Marcus Dee, the cool, funny but sharp second and youngest son of the Dee family was born and raised in his ancestral home in Pasay. He took an early chance in life by leaving the Philippines for the United States in 1989 to pursue a college education and eventually received an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management, which honed his skills and inspired him to become an innovative entrepreneur.
When Marcus was growing up, his grandfather, who owned a hardware merchandising business, built a warehouse at their residence. This place provided Marcus and his brother, Simpson, with access to all kinds of tools to build anything they wished. This became their early “garage” experiment training ground where they conceptualized and performed different projects together. Being innately intelligent and inventive, they built farm systems, pet shelters, stage props, and laboratory equipment for chemistry projects, endlessly constructing and deconstructing resources to exploit or generate new ideas at home. This creative fire was fueled further when Marcus left for the United States to pursue a college degree in computer science. This bold move led him to build a career in the high tech industry, acquire an MBA from a prestigious business school, and become a sought-after real estate executive in US and China, where he managed over $750M worth of investments in retail, commercial, and industrial properties, including shopping malls owned or operated by SM China or JLL.
So, what is next?
In spite of his claim to fame of having a successful and fruitful career in both western and eastern regions of the globe, Marcus’ heart had always been close to consulting and entrepreneurship. Since business school, he had known that this longing can only be fulfilled by building his own company. So, he went back home to Manila in 2015 to finally embrace the next chapter of his life and career.
Marcus equipped with 25 years of solid management and innovation experiences in research & development, operations, human resources, marketing and finance functions in real estate and high-tech industries currently led him to be the founder and owner and innovator of Farm@Market (Aquaponics Farm Solution), Favela Aquaponics Technology, Fat Greens (Farm-to-Kitchen Services), and ChemiCOAT (End-to-End Real Estate Waterproofing Solution). He travels around the Philippines to consult for smart farming, advise for farmland developments and practice as a waterproofing expert while creating jobs and promoting business in our country with meaningful collaboration and partnerships with other consultants and experts. Besides running these endeavors, Marcus also shares his entrepreneurial passion and experience as a co-host of the newly launched podcast that he fondly name, “Lovepreneurs” which explores the similarities and connection between love and business.
It is never enough for innovators at heart to keep their talent to themselves. They have a constant need to share their God-given gifts of wisdom and energy. Marcus is so dedicated in his field that he can’t help but grow those around him - whether they are people, businesses, properties or land - by supporting creativity, encouraging risk-taking and experimentation, promoting openness, engendering trust, allowing freedom of the mind, rewarding innovation, and celebrating success among partners, employees, investors, and love ones. And this makes him truly worthy of being called an innovative entrepreneur.
His key message?
Encourage and make innovation a usual practice in your business to keep on growing and evolving.