10 Things to Know about Sheila Lirio Marcelo

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last decade, Filipino American Techpreneur Sheila Lirio Marcelo needs no introduction. The Harvard Business School Grad and Care.com founder, was one of Fortune magazine's "Top 10 Women Entrepreneurs" and appeared at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit. Among DOZENS of other accolades, Sheila has been awarded and recognized by Forbes, Boston Business Jouranl, The Aspen Institute and the World Economic Forum just to name a few.

After the acquisition of Care.com, Marcelo has gone on to co-found and become the CEO of Proof of Learn, a company with a global mission to provide accessible, high-quality education in next-generation technology through a learn and earn protocol. The company's flagship project, Metacrafters, teaches emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain using innovative learning modalities and prepares the next generation of builders through a modern virtual academy.

Here are 10 things to know about Sheila Lirio Marcelo, who continues to inspire and lead in the technology and business world.

1. Marcelo was born and raised in the Philippines, growing up in an entrepreneurial household that was involved in a number of businesses from coconut mills to mango and banana plantations to transportation and coal production.

2. She and her family move to Houston in 1977 and opened one of the area’s first Asian grocery stores and restaurants. Sheila was seven-years- old at the time and spoke flawless English so she was put to work answering the phone and taking messages. Something about the family business instilled in her the grittiness of entrepreneurship and how little things contribute to the big things.

3. Like most Filipino parents, Sheila’s parents encouraged her to go to law school. And while Sheila did and was accepted into Harvard Law School she ended up deferring her acceptance because she had doubts that was the right road for her. Instead, she took a litigation consulting job that would keep her in the field while decided if it was for her or not. This chance to work on a technology-based project triggered two huge results that impacted her next steps: she became intrigued with technology and realized that business, not law, actually, was her calling.

4. Marcelo then decided to pursue a joint JD/MBA degree and was accepted at Harvard Business School (HBS) in 1995. Unlike most young graduate students, however, Marcelo arrived at Harvard with a young family and had lots on her plate. Both she and her husband were accepted at HBS but they arrived with the mounting pressures of juggling careers, studies and raising a family.

5. She graduated magna cum laude from Mt. Holyoke College with a degree in economics and received her M.B.A. and J.D. degrees, with honors and the Dean's Award from Harvard University.

6. In 2006, she did a six-month program as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Matrix Partners, a venture firm in Boston. There, Marcelo received mentorship and was able to incubate her start-up ideas in a encouraging environment.

7. In 2006, Marcelo founded Care.com to address a problem she faced as a busy working mother: finding childcare for her two young children and elderly care for her ailing parents. Today, the platform is the world's largest online marketplace for finding child, pet, and senior care. The company's network has extended to over 35 million members in over 20 countries.

8. With her at the helm of Care.com, Sheila had become one of only 22 women to ever found and lead a company to an IPO. 

9. Marcelo was named one of the top 40 entrepreneurs under 40 years of age by the Boston Business Journal (2009), one of the 10 most powerful women entrepreneurs by Fortune Magazine (2009) and one of the 10 most powerful women in Boston Tech by The Boston Globe.

10. In 2014, she was bestowed one of the highest honors for Filipinos, the Filipino Heritage Award or Pamana ng Pilipino from President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines for her excellence and distinction in the pursuit of her profession.

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Written By Rose Buado

Business and Life Purpose Professional Certified Coach

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References: 

https://entrepreneurship.hbs.edu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila_Lirio_Marcelo

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-women-can-overcome-the-imposter-syndrome/