Currently running an influencer marketing company called Blogapalooza, this millennial CEO, entrepreneur, and marketing and public relations specialist has seen it all.
From blogs to vlogs, this social media mogul has gone through all the latest trends in the interwebs, witnessed the rise of the influencer, and figured out all the tips and tricks to marketing yourself.
Yet beyond the face value of her job, her goal to build a community and see the genuine person behind the screen shines through tenfold.
“I hope there will be more creators. I hope that more voices could be heard. I hope that we will have more acknowledgment [towards creators].”
Started with a Blog
Growing up, Ace Gapuz has always been the ‘madaldal’ one in the classroom. As told by her class advisors, she was always going off talking to her peers and saying whatever was on her mind, whichever seating arrangement she was placed in.
Moving from the IRL to the URL, her talking audience switched to behind the screen where she discovered blogging around the ages 11-12 years old back in the early 2000s.
“It’s just innate in me to just talk. I have always been a storyteller. I guess that’s what brought me very naturally into blogging.”
“It was a novel concept back then. You write about your thoughts. Let people read them. It’s like a diary that you can have other people read. And the fact that people were hearing you, paying attention to what you have to say, and making you part of their lives, that was groundbreaking during that time,” Ace fondly reminisces.
Ace treated her blog like a personal diary, writing about her day-to-day life, interests, and opinions to a faceless audience.
But, come 2009, she stopped because, in her words, “college happened.”
“Blogging, for me back then, it was a hobby or pastime. It was something I did because I genuinely enjoyed. It wasn’t really something I thought about as a career,” she muses.
So, at this time, she found herself taking up a bachelor’s degree in Management Engineering with a Minor in HR Management in the Ateneo de Manila University and, later on, an MBA.
She felt that business was the more practical and pragmatic choice for the future.
It was a versatile path that led to many outcomes.
That was until Ace took on a corporate job in a fashion and retail company and worked at it for two years.
And very naturally, she found herself back into more creative and media pursuits as she was placed in PR and events.
“I like the dynamic nature of PR and events. You get to meet people. And I got to meet the bloggers I used to just know over the internet.”
Maintaining contact and connecting her way through the industry, she didn’t see any other path than to start Blogapalooza.
Ended with a Blogapalooza
Being a young CEO, Ace Gapuz didn’t let her age get in the way of pursuing her goals. She was determined to see things through.
From being a storyteller herself to letting other people share their stories, it all ties back to Ace’s roots with personal blogging to now, Blogapalooza.
Through the years, the premier influencer marketing company has built a community of thousands of bloggers, social media influencers, and content creators all over the Philippine archipelago and nearby Southeast Asian countries.
“When I started building the Blogapalooza community of creators, I really went to different parts of the Philippines and the world, for that matter. I wanted to hear them, to feel them. I think when you talk about building a community, it’s important to really get to know what drives these people, what’s in their core, and what would really make them happy. And that’s where you come in to provide the value.”
The greatest lesson she’s learned in the process?
Be genuine, always.
“If you’re genuine about service, if you’re genuine about providing value, and if you genuinely care for them, they’re also going to feel that, and they’re going to give you that same energy.”