If the names Mary Sol González and Valentina Moretti don’t ring a bell, they should. Both originally from Venezuela, they’ve been involved with the Boca business and nonprofit communities for years.
Now they’ve teamed up with a motivational corporate educator and well-known firms to help mentor Hispanic business hopefuls. Their nonprofit is based in the Social Impact Lab at Lynn University.
Hispanic Entrepreneur Initiative: A Roadmap to Success offers a 12-week leadership course with mentoring follow-up. They also have workshops and lunch or breakfast and learn programs.
Their next breakfast program is 9 to 10:30 a.m. Jan. 23 at the Boca Chamber. Their web site in English launched at http://heiflorida.org/ A Spanish version is in the works, González said.
Here’s their social media links: #heiflorida #hei #hispanic #entrepreneur #initiative Facebook: Heifloridaorg Instagram @HeiFloridaorg
Their first breakfast and learn program was Dec. 27 in Office Depot’s corporate headquarters in Boca. Sponsorships included the Latin arm of Office Depot, New York Life and the French/Latin bakery La Boulangerie, about open in Town Center at Boca Raton.
“We intend to build a bridge between entrepreneurs and corporations seeking to enter the U.S. and Hispanic markets,” González said. “Hispanics represent the largest minority in the U.S. at 18% and are expected to grow to 28.6 % by 2020. Their businesses contribute to $700 billion to the U.S. economy yearly, however they fail at a higher rate than non-Latino-owned businesses.”
González and Moretti co-founded Boca Chamber’s International Business Alliance monthly global lecture and luncheon five years ago. González won the Chamber’s Diamond Award for women in business in 2015. Her business received the 2015 Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. González bought Image360 in 2009 and sold the firm in 2019.
Moretti is a lawyer, entrepreneur and has been part of the Boca Raton business community for more than a decade. They’re joined by Yulimar Trumbo, an engineer who trains corporations internationally on Systemic Leadership.
By Marci Shatzman
