Dodge Ronquillo
product manager, Writer, and Father in the Philippines
I have 4 pillars in my life: faith, family, self-improvement, and technology.
My faith, although I've had a tumultuous journey with it, has helped mold me into who I am today. I once denied God, but now, I can't see myself living life another way.
My family has also grown from 3 to 4 people, and aside from our 7 year old boy, we also have a 4 year old boy who grew up in the pandemic. They mean a lot to me, and are the reason I push myself to work hard -- so I can achieve goals to make sure I can set them up for success.
I enjoy learning a lot about different things. I've been in small companies in Game Development, HR Tech (SaaS), but also in large corporations in Telco, Banking (PaaS), and Financial services (PaaS). Nothing has been a waste – everything I learned from each company has been crucial to my next role.
Currently, I'm expanding my growth into Fintech, specifically blockchain and cryptocurrency, where I worked on our biggest Crypto-as-a-Service platform, and am now leading the Product Team.
Technology has also been something I follow. It started with gaming, then online gaming, then mobile gaming. Gaming opened the doors for me to appreciate tech.
Because I worked remotely with people from different countries, I learned to code and design to understand my teammates better. My takeaway was that learning to code and design also helped me in my work as a Product person, because I understand what happens under the hood, and communicate more effectively with my teammates.
I've also been very passionate about automating things and helping people get better lives through technology. While I haven't delved deeper into the programming side of things and written code in production, I've solved those issues by creating systems around how our team works.
Recently, I was diagnosed with a persistent depressive disorder, general anxiety, and ADHD. Through this, I've learned that mental illness is real, and how to be more understanding towards those who have it. I even resigned from work to heal.
I've rekindled my love for gaming, thanks to better internet at home, our Apple TV, Twitch, YouTube, my mobile devices, and PC. While I don't have consoles, I do plan to get some one day and share the love with my kids (and maybe my wife!).