They fled the violence in Venezuela and sought refuge in the U.S. And they brought Venezuelan chocolate with them ...
Meet the Latina sisters who are growing their chocolate business with the help of Jennifer Lopez and Goldman Sachs.
Meet the Latina sisters who are growing their chocolate business with the help of Jennifer Lopez and Goldman Sachs.
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00:00I loved being able to talk about something positive coming out from Venezuela, which is the chocolate in our shop.
00:15We use chocolate mostly made in Venezuela, which is unusual.
00:19The countries of origin of the cacao, it's where they're making the chocolate, that's quite unusual.
00:25And we just love showcasing Venezuelan chocolate in our shop.
00:30Venezuela is a beautiful country, but it is going through some really, really terrible times.
00:52Especially when we left, the violence was really terrible.
00:56And we didn't think we could, you know, our families didn't need to grow up in that.
01:01So we were fortunate enough that we were able to move.
01:13We thought, what a great way to bring our Venezuelan heritage with us by bringing Venezuelan chocolate to this vibrant, beautiful city of Miami.
01:21I started very slow and we've sort of grown quite organically because we don't really have that sort of business background, to be honest.
01:45It was a great resource for us as we grew our business.
01:48And then we opened Garcia Nevette about three years ago.
01:52And that's our first brick and mortar.
01:54We really wanted it to be an experience.
01:56So when you come into our store in South Miami, it's like you're stepping into our home.
02:00We have it made really nice.
02:02And we have a huge window where you can see inside the store and you can see us making chocolates and bonbons.
02:07We have a machine that's very Willy Wonka-esque.
02:18We found that people wanted some comfort and we were able to give it to them via our cookies, our cakes, our chocolates.
02:25So we did see a little bit of a growth in that sense because people wanted to send something beautiful and delicious to their loved ones.
02:32Also, because of the pandemic and I was more at home than I was at the business, usually, I was also able to start the 10,000 Small Businesses program,
02:40which was great for us as it gives us more business background than we had before.
02:48I really wanted to empower every woman to discover their limitless glow at every age,
02:58but also to create the most beautiful life that they could for themselves, whatever that meant for them.
03:04And I really, because of my mother, my grandmother, I really understand the power and the limitless power and potential of women.
03:14My mom instilled that in me that I could do whatever I wanted.
03:17She had three little girls and she just felt like, you know, you can do whatever a man can do.
03:22It was amazing because I know we can learn so much from her and she has such a great presence.
03:27And then, you know, meeting all the other business owners, it was amazing as well.
03:31One of the things that I got from the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses is that we're not alone as small business owners.
03:37And a lot of our problems are maybe different contexts, but we do have a lot of similar problems.
03:43So it's great meeting other people who can share your experience.
03:46And in that way, we can empower each other and maybe empower the future.