Tony Tan Caktiong is the founder, CEO and Chairman of the 2nd largest fast-food chain in the Philippines (next to McDonald's), Jollibee. He is the recipient of the 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year, Philippines and Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, World. In 2010, Forbes listed Tan Cakationg as the sixth richest Filipino with a net worth of USD 980 million.
Tony Tan Caktiong’s Jollibee has been one of the most admired, most copied, most innovative and most professionally-run company here in the Philippines. Tony Tan Caktiong’s Life and his Jollibee Company is another rags to riches story of an entrepreneur that truly inspires me a lot. He was the third of seven siblings born to poor parents who migrated from the Fujian province in China to look for a better life here in the Philippines. Grace Ang Tan Caktiong said, "We had to do everything by ourselves in the beginning! Pati janitorial services--I even cleaned the toilet." This is the manifestation that everyone starts from scratch and experienced ups and downs before they become successful. Grace and Tony Tan Caktiong put up an ice cream parlor two months after graduating from college. That ice cream parlor eventually offered sandwiches to patrons until the couple decided on adding the store's popular Yum burger and Chicken Joy to the menu. When customers began to ask for more than just ice cream, the two decided to add sandwiches to their menu. Eventually, they found out that more people were ordering hamburgers more than their ice cream. That was when they decided to focus their business in selling hamburgers instead. "When there's no cashier, you do the cashier, if there's no cook, you do the burger, if there's no janitor, you clean the toilet. It's like your neighborhood mom-and-pop store," Grace candidly said, sharing thoughts on how they operated their first store. "We also served the customers (as waiter