Entrepreneurship has been a thread running through my life long before I understood what to call it. I didn’t come from a business family. My family had talent, creativity, and resilience—but no roadmap for entrepreneurship. What I did have was curiosity, a deep love of technology, and a sense that I could build something meaningful if I followed that curiosity wherever it led.

High School: Two Friends, a Computer Business, and an Unexpected Mentor

My entrepreneurial path really began in high school when I joined two friends who had started a small computer side business. We built machines, fixed problems, and learned new skills on the fly. Around that time, I also worked at an internet service provider, doing early web development in the late ’90s. That job gave me my first exposure to Linux—an experience that would shape my engineering mindset for decades to come.

But the real turning point came from a mentor I didn’t expect: my friend’s father.

He was trying to teach his son about business fundamentals, discipline, and ambition. I was the silent extra student in the room—listening, absorbing, and applying every lesson. That experience convinced me that I could pursue business seriously and eventually chase an MBA.

Dotcom Era Consulting: Learning on the Front Lines

I entered the professional world at the height of the dotcom boom, consulting for small and mid-sized businesses trying to navigate digital transformation. It was messy, exciting, and fast-paced. It taught me how to adapt quickly, work with incomplete information, and make decisions grounded in real customer needs.

Microsoft (2003–2010): Where Agile and Lean First Clicked

In 2003, I joined Microsoft, spending seven years marketing to developers and IT professionals in the Latin American market.

This was also where I first encountered Agile and Lean methodologies, mostly in the content that we sent to developers who were part of our user group ecosystem (think pre-socia media).

At the time, I didn’t fully appreciate how foundational they would become—but looking back, they aligned perfectly with my research and analytical mindset. The principles made intuitive sense:

  • Test, learn, iterate

  • Short cycles of feedback

  • Validate assumptions early

  • Build with the customer at the center

Those concepts would later become the backbone of how I think about entrepreneurship.

Return to Consulting → Univision: Innovation, Incubation, and Cultural Focus

After Microsoft, I moved back into consulting and eventually joined Univision Communications, Inc. There, I played a key role in marketing direct-to-consumer products for the U.S. Hispanic market—including helping grow the Univision Prepaid Mastercard into the largest Hispanic-focused prepaid card program of its time.

Working with an internal incubation team deepened my understanding of how to validate ideas quickly, experiment with new concepts, and build products that serve underrepresented audiences.

Startup Acquisition: Lean Thinking Comes Full Circle

Eventually, a startup purchased our team from Univision, and I found myself immersed in an environment where Lean and Agile weren’t just frameworks—they were survival tools. The speed, the rapid experimentation, the constant validation cycles—it brought everything together:

  • My analytical mindset

  • My research background

  • My enterprise experience

  • My startup grit

  • My growing expertise in AI/ML

Lean thinking finally felt complete. It wasn’t just a methodology—it was the operating system for building modern companies.

Where Analysis Took Over — and Led Me into AI/ML

Throughout my marketing career, I always gravitated toward the analytical side:

the numbers, the patterns, the why behind customer behavior.

Over time, that curiosity became a full commitment.

I dove deeper into analytics, eventually stepping into a leadership role as Director of Analysts for an issuer processor startup. This was a defining chapter. It was here that I honed a strong data science mindset and began exploring predictive analytics in a hands-on, high-stakes environment.

I saw early on that data-driven decision-making and predictive modeling would define the future of marketing, product development, and startup strategy. So I leaned in completely.

I earned certifications in:

  • Data Science

  • Data Analysis

  • Data Engineering

This landed me at another company where I focused on data analytics, then AI/ML exclusively and building POC's and data products powered by AI. In a full-circle moment, I returned to my roots in web development—becoming a full-stack developer again, blending everything I’d learned since those late-90s Linux and ISP days.

AI & ML: The Force That Accelerated Everything

As AI and ML advanced, I became even more deeply involved in applying them to real-world business problems. I saw how generative AI could remove friction, accelerate learning, and give founders the clarity they desperately needed but rarely had access to.

It became clear that AI wouldn’t just enhance entrepreneurship—it would transform it.

LeanPivot: Built from Every Chapter of My Journey

LeanPivot is the culmination of everything I’ve lived and learned:

  • My early computer business with friends

  • Lessons from a mentor who didn’t know he was teaching me

  • Dotcom consulting and years of digital marketing

  • Agile and Lean foundations from Microsoft

  • Incubation work at Univision and other organizations

  • My deep dive into data science, engineering, and AI

  • A full-circle return to full-stack development

LeanPivot exists because I wanted a business coach...and decided to build one. Now it exists to give founders what I had to piece together over decades, with learning from every phase, and exposure to concepts that helped improve my entrepreneurial mindset:

A clear path.

A structured process (thanks to Lean Startup thinking).

Tools that reduce uncertainty.

Guidance that adapts to every stage of building.

It’s a platform for solopreneurs, creators, displaced workers, early founders, and anyone who has the drive but not the blueprint.

Why I’m Sharing This on Entrepreneurs Day

Entrepreneurs Day is about honoring the people who take risks, explore new ideas, and build something out of nothing. My journey is proof that entrepreneurship isn’t about where you start—it’s about staying curious, learning continuously, and building with intention.

LeanPivot is designed for people who share that spirit.

And today felt like the right day to tell the story behind it.