Thoughts on vision, resilience, and determination
What it means to go for it + Pisco Sours in Los Angeles, CA
I have a massive ambition to see my vision through. In the past, my ambition hurt me because I lacked patience. I wanted my vision manifested immediately. I know better now, and I know I'm close but at the same time, I know timing is irrelevant; it is just a mental construct.
The goal has always been the same: I would love a world where every talented and qualified person would be matched accordingly and toxic gatekeeping would be eliminated. I want it for others as much as I want it for myself (and it is not a socialist thing: everyone wins, employers and investors included.)
But who am I to have this level of ambition to try to solve such a massive problem? I have been thinking about what makes me stand out as an entrepreneur. Not my tech skills or business acumen (though, at this point, one has enough experience to ask good questions and know what is missing). I’d say it is all about my energy, my desire to bring a vision to life, my training in rejection, and how fast I am bouncing back from setbacks.
I've had to make tough choices along the way to keep the dream alive, but I never quit. I reframed, regrouped, sold, started again. All through my life, “Andrea” was equivalent to crazy. I heard that a lot growing up.
My entrepreneurship story has twists and turns. Started with an event in Chile and ended up with a B2B SaaS platform (with a candidate co-pilot side coming soon).
Ten years back, I had no clue I could create anything. I was a lawyer, but that profession wasn't for me. Fast forward to 2012. My cousin wanted an event in Chile, and I said, "Let's do an entrepreneurship thing." Next thing you know, we got Al Gore and 10K people in three months, raised a million, and brought a lot of attention to entrepreneurship in Chile.
I left Chile in my 20s because I didn't fit in. Even with a fancy education and a comfortable upbringing, I wasn't part of that closed Chilean catholic upper class where deals and opportunities were. I believed entrepreneurship could level the playing field. Maybe a bit naive, considering Chile experienced a massive social uprising a few years later.
The event's success was insane, but redoing it seemed overwhelming. I wanted to go digital. I had no tech knowledge, but I was obsessed with creating a tech platform for people to connect.
Along the way, I dreamt of bringing Latinas to the innovation scene. Technolochicas happened, and it's still rocking after eight years. I knew that initiative wasn't just mine; it was for the world.
After proving creating programs for Latinas was a thing, I took a gamble and birthed BeVisible.
Closer to the dream bringing a community online again. It blew up, featured in Elle Magazine, Forbes—you name it. But the business model was too ambitious. Had to sell and start fresh.
Enter Wallbreakers, then Speak_. Companies were warming up to diversity in 2018, but they complained minorities weren't acing tech interviews. We created a course to fix that. Fast forward to 2021, and Speak_ is this rad candidate platform helping folks snag their dream jobs.
October, we dropped our interview guide software, and the reviews are fire. Companies are saying candidates are killing it in interviews.
Here’s a brief demo of how it works:
Want to know more about Speak_? Hit me up via email or slide into a call. Let's chat. 🚀
Also! If you are an entrepreneur in LA who will raise your seed or Series A in Q1, email me to invite you to a pisco sour gathering with investors and entrepreneurs on December 13th! (andrea@speak.careers)