Almost unexpectedly, Paola Villarreal Carvajal has become an entrepreneur when unraveling the stories of entrepreneurship in Mexico. The 28-year-old from Monterrey took on the challenge of interviewing and documenting the rise of startups that write the present of business.
“The theme of the entrepreneur is something very noble. People help each other a lot and that is what I have always liked about the entrepreneurship ecosystem,” says the author of the book. Creating unicorns. The future of entrepreneurship in Mexicoa project that gives voice to 50 characters from the business world.
Villareal Carvajal’s project accounts for the conditions that allowed 9 companies to reach a valuation of more than $1 billion and be called unicorn companies by the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Among the firms considered unicorns born in Mexico are Kavak, Clip, Bitso, Merama, Incode, Nowports, Clara, Stori and Konfío.
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“Our differentiator (of the Mexican entrepreneur) is that we are always going to help each other… always. If I could sum it up, in one word, it would be resilient,” he explains.
Through his work in the media he learned to tell the stories of entrepreneurs and recognize the pain of the people behind the companies, but this book went further, as it allowed him to delve into the “soul” and the “heart.” ” of the Mexican entrepreneur, which is reflected in his fears, his state of health and his personal life.
In this sense, he remembers the interview he had with Adolfo Babatz, founder and CEO of Clip, who explains the importance of the mental health of entrepreneurs when achieving success, but also in the most difficult moments of each business project. .
“It has been a very tiring trip, but very beautiful. The truth is that I am very happy,” says the young professional at the facilities of the Penguin Random House publishing house, in Mexico City.
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At 21 years old, Paola had her first contact with the entrepreneurship ecosystem and realized the support that has been generated among the companies themselves to boost their growth. In this sense, she herself highlights that a fundamental characteristic is that egos have been banished among recently created firms.
Among the challenges that it identifies for entrepreneurship in Mexico is being able to make a deeper map of the ecosystem, covering more companies, incubators, investment funds and being able to count the real number of startups in the country, for example.
“I would like more women to be able to speak and have that courage to want to take their projects to showcases like this (a book), because I looked for many women and some did not answer me,” she says.
Paola graduated with a degree in Communication Sciences from the Autonomous University of Nuevo León. His professional career has focused on Public Relations, but he has always kept in mind the act of telling stories.
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“One day I confirmed in the flesh that entrepreneurship is contagious. Imagine having the privilege of sitting down five days a week with at least four entrepreneurs from different niches, cities, projects and ideologies, all with the same goal: to leave their mark on the world,” says the author at the beginning of the book, who dreamed with writing his first work when he was 8 years old.
Currently, Paola defines herself as a fun person in a formal world and she likes her work, as she has found a personal and professional balance. “I am a daughter, I am a sister, I have my family, which is the most important thing.”
Paola Villarreal Carvajal, who has become an entrepreneur and an author born in Nuevo León, recognizes a fundamental lesson for anyone willing to achieve their goals in today’s world: “Dreams are not from a city (…) There are no limits in the map”.
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