21 Latino/a and Hispanic Catholic Entrepreneurs you Should Know About

September 15th to October 15th is when we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month recognizing the incredible contributions of all of our Latino/a entrepreneurs in the United States while also celebrating the Independence Day of many Latin American countries.

To shed some light on the amazing Latino/a and Hispanic Catholic entrepreneurs I’ve been connected with through friends, networks, and circles I’m a part of, I’ve put together this list of trailblazers advancing the Kingdom of God with their businesses.

As we all know, one of the best ways to support small businesses and Latino/a entrepreneurs is to actually buy from them. Read on to get to know and support them as well!

Image Credit: Kiki Rocha. Kiki giving a speech at the San Diego Diocese Theology on Tap

1. Kiki Rocha- Catholic Latina speaker, sexuality and self-image coach

Kiki and I have become friends over the past few months, I absolutely love the positive energy and her open heart she shares with the world. Kiki’s heritage is from Mexico and currently resides in Dallas. She focuses her work on relationship building, sexuality, self-image, and speaking life into the hearts of women to help us grow in resilience. You can follow her on Instagram @kikiiithebrave.

2. Mireya Torres- Founder of Healing in Faith Therapy

Mireya is a Mental Health Therapist living in California with family from Mexico. She provides mental health services through the lens of our Catholic faith. You can follow her on Instagram @healingfaiththerapy for more on self-worth, discovering your purpose, and realizing the gifts God gave you.

3. Daniela Madriz de Quintana- Visual Identity Designer

Daniela is a Guatemalan designer focused on visual identity design, branding, and website design for Catholic faith brands. You can follow more of her beautiful work here.

4. Alex Quintana- Founder of Aqui Studio

I met Alex at the Schoenstatt community when I was living in Austin during my Master’s program at St. Edward’s University. Alex comes from Cuban roots and is a talented photographer and videographer living in Guatemala with his beautiful wife Daniela (listed above). Aqui Studio provides architecture, product, food, portrait, and event photography, as well as video production of all types. When I met him he was working on a documentary on the Schoenstatt Movement, Seeds of a New World. Check out his studio to see more of his work!

Image credit: Alex Quintana, Aqui Studio

5. Elena Murdock- Founder and CEO of Ascend PR and member of the Board of Directors at Zeronox Inc

Elena’s family is from Nicaragua (like mine)! She is the founder of Ascend PR, a PR agency specializing in executive thought leadership helping clients land dream media outlets. They work with investment banks, VCs, private equity, family offices, and Angel investors. Elena is also on the board of an electric vehicle and battery technology company, Zeronox Inc.

“I’m passionate about women sitting on company boards because we have the capacity to make massive impact. I believe corporations have the greatest influence on our country these days and if we want to steer our culture towards a more positive future we should be on boards.”

You can follow and connect with her on LinkedIn here.

6. Fiore Bagatello- Digital Marketing, time management, personal development coach

Fiore is a Marketing, communication, and an organizational specialist from Madrid, Spain. She works with an emphasis on multimedia and a love for building up the body of Christ. You can follow more of her Digital Marketing tips and resources on Instagram @fiorebagatello.

7. Dimitri Conejo Sanz- Founder of Cathopic and Mater Coeli

Dimitri is a UX/UI designer and front-end developer originally from Russia and raised in Spain. He was abandoned by his parents at a young age and was later adopted by Spanish parents. As a former atheist turned Catholic after encountering God when he almost took his life, Dimitri dedicates his life to creating projects and initiatives that give glory to God and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Dimitri is the founder of Cathopic, a platform offering high-quality digital images and videos. He is also the creator behind Mater Coeli, a platform that helps people around the world consecrate themselves to the Virgin Mary through the "Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin” by St. Louis de Montfort. Follow more of his work at Cathopic and Mater Coeli.

8. Edmundo Reyes- Co-founder of Real + True

Edmundo is from Mexico City and is the co-founder of Real + True and the Director of Communications at the Archdiocese of Detroit. Real + True is a video and audio platform unlocking the heart of the Catechism through visual storytelling. They publish monthly content based on the catechism in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French and the videos are accessible for free to people worldwide. Dive into their captivating content here.

9. José Manuel de Urquidi- Founder of Juan Diego & Co and Juan Diego Network

José is from Monterrey, Mexico, and is the founder of the Juan Diego & Co and Juan Diego Network. The Juan Diego Network is a multi-platform content creation, production, and distribution ecosystem that provides quality Catholic audio for Latinos. José helps brands and organizations connect with Latino talent through podcasts and virtual summits all over the world. Follow more of his work here.

10. Raul Hernandez Ochoa, Founder, Do Good Work

Raul lives in San Diego and is originally from Mexico. He helps businesses with $800K-$50M in revenue scale growth and impact, through his 3 -stage program, Productive Profits®. He was my business mentor for about a year in 2021 and really helped me understand how to organize my day for maximum efficiency, expand my impact, and avoid the dreaded overworked burnout schedule. Follow Raul here and check out his podcast, Do Good Work, where he dives into a “day in the life” with a variety of entrepreneur guests.

11. Alfonso González Arocha- Founder of Qualfon

Alfonso González Arocha, founder and president of Qualfon, is a vibrant example of a true Catholic trailblazer and leader. I had the honor of getting to know him and his beautiful wife, Maricarmen, on my St. Joseph pilgrimage in 2021 when he welcomed all of us every night into his home for dinner.

Alfonso is originally from a small town outside of Monterrey, Mexico called Cuatro Ciénegas where almost half of the population lives below the poverty line. He left Cuatro Ciénegas to study at Tecnológico of Monterrey later moving to Mexico City where he started his business, Qualfon, in 1995. Qualfon is a people-focused global business services company providing contact center services, integrated marketing solutions, big data analytics, and back-office processing in Mexico, United States, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Philippines, India, and Guayana. Today, Qualfon employs more than 15,000 employees and gives back to Alfonso’s birth town through their social program, Plan 2040.

His business has been consecrated to Jesus for the past 15 years to recognize that all of the fruits of his business come directly from God and are to be returned, as a gift, in great humility, faith, and love. Read this to learn more about this regenerative business lifting people out of poverty in Cuatro Ciénegas and to learn more about the St. Joseph pilgrimage. Learn more about Qualfon here.

Image credit: Nicolás Sánchez Mejorada Girault. Alfonso and wife, Maricarmen, on the Camino de San José.

12. Juan Acosta- Founder of Tabella

Originally from Acarigua, Venezuela now based in Austin, Texas, Juan helps Catholics stay socially connected with his social media app, Tabella. Users on Tabella can join ministry groups, connect to their parishes, create and manage events, and consume a diversity of Catholic content from articles to podcasts, audio prayers, and videos. Juan first broke into entrepreneurship when he was forced to drop out of secondary school because of financial and health hardships at home. He later joined the entrepreneurship accelerator called Draper University where he became entrepreneur-in-residence in 2016 and convinced them to fund their own in-house entrepreneurs. Draper University Ventures was born to provide a space for founders with big and bold ideas to pitch their business ideas to venture capitalists. He was then promoted to chief operating officer and in 2020 began dedicating himself full-time to Tabella.

Today, Juan has a team of 8 full-time employees all of which are Latino/a helping him realize the dream of connecting Catholics across the US! Join Tabella here.

13. Pilar Ochoa- Wholeness Coach

Pilar is a Mexican Wholeness coach helping moms out of their survival mode with the practical tools and resources to live a life to thrive. You can follow her on Instagram here.

14. Theresa Marie Thorne- Founder of Thorne Editorial

Theresa is a Copyeditor and founder of Thorne Editorial where she helps clients refine their writing and prepare their manuscripts for publication. She specializes in non-fiction work offering proofreading, copyediting, and line editing for self-published authors who dream of seeing their book in print. Follow more of her work here.

15. Amy Rodriguez- Illustrator, storyteller, and founder of Amy Rodriguez Art

Amy is a digital artist and illustrator of children's books. As a child, she had a wonderful example of faith from her family through her Mexican heritage. Today, she seeks to pass on the joy and beauty of the Catholic faith through colorful art and picture books. You can find her work on her website and on social media @amyrodriguez.art

16. Mireya Bedolla- Financial Agency with World Financial Group

Mireya was born and raised in Mexico. She helps families prepare for the unexpected (something I think we’re all familiar with by now!) with life insurance. She guides her clients in choosing the right insurance protection and making the right decisions based on their life situations and their families. Book a call with Mireya here.

17. Ana Keyworth- Founder of Party like a Saint

Anna, from central Mexico, offers saint-themed party decorations including decors for All Saints Day, St. Nicholas, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and more. These decorations are perfect for birthday parties, feast days, celebrating our sacraments, etc. Subscribe to her email list for special coupons and sneak peeks or follow her on Instagram @party_like_a_saint.

18. Melania Holt- Founder of Sweetly Virtual

Melania is originally from Costa Rica (where my family is from!) living in Arizona. She is an SEO and content strategy specialist. Melania approaches content through the lens of SEO helping your blogs and your website do the hard work for you behind the scenes. Check out more of her work on Instagram @melaholt.

19. Rebecca Tarantino- RTarantino Photography

Rebecca is a first-generation American with parents from Cuba and Costa Rica (another fellow Tica) and currently based in central New Jersey. She captures special moments through her portrait and lifestyle photography business RTarantino Photography. Rebecca is also the first to become an entrepreneur and explore her passion for having a photography business. Check out her work and get on her calendar here!

20. Stacie Servantes Farias- Founder of Mariposa Homeschool Press

Mexican- American army wife, mom of 6, and proud homeschooler, Stacie is the founder of Mariposa Homeschool Press. Mariposa Homeschool Press infuses the homeschool market with resources and materials which accurately and respectfully present the history of Latin America and Latinos- a history and culture so diverse, vibrant, worthy of study, and most of all, one that began long before 1492! Reach out to Stacie at Hello@mariposahomeschoolpress.com

21. Tasha Villalobos Gordon- Founder of Pax Rosa

Tasha is a first-generation American with her father from Mexico and mother from Germany. Tasha handcrafts 100% soy wax candles based on modern Saints and prayers. Each candle has a unique scent based on the story in Scripture or the life of the Saint. She also offers a personalized candle-making service for large groups such as retreats, showers, parishes staff gifts, and more. You can follow her work and learn more about her candles here.