This is an excerpt from MEGA’s April 2025 issue’s New Voices feature
What is remarkable about Amanda Cua is not that she is just 21 years old and she’s already a CEO and founder of a startup newsletter called BackScoop—although it is a remarkable feat in itself; but it’s how she has the self-assurance and confidence of a seasoned executive, the most informed person in the room and the one who makes all the calls. That’s because, in a way, she is. Amanda founded BackScoop a year out of high school, all by herself, in the middle of the pandemic, and from scratch. As a self-confessed nerd who loves studying, she chose to take a gap year to work instead of going to college online. She learned all that she could about startups from a year-long stint working in one, reading all the articles related to the industry, and meeting with leaders and executives of other companies.
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In two years, BackScoop became one of the top resources on startups in the Southeast Asia region. Five years later, BackScoop has over 10,000 active subscribers —from top executives of companies and founders of startups. Amanda herself has over 40,000 LinkedIn followers and has become an authority herself. Last year, she moved to Singapore where most of the newsletter subscribers are, and from where she can travel around the region. She also runs a podcast called One More Scoop alongside her twice weekly updates in BackScoop.
MEGA catches up with Amanda on one of her trips back to Manila.
Can you tell us about your company, BackScoop?
We’re a media company that makes it fun and easy to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian start-ups and the most interesting business stories in Southeast Asia, from SMEs to large corporations.
Where did the name “BackScoop” come from?
I was looking for a name that would do two things: 1) Allow people to realize that it’s a news-related brand. I wanted the name to clearly be associated with news. 2) Have a brand image that is fresh and fun.
Then I looked for available website domains and saw BackScoop. I thought it was perfect because Scoop = news but also ice cream. We could have a fun, fresh brand image with ice cream. This is because we make news more fun, fresh, and exciting by making it easy for anyone to understand and stay updated with. I also like that it had the word “Back” because what we also do is add more information to the story, like context or more information about what the company does. We try to give our readers a deeper understanding while keeping things concise. So it really was the perfect name!
How did you start it?
I started it when I was 19 years old. That was 2021 during the pandemic. I graduated from high school at 18 in 2020. I loved school, so when I heard that I would have to study college online, I thought, That’s not real learning, so I decided to take one gap year. I applied to different jobs, and most of them rejected me, except for one unknown start-up. It was an unpaid internship role, but I thought that nobody wants to hire some 18 year old during the pandemic. If there’s only one job offer in front of me, I might as well take it and make the most out of it. So that’s what I did. I decided to start my own company, because I felt like, after one year of working there, I learned a lot about how to run a business, and I didn’t feel like I was growing as much. So I thought I had to do something else, work for another company, or start my own thing. And at that time, I’d already gotten paid, then promoted. So I thought my tenure is done, I might just move to something else. Because if there’s anything I learned in that one year working at a startup, it was that you have to find a place that’s uncomfortable and grow and take disproportionate risk for a disproportionate reward. And that wasn’t feeling like that anymore, which is why I left my job.
But why choose tech startups as your main focus?
I was working at a tech startup in the Philippines, and I had to learn about the startup industry. I think the more interesting and meaningful reason I also picked startup industries as a subject is because it was the industry that took a chance on me. I know my life has changed a lot in the past five years, and the last four years have been the biggest bulk of change, but I don’t think this would have happened if I didn’t have that one year working for another unknown startup that had just gotten an angel investment.
So, as of now, you still haven’t gone to college?
I haven’t gone to college at all. I like to joke that I’m an out of school youth. So whenever I sign up for official stuff, also, I didn’t even have a driver’s license or anything. So when I’d go to events where they need your ID, I only have my passport. And then I had to learn all this stuff when I didn’t even know how to drive. It was really funny when I got an investor in early in 2021 and then got a little more investment. In early 2022, I had to get my dad to pick me up from my investor meeting.
What has been the biggest challenge in running your own company so far?
I think for me, the challenge is really unique. Because I started working, and I started my company with, barely any experience, trying to build a regional media company from the Philippines, which is like the furthest thing from a hub. Everything was hard because I was completely starting from scratch. Because I had no experience, no industry connections, no skills, nobody would really call. I also felt like at some point I didn’t really have friends, because my friends went to college, so I really started my whole career from zero. I struggled a lot with trying to figure out who I was, my identity and my imposter syndrome. And that was really hard, but it was a really good journey, because after five years, I can say that I know who I am, I know whatI want. I built, like a very good group of friends and the network from scratch. I’m really glad that I can look back at the last five years and tell myself I know exactly who I am. Yeah, I’m proud of who I am. I’m proud of my journey. And. I have my own unique story, and that feels so empowering.
Read more about Amanda Cua in MEGA’s April 2025 issue now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio.
Photographed by PAOLO PINEDA. Art Direction TROY NONATO. Produced by JONES PALTENG. Hair and Makeup by ARIA ORTEGA.
