This Pinoy got into gaming at age 12. Now he's listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 2024

Filipino entrepreneur and gamer Josh Glodoveza has been named in Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 list as one of the most influential figures in gaming for the year 2024. 

On the list published on Nov. 28, Glodoveza is described as "born and raised in Manila, Philippines" and "started in the gaming industry at the age of 13." According to the outlet, the Pinoy gamer "soon became a talent manager at Ader, representing up-and-coming Twitch streamers" including popular gamers like Sykkuno (with 4M followers on Twitch) and Hanhanxxrose (1.2M Twitch).

At the age of 18, Glodoveza rose to the position of VP for Talent at Fanjoy, where he secured an eight-figure exclusive streaming deal for one of his clients on YouTube, as well as scored partnerships with brands like Mercedes Benz and Puma. 

In 2023, Glodoveza co-founded his own talent management and software company, PANEL, at the age of 20. 

He is among the 600 leaders across 20 different industries in North America who are "creating meaningful change through their entrepreneurship," according to Forbes.

The list is mostly composed of founders or cofounders of companies on top of content creators and performers. Notable names include model-entrepreneur Kendell Jenner, playwright Jordan E. Cooper, and rapper Alyssa "Latto" Stephens, among many others.

They were selected by a panel of expert judges consisting of  MSNBC TV host Symone Sanders-Townsend, Winnie Harlow founder Cay Skin, musicians Swizz Beatz and Blu DeTiger, and GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke, to name a few.

More than his tangible achievements, what makes Glodoveza worthy of his recent recognition is his dedication to breaking the traditional Filipino cycle of "going to college, getting a degree, finding a job, working for someone else, providing for my family" that he became accustomed to as a kid.

His journey in creating his own path began when he got into gaming at the age of 12. This was in 2015, the same year Glodoveza and his mother left their house in Quezon City to be with his father in Qatar.

"My dad was an OFW in Qatar and has been working in the Middle East for almost my whole childhood, and my mom wanted the family to be reunited," he recalled to PhilSTAR L!fe.

"We went to visit Qatar for the first time to see if it was something we would like. Me, having no friends there and the heat was blazing hot, I resorted to playing a lot of video games and watching a lot of Twitch and YouTube. A big subscriber of internet culture for sure," he continued.

What the young Glodoveza thought was a mere pastime turned into something life-changing when he began joining gaming communities and volunteering as a moderator in different games and forums. A year later, he earned his first big break in the gaming industry.

"I landed my first job as a stream coordinator for a US-based esports organization Sentinels when I was 13," the Pinoy gamer recalled.

From there, the kid, whom Glodoveza described as "consistently picked last" and "always feeling like a misfit," worked hard, challenged the odds, and met individuals and mentors who helped him create his path toward being his own boss.

After working for gaming companies like Sentinels, Gen.G, Ader, and FanJoy, Glodoveza dropped out of college and built PANEL with his co-founder Andrew Franz.

As the chief operating officer and co-founder of PANEL, Glodoveza has been working with "world-class talent, from musicians to creators" as well as "biggest brands in the world like Disney, LEGO, Dunkin, Chipotle, and many more."

His influence in the industry has been recognized not only by Forbes, but other outlets including Business Insider, where he landed in the list of "Rising Stars of the Creator Economy"; VidCon US, where he was a guest speaker along with other next-gen leaders; and AdWeek Magazine, which featured his campaign for NCAA Athletes which he produced under Fanjoy.

Balancing all these engagements and more with his role as PANEL's co-founder can, at times, be difficult for the Los Angeles-based entrepreneur. And for that, he has Franz to keep him "sane and grounded" as he "helps decide the tougher decisions together and keep us on track on the vision we have."

Still, after everything he has been through and all that is yet to come, the Pinoy achiever has his mom to credit for his success.

"My mom was my biggest inspiration," Glodoveza told L!fe. "She always had so many side hustles to make extra money and even had her own one-woman peanut butter company for a period of time."

At the end of the day, Glodoveza wishes that his recognition in Forbes 30 Under 30 will allow others to see that one's future is not defined by anything else but ourselves.

"I hope my success can inspire many young Filipinos who think there’s only one straight path to success. Your age or where you come from shouldn’t be a factor in what you can do and achieve," he concluded.