When Gonzalo Co It founded what would later become one of the Philippines’ most recognizable household brands, he did not begin with investors, bank loans, or a corporate backer.
He began with a rented apartment in Pasay, a product idea that others ignored, and ₱3,400—money that took years of discipline to save.
In his memoir “Greencross Saga: My Autobiography,” Gonzalo recounts the exact moment he stepped away from employment and into uncertainty, describing the decision with the kind of calm honesty that only comes from someone who has lived through real hardship.
“In 1952,” he wrote, “I decided it was time to move on. I resigned after putting up my own company, Gonzalo Laboratory, on 2500 Taft Avenue, Pasay City. It was a sole proprietorship. I owned 100% of the company.”
It is a simple statement, but behind it lies the kind of risk that most people never take. Gonzalo was not building a side hustle. He was building a life.
“There was no turning back,” he added.
That line captures the real difference between those who dream and those who build. Once you invest everything you have, you lose the comfort of hesitation. You either succeed, or you fall.
A Business Born From a Collapse
Before Green Cross existed, Gonzalo worked at Manila Commercial Company, a trading firm based in Manila. The company distributed healthcare and beauty products, and it was there where Gonzalo first learned the mechanics of selling, handling customers, and understanding demand.
He described how his role expanded when he was promoted and entrusted with responsibility.
“Establishing a reputation for honesty and integrity,” he wrote, “I was given the responsibility for the sales force for the Quiapo and Divisoria areas, where our prime customers were.”
But what is striking is how he described selling in those days. He did not romanticize it. He did not treat it as an art of persuasion. He described it as a straightforward exchange built on trust.
“In those days, selling was quite simple, not the hyped-up activity of retailers today,” Gonzalo recalled. “We had good products, which we offered to retailers and vendors. If the products sold well, they continued to buy from us. We were honest in our dealings and we make a reasonable profit from our trade.”
That mindset would later become a core foundation of his own company: sell something useful, sell it honestly, and let repeat demand do the rest.
But Manila Commercial was struggling. The company could not adjust to changing conditions. Gonzalo realized that staying there would limit his future.
And so he made the leap.
The ₱3,400 That Had to Work
Today, when people speak of business success, they often focus on the scale of the company. They talk about factories, distribution networks, and nationwide dominance.
But Gonzalo’s autobiography reveals that the story began in a far smaller, far more personal way.
“There was no turning back,” he wrote, and then he explained what that actually meant in practical terms. “I poured all my savings into my new venture — the princely sum of P3,400.”
He did not call it princely because it was a large amount. He called it princely because it was everything.
What makes the story even more compelling is how he explained where the money came from.
“The P400 was a gift that my father had given me several years before,” he wrote. “For sentimental reasons, I had never spent it, but kept it as an emergency fund, something I could dip into should the need arise.”
That single paragraph reveals a financial mindset that many people lack. Gonzalo was not reckless with money. Even before he became a businessman, he treated savings as protection.
But entrepreneurship demands a different kind of courage—the courage to invest even your emergency fund when the opportunity calls.
“Now was the time to use it,” he wrote, explaining how he combined the ₱400 gift with the ₱3,000 he had saved from teaching English at Sin Hing Night School.
That ₱3,000 was not the result of luck. It came from years of work, often at night, after long days of employment. It was money earned the hard way.
This is what makes Gonzalo Co It’s origin story so powerful: Green Cross did not begin as a brand. It began as a savings decision.
No Backer, No Family Capital, No Safety Net
Many business stories are polished over time. Founders often simplify their past and portray themselves as independent, even when they were supported by wealthy partners or silent financiers.
Gonzalo did not do that.
In fact, he emphasized that his father did not invest in the company, nor did he manage it. Even when his father later helped in small ways, Gonzalo was clear about the arrangement.
“My father never held an interest in my business,” he wrote. “In fact, while I established Gonzalo Laboratory, he continued working as a building contractor for his uncle, Vicente Gotamco. It was only in the latter part of 1952 that my father started coming to Gonzalo Laboratory.”
Then Gonzalo explained what his father actually did when he came.
“He would help out, sticking labels on the bottles or washing secondhand bottle caps. He did not infuse any capital into my business, nor did he manage it.”
This detail matters because it makes clear what kind of risk Gonzalo was taking. He was not protected by a second source of capital. If the business failed, he would lose everything.
In modern language, Gonzalo was “all in.”
A Factory That Was Just a Rented Apartment
Many Filipinos assume that national brands begin with factories. But Gonzalo’s autobiography makes it clear that Green Cross began in a space so small that it almost feels unbelievable today.
“My P3,400 was enough for a humble start,” he wrote. “For P90 a month, I leased one of two apartments at 2500 Taft Avenue from the owner, Mr. Ramirez, who later became my compadre.”
It was not a glamorous business launch. It was an improvised operation. Gonzalo rented a unit, bought raw materials, and began producing rubbing alcohol by hand.
“Then I bought raw materials from La Tondeña and some containers,” he continued. “Gonzalo Laboratory’s first and only product then was Green Cross Rubbing Alcohol.”
That line reveals a discipline that many founders struggle to maintain. Gonzalo did not diversify early. He did not chase multiple products. He began with one offering and focused on making it work.
This is what made his early strategy powerful: he did not build complexity. He built consistency.
Why Gonzalo Believed the Product Would Sell
What made Gonzalo confident enough to invest everything into rubbing alcohol?
Because he had already tested demand.
Before launching his own business, he had witnessed how rubbing alcohol could become a daily household product. He saw that the market was not saturated. He saw that consumers could develop a routine around it.
In his autobiography, he described how the alcohol product at Manila Commercial was ignored by salesmen and left sitting in storage.
“This alcohol product languished in the Jabonero Street bodega of Manila Commercial for a long, long time,” he wrote, “probably because the salesmen didn’t know what to do with it.”
Then Gonzalo described the insight that would later define his career.
“I had this idea that we could market it for everyday, household use,” he wrote. “So, I brought it out of the warehouse and introduced it to the vendors in Quiapo.”
He even documented the price, a detail that makes his story feel unusually vivid.
“It sold at P2 per 500 ml bottle,” he wrote, noting that it was still packaged in glass because plastic bottles were not yet common.
Then he made a statement that, in business history terms, is remarkable:
“That was the first time rubbing alcohol was introduced for common use in the Philippines and it started selling very well.”
This is the kind of sentence that entrepreneurs dream of writing later in life. It is the sentence that separates someone who merely sells products from someone who changes consumer behavior.
The Real Lesson Behind the ₱3,400 Story
Gonzalo Co It’s story is not just a business origin story. It is also a personal finance lesson.
The reason he was able to build Green Cross is not simply because he had an idea. Many people have ideas.
The reason he was able to act is because he had savings.
And the reason he had savings is because he lived with discipline long before he ever became successful.
In a world where people often chase fast money, Gonzalo’s autobiography reminds readers that wealth is often built through patience. His first capital did not come from luck. It came from years of work and delayed gratification.
Then, when the opportunity finally arrived, he did not hesitate.
He invested everything.
And as he wrote in his memoir, once he made the decision, “there was no turning back.”
That is the mindset that turns a small savings fund into a national legacy.
