Jasen Ko explains how Laborem chooses ventures and why profit matters only when it gives the business room to create better work and better lives.
Jasen Ko’s first business was selling neckties to college classmates. Years later, he built Laborem around a different question: which ideas deserve a team’s limited time? He explains the group’s 100-20-5 screen for new ventures, why founders need to study the customer before defending the product, and how a profitable company can create dignified work while helping people grow.
It starts with a blank sheet: identify a real problem, test an idea, and build the first working version of the business.
The group uses a 100-20-5 target: a venture should have a credible path to ₱100 million in revenue and ₱20 million in profit within five years.
Customer needs should shape the product and its marketing. Defending an idea before understanding the shopper makes it easier to miss the real problem.
Jasen argues that profit enables growth and job creation, while the work itself should help employees become better providers, parents, colleagues, and leaders.
Laborem is a group of companies that builds and operates ventures across consumer brands, retail logistics, education, and data and AI products. Its work is guided by sustainable profit growth, job creation, and dignity through work.
