applying for their job openings.
For anyone interested in joining Village 88 Employer Network Philippines, you can visit our website, www.village88.com/ph/employer_network, to learn more and to join.
And if you’re an aspiring developer interested in kickstarting your career in web development, the registration for Batch 4 training that would start on January 2023 is open! Just visit our website, www.village88.com/ph/cs_training/, or from this form to register and reserve a slot. For inquiries, you can message us on our Facebook page.
Hope to see you there!
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