Prestine Davekhaw knows how much you earn. Thanks to a viral IG platform she launched called MalaysianPAYGAP, where she has Malaysians anonymously submit [payslip verified] details about their job, including: Their salary + benefits (if any) How they landed that job The realities of doing their job Advice for those wanting to do the same So you can see why people are obsessed with MPG. 😉 But what about the person behind MPG? Well, Prestine grew up in a drug-infested home with her grandmother, who was her best friend. She was told that her father was a dangerous man and that it was good that he wasn’t in her life. When she moved to the US for studies, she found herself homeless for a period. She ended up doing all kinds of insane jobs to make ends meet, including grilling 100 chicken wings in the Chicago South Side where she was at risk of being shot at at any moment! She also spent her last $900 on a camera out of desperation - she only had 2.5 weeks to make rent! But as it turns out, it was the start of good things in her life. Clients came knocking & she was doing well but... something wasn’t quite right. In 2020, she had her first taste of going viral when she published an article sharing why she was unfollowing famous influencers on Instagram - many of her clients then were famous influencers and they were, as you can imagine, not happy. Prestine shares her life journey with remarkable candidness. Not just the highs but also the lows like how she bombed her Bvlgari campaign because she was “a cocky photographer”. And how MPG came to be. Want to learn more? Highlights: 3:13 Grandmother as her best friend 8:42 Life is a work of art - Wilde 12:24 I can only learn by asking questions 14:36 Being homeless 19:44 Spending $900 to buy a camera off Amazon 21:57 9 hours of sense 22:38 Photography came out of desperation 24:15 Going back 25:49 Quitting without a plan 26:40 Landing international clients - including in Shanghai! 27:19 Going viral in 2020 through an article, “Why I Unfollow Famous Influencers on Instagram” 29:24 The Bvlgari campaign 32:48 The genesis behind MPG 35:10 The launch 37:16 Surprising submissions 41:31 Information is power 42:25 Becoming jobless 46:11 Community building lessons 49:21 Helpful advice 52:45 MPG Summit 2024 54:28 Disappearing Jobs 56:54 The controversy with the Side Hustlers IG page 59:56 Hustling to meet the CEO of AirAsia 1:01:33 Advice to others wanting to start side hustles P/S: Don’t forget to subscribe to the STIMY newsletter! I share the behind-the-scenes of running STIMY, personal branding, storytelling marketing and news on a personal branding course that I’m building so that others can also their own brands on their own terms. 📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/136 💌 Subscribe to STIMY Newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062 ✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442