The founders
Two lives, one practice.
An engineer who retired at 37 to paint. A corporate leader turned tech founder and advocate. Together, they teach the hack they live.
Our why
“It's just a simple math problem.”
Fifteen years ago, I sat in a personal finance workshop that completely shifted my life's trajectory. That one session sent Chewy and me down a deep rabbit hole — hundreds of books, years of trial and error, and a total mindset shift that eventually allowed us to unlock financial freedom and step fully into living our IKIGAI.
Now, we've finally launched our passion project to pay it forward: The Ikigai Hack.
This isn't just theory. My corporate career has been dedicated to strategic cost leadership, where I've led initiatives that resulted in billions in financial uplift and global awards. Chewy brings the academic and spiritual backbone — a UP Oblation Scholar and a double-honors graduate of both UP Chemical Engineering and the AIM MBA program, she perfectly balances the hard numbers with the philosophy of Zen and mindfulness.
We've combined my corporate-scale strategies with her deep research and our shared journey toward a purposeful, self-directed life. Like many Filipinos, we know that money is often a source of anxiety. But with the right strategy, that stress evaporates. You'll realize: “Wait, it's just a simple math problem. What was I worried about?”
— Sherwin
Co-founder
Chewy Yap
Entrepreneur, real estate investor, speaker, fine artist and decades-long Zen practitioner.
A Philippine Science High School Outstanding Alumni awardee, UP Oblation Scholar, UP Chemical Engineering cum laude and an Executive MBA with distinction from the Asian Institute of Management, her academic credentials opened the doors to a 15-year corporate career with Shell Philippines and Ayala Land Inc. Her executive experience honed her business and leadership skills, which inform and enrich her entrepreneurial journey.
A keen interest in personal finance and investing led to further education in real estate and financial planning, to strategically build and manage their investment portfolio. She retired from corporate life, financially free at 37, allowing her to pivot into an unexpected and highly fulfilling career in the arts.
As an artist, she has held numerous successful solo exhibitions with prominent art galleries in the country alongside the most prestigious names in Philippine art — National Artist BenCab, Juvenal Sanso, Roel Obemio and Migs Villanueva — and has been featured in the art magazine Conversations in Philippine Art by renowned critic Cid Reyes.
Her works adorn the walls of commercial spaces such as Wesfame Hotel, GAOC Headquarters and Palawan Pawnshop Headquarters, and are part of private collections and homes in some of Manila's most exclusive communities. She is one of the youngest members of the distinguished artist group The Saturday Group, the oldest artists' group in the country, to which belonged eight National Artists.
Zen Center Manila has been her home for a decade, and the Zen practice has been the grounding force and wellspring of inspiration and peace in all her endeavors.
Through The Ikigai Hack, she works to inspire others to find their own Ikigai and live it. In the end, peace and joy is all that everyone, in their heart of hearts, desires. Ikigai offers that — and Ikigai is possible for all.
Co-founder
Sherwin Yap
Industry leader, inventor and technology advocate.
Sherwin is an industry leader, inventor and technology advocate with a bold vision: to help transform the Philippines into a global powerhouse in robotics, artificial intelligence and innovation.
With 25 years of top leadership experience in the energy industry, he has led initiatives in strategic cost leadership that delivered billions in financial uplift and earned global recognition. His career included managing major oil infrastructure, implementing innovations replicated globally, and serving as Program Director of Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. and Chairperson of the STEM Leadership Alliance Philippines.
Recognized at the 2024 Asia Leaders Awards as one of the “Men and Women of Power and Purpose” for his work in robotics, AI and STEM education, Kaizen Robotics International founder, Sherwin, now brings his leadership and innovation experience to educating others in personal finance and investing.
Coding and robotics is Sherwin's Ikigai. Financial freedom enabled it.
Learn from lived experience
The best investment is the investment in yourself.
Join a workshop with Sherwin and Chewy — or bring them to your team.