“So what will you do if, let’s say, for the first seven years of your business life, you intended to run your own business, but for the first seven years you’ve failed five companies, and when you started, you had 15 partners, after seven years, 12 of them decided to look for other ventures. What will you do? Is it time to quit and find other things to do, or let’s keep on fighting?”
This is a profound question Santé CEO Joey Marcelo posed during his keynote address at the media launch of the Asia CEO 2026 awards. It resonated with entrepreneurs navigating uncertainty, grounding his message in both personal struggle and hard-earned resilience.
Speaking before nominees and partners, Marcelo framed success not as a straight path but as a series of difficult choices. His initial question set the tone for a speech rooted in perseverance.
Santé, formally known as Santé International, is a global wellness company recognized for its flagship barley-based products and its expanding presence beyond the Philippines.
“For people who know us, they see Sante as a successful company building a global brand,” he said, before adding a more sobering truth: “Pero hindi lang alam ng marami is what’s happening from the inside–the challenges, the sufferings, the series of ups and downs.” His words grounded the company’s achievements in the reality of struggle, making them more relatable to aspiring entrepreneurs.
The Asia CEO Awards, organized by Asia CEO Awards, is widely regarded as one of the country’s largest business recognition platforms, honoring leadership and innovation among Filipino enterprises. Marcelo acknowledged the significance of the event, sharing that Santé had evolved from being a nominee several years ago to becoming a title sponsor. For him, the awards are more than recognition—they are a source of inspiration for Filipino entrepreneurs striving to make an impact.
In Marcelo’s keynote address, he also reiterated that in entrepreneurship, or in any corporate career, “There will come a point in time where you will think, ‘Is this something that I still want to do?’” But despite the highs and lows, he encouraged the audience to keep persevering.
Drawing a parallel between the boardroom and his experiences as a triathlete, Marcelo likened business leadership to an Iron Man race. He noted that while strength and endurance carry a person through the initial phases, the final stretch is entirely psychological. He recalled a moment of intense exhaustion during a race when a spectator’s sign reminded him that pain is temporary, but social media is forever. Applying this to the entrepreneurial spirit, he argued that the ultimate objective is simply to reach the goal, regardless of fatigue.
“Whether you’re in business, whether you’re in sports, the objective always is what? Cross the finish line. There were more reasons to stop than to continue. But I choose to continue because both in business, in sports, and in life, we always have an option,” he explained.
Marcelo concluded his address by offering three vital life lessons to the gathered nominees and business leaders: to endure longer than others, to build during hard times, and to decide firmly on one’s identity. He suggested that most people do not fail for a lack of capability, but rather because they give up prematurely. He admitted that even at Santé, there were moments where the financial outlook was dire, yet they chose to persevere.
“It’s not what happens to us that matters most. It’s what we do with those things that happen to us. Ano yung shifting ng Sante? We decided just to keep on moving forward,” the CEO said.
By urging the audience to stay in the game and allow tough times to define their character rather than their defeat, Marcelo set a powerful tone for the upcoming awards season. His message was a call to action for all Filipino entrepreneurs to keep moving forward, trusting that their time to shine is inevitable as long as they refuse to quit. He reminded the crowd that when the body wants to stop, the mind must take over, as that specific moment of struggle defines everything.
