Eugene ‘Jun’ Ynion is a businessman who ventured into entrepreneurship when he was 20 years old. With an irrepressible spirit and sense of daring, he navigated many failures to ultimately reach the levels of success he enjoys today. Using his experience in the logistics sector, he developed XLOG with Filipino software engineers in 2016. XLOG is a consolidated platform that provides an end-to-end payments and logistics solutions for the shipping and transport industry. Jun is also involved in public life and is the current Barangay Captain of San Antonio, San Pedro City, Laguna. Jun dreams of being an enabler for the people of the Philippines and hopes to help at least a million people find suitable employment in the near future.

In conversation with GlobalLinker (GL), Jun Ynion (JY) shares his entrepreneurial journey and the story of his company.

GL: Tell us about your business.

JY: Starting a business was a matter of survival. If I didn’t get into business, I would not be able to pay for the schooling of my six children.  I have big dreams for my family. I cannot get that through just any employment. If I went to other countries like the USA, I might be able to afford to give my kids a better future like they deserve. But the same is not possible with the levels of compensation in the Philippines. This is what drove me to be an entrepreneur.

I started with small logistics where I acted like a middle man for warehousing, trucking and the like. It all culminated in my present venture: XLOG.

XLOG is a digital logistics platform where all the players in fulfilling trade from port of origin to destination are put on one big platform. Right now, what we are doing is getting a shipping line, customs brokers, trucking company, warehouses; and helping them streamline payments and operations on an online platform. That’s our concept.

GL: What are the challenges you have faced in establishing your business?

JY: I saw that there was a demand for digitising the whole industry two and half years ago. That’s how the digital logistics platform came along.

The work for the government was anti-smuggling and anti-money laundering related. We integrated port and shipping operations, warehousing and the container depot. Tying all this together, we were able to see all the transactions with a reliable source of information. That’s why we are trying to reach out to more players and companies to come on to the platform. 

GL: What is the unique selling proposition (USP) of your business?

JY: Our USP is being fully integrated. It is the only platform that offers holistic A-Z services. That is the unique proposition. Other platforms focus on only two things. They focus on shipping rates and freight orders. Ours is from container depot, to seaport operators, shipping lines, trucking and warehousing. We cater to all of these vendors and make the platform beneficial to them with the platform being like a virtual salesman. We just have to get our customers registered on the platform and it will do the rest.

We are proudly Filipino. The developers we have hired for this platform are Filipino. This concept has been well received globally. Nobody had thought of this digital logistics software before. That is a significant milestone this platform is working effectively.

GL: How do you believe GlobalLinker can help in the business growth of SMEs?

JY: We have to take care of SMEs. If we are not able to help them grow, we will have problems in employment. We need jobs, and without helping the smaller businesses, our economy would not be stable. This is where we should be responsible in taking care of these smaller guys. It’s sort of a dating game. If I’m starting a company I want to talk to a company which would have good synergy for my company. GlobalLinker can help with this matchmaking.

I believe in the future. There is a lot to grow and expand. With SMEs there is a certain limit for growth especially when you lack the capital and resources for growth. If you don’t have the right connections, the growth will be hampered. GlobalLinker can make a difference here.

GL: What is your big business dream?

JY: My big business dream is to realise my vision of giving jobs to a lot of people. If I can give jobs and better employment to a million of my countrymen, that is my big dream. It really is not for myself and my family anymore. I have given us enough for us to be happy and content with where we are. 

GL: What is your message to aspiring entrepreneurs?

JY: I started my business when I was 20 years old. I already knew at the time that I will be facing a lot of failures and disappointments along the way. I was anticipating a lot of difficulty. I have had my own share of failures. Looking back, I had several businesses that went bust. I went into the taxi and bakery business and many others. I even sold chicken feet. Then I upgraded myself to doing exports of handicrafts and imports. Then I got lucky when I got the distributorship for Nokia. After that things went uphill.

What I’m trying to say is, don’t be afraid to fail. You really have to be daring. If you believe you have a good concept you have to go for it. 

Disclaimer: This article is based solely on the inputs shared by the featured member. GlobalLinker does not necessarily endorse the views, opinions & facts stated by the member.