WINNING PERFORMANCE (Clockwise) Mariano speaks at the Ticketing Business Asia Forum in Hong Kong last year; (fifth from left) with his team last December; at St. Jude Hospital on a donation run; and during a briefing of ushers at the 2019 Cinemalaya film festival about Ticket2Me technology. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
In third grade, Mariano tried to sell yema (milk and egg yolk candy) to his classmates. However, his teachers made him stop, saying he was competing with the school canteen. He then tried offering home-made pizza in school and around their neighborhood, and also toting a trolley laden with comic books in the hope that other kids would pay to read them.