Eric Manlunas is a Filipino-born, US-immigrant venture capitalist who founded Wavemaker Partners in 2003 after successfully building and exiting two companies—specialty foods company Interfoods and ISP Sitestar—giving him rare operating experience across both traditional and internet businesses before becoming an investor. He runs Wavemaker as a dual-headquartered platform between Los Angeles and Singapore, serves as a Trustee of the Philippine Development Foundation, and emphasizes that Southeast Asia requires localized approaches rather than one-size-fits-all strategies, while evaluating founders based on purpose and long-term thinking over passion or hype. Eric Manlunas is a Filipino-born, US-immigrant venture capitalist who founded Wavemaker Partners in 2003 after successfully building and exiting two companies—specialty foods company Interfoods and ISP Sitestar—giving him rare operating experience across both traditional and internet businesses before becoming an investor. He runs Wavemaker as a dual-headquartered platform between Los Angeles and Singapore, serves as a Trustee of the Philippine Development Foundation, and emphasizes that Southeast Asia requires localized approaches rather than one-size-fits-all strategies, while evaluating founders based on purpose and long-term thinking over passion or hype.