The screens inside the Dragon’s Project command center never sleep.
At any hour of the day, messages arrive from Germany, Japan, the United States, the UAE, Taiwan, and other countries. Business updates flow across time zones. Partners check in. New members join. Success stories are shared. Somewhere in the middle of it all sits Mark Anthony Cruz, the man who built the business.
At 45, Cruz described himself as semi-retired.
“Actually, siguro mga four months ago semi-retired na ako. Kumbaga nagta-travel na lang kami ng wife ko and all.”
For most people, retirement is the finish line. For Cruz, it became the beginning of something new.
The idea for Dragon’s Project came during a season when he finally had the freedom many spend their entire lives pursuing. The businesses were running. The money was there. He and his wife were traveling. Life was comfortable.
Yet something felt incomplete.
“Hindi kami sanay na walang ginagawa,” he said. “Parang nasasayang yung talent na God-given gift sa akin.”
After decades in business and years helping build one of the country’s most successful entrepreneurial organizations, he found himself asking a question that would ultimately become Dragon’s Project. What if he could create a brand of his own designed specifically for Filipinos around the world?
“I’ll create a new brand na this time the brand will be number one global fit sa mga OFWs, mga Filipinos all over the globe,” Cruz shared. He wanted something bigger than geography and bigger than traditional business models. He wanted a company built for the way the world works now.
“Number two, gusto ko digital na siya. So magkakaroon siya ng AI automation, dropshipping, auto-dropshipping.” That vision became Dragon’s Project.
“We created Dragon’s Project noong December 2024. Nag-come out from retirement ako to create a brand new brand,” Cruz revealed.
Today, the company operates in more than 60 countries and serves as a hybrid ecosystem that combines entrepreneurship, digital marketing, online commerce, and global community-building.
“Dragon’s Project is an online business now,” he explained. “We’re the largest distributor of Luxxe White sa buong mundo.”
Its ambitions are even larger. “The plan is to be the biggest business ecosystem in the Philippines.”
To understand why that vision matters so much to Cruz, however, you have to travel back decades before Dragon’s Project existed, to the streets of Tondo.
Way before the command center, before the luxury cars, before the global business network, there was a young boy growing up in one of Manila’s toughest communities.
“I was born in Tondo, Manila. Batang riles ako.” His childhood revolved around work. At thirteen, he was already earning money.
His grandmother sold pork in the market. Cruz detailed, “I was 13 years old, nagde-deliver na ako ng mga meat sa mga bahay-bahay. Magtitinda ako ng barbecue. Magtitinda ako ng bibingka sa hapon.”
The work was constant. So were the lessons.
When asked what growing up in Tondo taught him, his answer comes immediately.
“Value ng pera,” Cruz said. “Most of the people kapag lumaki sila ng may pera, hindi nila naiintindihan yung value ng pera.”
Even then, he felt responsible for his future.
“Ever since when I was a kid, alam ko sa sarili ko na I need to earn money.”
At sixteen, he left home. He worked at McDonald’s while putting himself through school.
His path through education was far from conventional. “Hindi talaga ako matalino,” he said, laughing. “Eight years ako elementary. Seven years high school. Seven years college.” He often compares himself to classmates who excelled academically. “Wala eh. Hindi ako gifted,” the self-aware businessman candidly said, but with a certain kind of self-assurance.
But what he lacked in academic recognition, he made up for with persistence.
“Naging street smart lang talaga ako.” For years, he worked relentlessly.
Then, at twenty-five, he achieved what many people spend a lifetime chasing. “I earned my first million at the age of 25.”
But the celebration did not last. In one of the most honest moments of his story, Cruz admitted that his first taste of wealth taught him a painful lesson.
The first thing he bought was a brand-new Honda Civic. “Kotse talaga.” Soon after, it was repossessed.
“Nahatak yun, he shared.” Why? “Kasi nauna yung lifestyle ko. I was spending more than I’m earning.”
The experience humbled him. “Akala ng bagong nagkakapera wala nang katapusan yung pera,” Cruz humbly shared. The lesson stayed with him.
Today, he follows what he calls his “10% Rule.”
“If I have Php100, Php10 lang ang pwede kong gastusin.”
The millionaire mindset, he learned, isn’t just about making money. It’s about keeping it.
Although he earned his first million at twenty-five, he says he didn’t truly feel successful until years later. The money was no longer disappearing as quickly as it arrived. There was savings. Stability. Security.
By then, he was earning consistently, building teams, and creating opportunities for others. The turning point came when he discovered Frontrow.
Ironically, he wasn’t looking for a new opportunity. He was already involved in buy-and-sell businesses and believed life was going reasonably well.
Then a friend invited him to a presentation. He attended reluctantly.
“I said, ‘Hindi ako sasali,’” Cruz smilingly shared. By the end of the day, he had signed up.
When he recalls that moment, he still remembers the words that convinced him. “Ito na ’yun,” he said.
Something clicked. What happened next would transform his life. Within months, he began building teams.
Within years, he became one of the organization’s most successful leaders.
But more importantly, he found a purpose. The vision he saw wasn’t simply about business. It was about helping Filipinos improve their lives.
“The mission and vision was to help Filipinos all over the globe,” Cruz emphasized. Years later, that same philosophy would become the foundation of Dragon’s Project. When asked what separates Dragon’s Project from other organizations, Cruz doesn’t immediately talk about technology or business systems.
He talks about people. One of his greatest joys today is watching others succeed. As he speaks, he points to one of his partners.
The young man once had no transportation. Today, he owns a Mercedes-Benz.
“Iyak ako nang iyak noon,” Cruz shared. “Kada may nagme-millionaire club, kada may naglalabas ng kotse, ako yung umiiyak.”
The statement reveals something important about Cruz. At this stage of life, money is no longer his primary motivation. His fulfillment comes from watching other people experience the opportunities he once dreamed about.
“At my stage and age, I don’t need that much money. What makes me happy now is seeing people become successful.”
That philosophy extends to how he talks about legacy. “If there’s one thing much bigger than money, it’s my name.”
Not because of ego. Because it is the same name his children carry.
“Ang gusto ko kapag may nakausap yung mga anak ko, sasabihin nila, ‘Your dad helped me when I was a nobody. Ngayon somebody na ako because of your dad,’” Cruz said. Perhaps that desire for legacy explains why he feels so strongly about honesty in business.
Years ago, he lost ₱55 million after being betrayed by a close relative.
“Fifty-five million. Pinsan ko,” he shared.
The wound remains painful. Yet instead of becoming cynical, he transformed the experience into a lesson.
When asked how people can identify scams, his answer is immediate.
“Pag may nagsabi sa’yo na wala kang gagawin at kikita ka, 100% scam.”
“Pag sinabi nila mag-invest ka at may guaranteed returns, kalokohan yun.”
For Cruz, success has never come from shortcuts. Only work. Only consistency. Only time.
But if there is one secret he credits above all others, it is not business, not sales, not leadership.
It is his wife. Throughout the conversation, his voice changes whenever he speaks about her. The confidence softens and the businessman disappears. The husband remains.
Mark Anthony Cruz with his beloved wife Jayzel
“Ang alam ng mga tao wala akong weakness,” Cruz said. Then he smiled. “Pero pag nandiyan asawa ko, dragonfly talaga ako.”
She is the person who sees him when no one else can. The person who hears his doubts. The person who encourages him when exhaustion begins to take over.
“Siya lang talaga nagsasabi sa akin na kaya natin yan. My secret weapon is my wife.“
For a man known as “The Dragon,” it is perhaps the most revealing statement of all.
And what about luck? Does he believe success comes down to being fortunate?
His answer is surprisingly balanced. “Walang swerte. Walang malas.”
Then he paused. “Pero you still need that pinch of luck.” By that he meant a small opening, a chance meeting, an opportunity, a door.
Something that places you on a particular path. But after that, he believes the responsibility belongs to you.
“Don’t expect luck kung wala kang ginagawa,” Cruz reminded.
The boy who once delivered meat through the streets of Tondo understands that better than most. Luck may have opened a door. But discipline, persistence, sacrifice, and belief carried him through it all.
Today, inside the Dragon’s Project he built himself, surrounded by screens connecting sixty countries and thousands of lives, Mark Anthony Cruz remains driven by the same thing that motivated him as a child. The belief that tomorrow can be bigger than today.
And the determination to prove it.
If you’re interested in being part of the Dragon’s Project, reach out to Mark Anthony Cruz via
https://www.facebook.com/share/18zUCLfimb/?mibextid=wwXIfr
WATCH the full interview:
Original Source: randomrepublika – https://randomrepublika.com/
