From Counting Beans to Selling Beans

Johnny Valdes started as an accountant with one of the top accounting firms in the Philippines during the early 70’s. He was assigned to the United States in 1974 as an auditor for Coopers & Lybrand through their employee exchange program.

Although Johnny had the background and training of an accountant, he was always an entrepreneur in spirit. After living in a Filipino-American community for many years, Johnny began to recognize the need for many products and services that were not provided by mainstream marketers in the U.S. His knack for identifying new opportunities encouraged Johnny to start his own businesses.

Between 1980 and 1983, Johnny sold pre-packed vegetables and food products catering to Filipino-Americans as well as Asian restaurants and retail shops in the New York metropolitan area.