Victor Rivera is the Co-founder and CEO of Avion School, a Y Combinator-backed startup that teaches Filipinos to become remote software engineers globally. Before this, Victor was the first non-technical hire of PayMongo, which was building Stripe for the Philippines.

How would you explain your job to someone outside tech? I do anything and everything to help people become Software Engineers. That involves teaching, replying to customer support and building curriculum.

What's something about you or your job that would surprise us? We’ve managed to build a platform that enables Filipinos to become Software Engineers that get paid as much as 5x the market rate. My co-founder and I did that with zero technical background.

What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far, and why? Dropping out of college the day I got hired at my first job.

What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year? The Future of Work is incredibly exciting for me. Especially in markets like Southeast Asia—it's very early. There's still a lot of development that needs to happen in the tech infrastructure layer for things to get where it needs to be.

Companies that build products that enable teams to work much more efficiently and in a scalable way that combats legacy practices are winners, in my opinion.

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What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry? Don't overthink your business plan. Launch right away.

What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours? The future of remote work.

What's your favorite movie/TV show? I'm cheesy! I like Chinese dramas—the Rational Life is good.

What's your go-to ice cream flavor? Pistachio.