Ep 136: I don't want to hang out with famous influencers because… [Prestine Davekhaw, Founder of MalaysianPAYGAP & Disappearing Jobs]

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






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Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/136 


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