“Glenda was the one who was sending me invites to the Entrepinays Summit throughout the year [in 2018]. And just walking into the space last October, I almost started to cry, because being a Filipina creative in a place like Sac can be lonely, so it was a blessing to discover a place like the Entrepinays Summit. Hearing all the stories being shared, seeing how dope all the Pinays were at this summit, it changed my life.”
Reflecting on her path to the 2018 Entrepinays Summit, which spurred her move into full-time operations of her botanical and herbal medicine brand Magpie Alchemy, Jamie Cardenas describes collaborating with longtime friend and Entrepinays board member Glenda Macatangay on the first crucial step of her small business launch — the branding process — and how this work led both women to a much deeper connection with the Entrepinays community.
“When me and my husband Lucas decided to go full time, we were contacted by Shark Tank, but we knew we wanted to go with Glenda and UpperCloud. So we started with Glenda on an overhaul of our brand and our vibe, and redid our logo and developed our marketing strategy, that also included a launch event with friends and family to celebrate the new face of our company,” Jamie says.
“Jamie is such an inspiring person, and does so many things; she is an artist, a photographer, and she curates all their merchandising, so we did our best to capture the brilliance and genius. The final outcome really came together so strong because of Jamie and Lucas’s strong attention to detail and commitment to cultural tradition and rooted botanical and herbal medicine,” Glenda says.
By imbuing the new Magpie Alchemy brand with the DNA and collective hustle of the Entrepinays community, Glenda and Jamie have planted a flag in the ground — an unwavering belief that the Filipina community itself is all that’s necessary for transformative growth.
“I have a very strong and intuitive feeling that this work we’re doing as Entrepinays is going to be some of the most important work that happens in the Filipino community. It’s bigger than what we have already done — the level of collaboration and the people at the table are so well-seasoned in their crafts, knowledge, and expertise. But it’s this combining of forces that continues to surprise us with how rapid and how impactful the movement grows, without being completely driven in a specific direction. So what I would hope for this community is that there continues to be a tremendous amount of reflection in how we lead, how we show up in true sisterhood, Pinayism, — and resist defaulting to a business as usual approach. We will continue to elevate the quality of life of Pinays all around if we commit to the process with integrity and innovation,” Glenda says.
In this way, Jamie and Glenda’s connection reflects what’s so significant and special about the work of all members of the Entrepinays community: that each project serves as both an endeavor of identity and love for the individual creatives, and a site of inspiration for other Filipina entrepreneurs.
“Me and Glenda’s partnership is proof that when there is representation at the table, it can really create this environment for you to thrive. I never thought a space like Entrepinays could be created — like Glenda said, that experience alone gave me permission and courage to say ‘I can do this. And I don’t have to do it alone.’ I feel it’s going to encourage more people and allow them to feel like, ‘They are proof, so why can’t I do the same?’ The summit is a movement, and it’s going to give other Pinays that form and space to collaborate with other Pinays and really make some fucking magic,” Jamie says.
Importantly, both Jamie and Glenda see sustained, organic, and intricate growth of the Filipina entrepreneurship network as an auspicious aspects of what this generation of Entrepinays will leave as its legacy.
“When you get Pinays in business, you start creating systems and mechanisms that change our daily lives, a lot of our business concepts are in response to a need in our families and communities— that’s when it moves beyond just an idea, a product, a summit, and becomes ‘Hey, every aspect of my daily life is enriched because of the offerings of my sister Pinays.’ That’s really where the culture and the mindset shifts. To where that inspiration goes beyond those four walls, one day a year.
To where it’s embedded in my daily rituals and routines. I go to FOB Kitchen for our happy hours, I use Magpie Alchemy products to decompress and care for myself and my kids, to rocking a shirt that makes a statement and invites dialogue from Kumare Culture, to my home being a place of peace from the support of The Organization Organization and my work space being tremendously artful and inspiring with designs from BlackReynbow. The list goes on. I spend my money on Pinay owned businesses because of the quality and utter dopeness and because when you support a Pinay, she supports everyone.”
Written by Paul Barrera.