Mayra Ordonez's blog

Latino business owner and leader lifts his community through food

Edwin Sandoval, the proud owner of Xatrucho Concepts, moved from Honduras to the Colorado Springs area when he was only 10 years old. At age 14, he began working at restaurants, where he quickly realized his potential and passion for the food industry. He pursued a degree in culinary arts and continued to work at various high-scale restaurants until he had the gumption to start a business of his own.

English

Arizona entrepreneurs launch marshmallow shop to sweeten their community

When Tricia M. Arce’s grandmother passed away, she began making recipes with marshmallows to ease her grief. Once she realized how popular her inventions were among her coworkers and close friends, Tricia and her wife Hazel decided to launch the Toasted Mallow, a line of handcrafted marshmallow desserts for every taste, locally available in Gilbert, A.Z.

English

Chicago restaurateur highlights the importance of capital in post-pandemic era

Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic has been a tall order for small businesses, creating financial chaos and instability for all entrepreneurs regardless of how many years they’ve been in business. For Manish Mallick, owner of Bar Goa, an Indian gastropub, and ROOH Chicago, a progressive Indian restaurant and cocktail bar, seeing his once-bustling restaurant turn into an empty eatery has been devastating.  

English

Financial experts weigh in on the importance of National Financial Literacy Month for small business

In April, we celebrate National Financial Literacy Month, which serves as an opportunity to review your finances, assess your financial literacy and how it can help you take your business to the next level. In celebration of this special month, we reached out to some of our Venturize partners to get their thoughts on National Financial Literacy Month, key advice for business owners, and how their organizations work to support the small business ecosystem.

English

Immigrant business owner travels the world to share her knowledge on relaxation techniques

Sayuri Tsuchitani began her career as a hairdresser in New York, and her work launched her into opportunities to travel the world. As a Japanese immigrant, she says her career goal is to bring Eastern techniques of relaxation to help alleviate stress in Western cultures. Although her entrepreneurial journey hasn’t always been an easy one, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Headspa EN in Beverly Hills, Calif. continues to prevail.

English

Subscription box caters to special needs for women across the United States

Children admire their parents’ careers, and often emulate the kinds of jobs they perform: they want to be firefighters, police officers, teachers, doctors, lawyers and so forth. This was also the case for Celia Rudder, who wanted to be like her father from an early age and become an entrepreneur in Greensboro, N.C. Although she wasn’t encouraged to follow in his footsteps, she eventually took over her father’s business after he passed away.

English

Long-time North Carolina entrepreneur doubles down on his commitment to support local small businesses

Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur, right? 

John Martin, the CEO and founder of the North Carolina-based consultancy group Martin-Sloane International and Martin & Company, is on his second-time around as an entrepreneur. 

He originally started a small IT consulting firm in 1994, which he eventually sold in 1997. 

English

Texas business owner delivers subscription boxes to uplift and empower Black-owned businesses

Lauren Fontaine’s small business, Blackscriptions, is a quarterly subscription box full of goodies from a selection of Black-owned businesses. What’s different about this subscription? There are a couple of things, the most significant being its objective. Lauren calls her boxes a conduit, connecting others to Black-owned businesses needing further support and sales. 

“I launched Blackscriptions out of my desire to economically uplift and empower Black-owned businesses,” Lauren said. 

English

Illinois entrepreneur cooks up gluten-free delicacies for her community

For Lisa Marsh, owner and founder of Ms. P’s Gluten Free, going gluten free changed her health. Her acid reflux and digestive issues went away, and she felt better than she had in years. Yet, this change in diet meant having to explore alternative recipes for treats normally full of gluten, like cakes and cookies. 

Lisa recalled finding triple chocolate chip, gluten-free cookies that can be baked at home. She was so eager to try one, Lisa couldn’t wait long enough for them to cool down. 

English

Pages