John Florez > www.drupalconnect.com

John Florez, Founder, Drupal Connect


What do you need to be an entrepreneur?
Vision, courage and an insatiable appetite to see your vision come to fruition.


What did inspire you to start your business?
I knew who my competition was and I was convinced that I could do it better. Two years later my company is the largest Drupal development firm in North America.

How did you finance it?
It was self financed.


Being Hispanic, does it have any influence on your business?
I think Hispanics have an innate passion for life. I use that passion and drive each day in how I run my business.


In the face of adversity, how do you decide to keep going?
Adversity is really a good thing. Adversity sparks creativity. Some of the biggest lessons in business result from hard times. Not to mention they make you very thankful when times are good.


What is the biggest challenge your business has faced?
Starting the business with my wife at the peak of one of the greatest economic downturns was certainly challenging. Two years ago it was just the two of us. Today we have about 40 team members and that's really exciting.


If you could change one thing about your business, what would it be?
We've grown quite a bit in the last two years. In this short period we've learned a lot of lessons and have made many adjustments along the way. At this juncture there's nothing that that I would change. If there was something to change I would have implemented the change already.


What was your childhood ambition?
I started my first business when I was 8 years old. I'd go shopping for the elderly in my neighborhood. From as far back as I could remember I always wanted to run my own business.


Tell us about three entrepreneurs that you admire
Admire is a strong word, there are a lot of people that I respect (Bill Gates, Warren Buffet). However, as far as having admiration for another individual there's only two people that I would reserve that category for, my mom and my wife Karen.


For business meetings: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
Dinner, everyone's guard is down and you really can tell a lot more from the people you're dealing with.


What sacrifices on your personal life did you have to make in order to become a business success?
I don't have the luxury of just "turning it off". When we go on vacations I'm bringing the laptop and still putting in 6-7 hours. Now, I can look at that as something that I give up or I can look at it as me realizing a life long ambition.


What is your favorite quote?
He wasn't my favorite President but Nixon said: "only if you've been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain."


Is it difficult to be unconventional?
Not at all, no more so than breathing. It's the only way to be.


Biggest mistake made?
To not remove myself from certain situations when it was clearly time to move on.


Do you consider yourself an innovator? Why?
Thomas Edison was an innovator, I'm certainly no genius.


About the Company
Drupal Connect is the largest Drupal development firm in North America. Our clients include AOL, GE, NBC, Sony Music, The NYSE, A&E, Waste Management and over 100 other companies across the world.
http://www.drupalconnect.com/

Rossy C. Almonte > www.agensogroup.com

Rossy C. Almonte, Founder, Agenso Group.

What do you need to be an entrepreneur?
Passion and drive for what you wish to accomplish, courage to push forward despite fear, commitment, discipline, and persistence.

What did inspire you to start your business?
Many things inspired me. First, I had left the corporate workforce to take care of family needs but continued with the desire to pursue my career. So, I decided to reinvent my work path and start an entrepreneurial venture. And secondly, I noticed two phenomenons occurring: the Virtual Assistance industry was booming and many more businesses were looking to tap into the growing Hispanic market. That’s when I saw an opportunity to offer a bilingual virtual assistant service that would cater to the small businesses and entrepreneurs with small budgets seeking to reach the Hispanic marketplace.

How did you finance it?
From my own savings. I had very minimum start-up costs.
Being Hispanic…Does it have any influence on your business? Absolutely, I think it is so much easier to flourish a business when it’s founded on things that one cares about and value. As Latina, it is very important for me to keep my Latin American roots and business closely tied together. By helping our clients connect and engage with the Hispanic market, it allows us to stay connected with our people and culture.

Being Hispanic…Does it have any influence on your business?
Absolutely, I think it is so much easier to flourish a business when it’s founded on things that one cares about and value. As Latina, it is very important for me to keep my Latin American roots and business closely tied together. By helping our clients connect and engage with the Hispanic market, it allows us to stay connected with our people and culture.

In the face of adversity, how do you decide to keep going?
Unfortunately, adversity is part of life but should make us stronger and better to prevail in tougher times.

How I face adversity?
I surround myself with positive thoughts and people that can help me keep a clear focus on my core mission.

What is the biggest challenge your business has faced?
Marketing the business on a small budget.

If you could change one thing about your business, what would it be?
At this moment, I don’t think I would change anything.

What was your childhood ambition?
I wanted to be a pediatrician or veterinarian

Tell us about three entrepreneurs that you admire?
I admire self-made entrepreneurs that have started from humble beginnings.

Armancio Ortega - founder of ZARA fashion stores chain

Ingvar Kamprad – founder of IKEA

Joanne Rowling – creator of Harry Potter fantasy series


For business meetings: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
I prefer breakfasts starting at 10am.

What sacrifices on your personal life did you have to make in order to become a business success?
Because I was already working part-time from home, it was much easier to find the time to work on my new project, although I still had to sacrifice many hours of sleep.

What is your favorite quote?
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?.”

Is it difficult to be unconventional?
It’s challenging to leave your comfort zone, but very rewarding at the same time.

Biggest mistake made?
Not getting my master’s degree before I had my children, when I had more available time.

Do you consider yourself an innovator? Why?
Yes. We are shaping Agenso Group to become an attractive low-cost overhead solution for small business owners in need for Spanish speaking talent to help build strong and profitable relationships with the Hispanic market, and subsequently grow their small businesses.

About the Company:
Agenso Group is an innovative bilingual (English & Spanish) Virtual Executive Assistant firm dedicated to helping small-to-medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs reach the Latino market, while reducing their overhead expenses, maximizing business efficiency and productivity through the use of executive assistance and business management solutions. Agenso Group also serves Latin American business travelers with essential administrative and leisure planning support during their stay in the U.S.
http://www.agensogroup.com/