MANILA, Philippines — Paul Rivera said that if he had been asked years ago if he wanted to open a skincare clinic, he would have taken it as a joke.
But the former Google employee and tech startup founder has also co-founded a skincare clinic when he returned to the Philippines 17 years ago.
"I was sitting at my office at Google in California and I made a fateful decision to leave and to come back to the Philippines," Rivera said during his speech at his clinic Remedy's recent event in Taguig.
Describing his career as a straight line, Rivera came back to the Philippines to start a business process outsourcing (BPO) company. In 2013, he wanted to solve the problem in recruitment and job hunting in the country with startup Kalibrr.
Six years later, the technology entrepreneur (techpreneur) decided to deviate from the straight path he was on.
He co-founded Remedy, a skincare clinic, in 2019.
'Gender-neutral'
Rivera is married to board-certified dermatologist Dr. April Geraldez-Rivera. They tied the knot in 2015.
Dr. April's story is similar to Paul. She wanted to be a dermatologist because she knew firsthand how acne could affect one's physical, mental and emotional health.
As a teenager with acne problems, she said that she virtually lived in her dermatologist's house since she literally lived next door to her doctor. She has been a dermatologist for 18 years, including her stint at a famous skincare group prior to founding Remedy five years ago.
Combining Dr. April's passion and Paul's business acumen, it made sense that they put up Remedy's first branch in One Uptown Residences in Bonifacio Global City in November 2019.
The couple carefully thought of putting up not just a regular skincare clinic, but chose to focus on providing acne solutions.
"Acne is the most prevalent skin condition in the Philippines. And I think for far too long, many other clinics ignored it. It's not a sexy problem to solve, right?" Rivera remarked.
To differentiate them even more from their competition, they also wanted their clinic to be welcoming to other kinds of gender. Rivera noticed how other clinics tend to cater to a more female-oriented market.
"We wanted to build a place that was more gender-neutral, more welcoming, you know, maybe a place that I would feel comfortable going to," Rivera noted.
Saved by 'Maskne'
The pandemic, however, affected the world in less than three months since they opened. A series of lockdowns took place beginning March 2020 until 2021.
"We were forced to close for many, many months in 2020, also in 2021 and part of 2022. We could not have picked the worst time to launch," recalled Rivera.
As an experienced entrepreneur, Rivera said they adapted to the changing and challenging times that was the pandemic.
They went online and put up an online store. He and his wife even manned the questions and direct messages on their social media accounts.
But the turnaround, Rivera said, would be their effort to address "maskne," which became a prevalent pandemic skin condition caused by wearing masks all the time.
"So being the clinic that positioned and marketed itself as an acne-focused clinic, we happened to be at the right place at the right time, right?" said Rivera.
Solutions-based
Rivera said they are now preparing to open their third branch in Greenhills.
Apart from acne concerns, Remedy also offers solutions for acne scars, anti-aging and hyperpigmentation. At the launch, the couple also revealed that they are soon going to offer hair loss and hair removal concerns with two options that bank on the popular diode and triple wavelength technologies. They are also set on introducing the science behind skin microbiomes.
In an article on the United States National Library of Medicine, it said the body's largest organ, the skin, has microbiomes, composed of a diverse collection of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, and viruses. It said that many of these microorganisms are harmless and in some cases provide vital functions for the skin.
"One of the things that I've learned as an entrepreneur is when you solve a problem, you can build a customer base and you can build a brand. And I think that's what we've been able to do so," Rivera noted.
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