The Growth Guide

Reading for where you are

Field notes from 3,000 conversations with business owners — why companies stall at ₱50M–₱150M, and what it takes to break through.

My business makes a year, based in , operating as .

Every piece in the guide

Browse the full Growth Guide

By Adriel Maniego

01Part 1 · Diagnosis

Why ₱50M businesses get stuck

What 3,000 conversations reveal about the three structural patterns that separate the companies that break through from the ones that stall.

02Part 2 · The path

The 12-month path from Tier 1 to Tier 2

The real numbers behind the climb: revenue, DSCR, and the capital it actually takes to reach the next tier inside a year.

03Fundraising guide

The Philippine SME Capital Calendar

BIR in April. 13th-month pay in December. Inventory peaks in Q3. A month-by-month calendar for putting capital in place before the moment it's needed.

04Industry edition · BPO

The Philippine BPO Capital Calendar

Why a BPO's biggest capital need is set by its clients' fiscal years — US drives October, UK January, Australia April. The 12-month financing calendar for BPO operators.

05Lender strategy

NBFI vs. Bank: how to pitch each lender

An NBFI and a bank loan look identical from the outside — they are not. Seven structural differences, and how to pitch the management meeting for each lender type.

06Lender strategy

12 mistakes founders make in lender meetings

Roughly 7 in 10 rejections are preparation failures, not credit failures. The twelve mistakes founders make across preparation, expectation, and positioning — and the fix.

Reading is step one. Funding is step two.

One application puts your business in front of the largest network of financial institutions, all competing to fund the climb.

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The Buhay Growth Guide — How Filipino SMEs Climb From Tier 1 to Tier 2