Oralia Alvarez's guest appearances

Oralia Alvarez

She Invests!

Tacos and Tech Podcast

The Innovation Podcast

Amy Chang

Kim Folsom

Vidya Dinamani

Brad Feld

Vicki Saunders

Sarah Davis

Paul Puey

Felena Hanson

Teri Ijeoma

Mike Roberts

Steven Cox

Rebecca Rosen

Tristan Cooper

Amy Duncan

Tara Falcone

OwlTail

Listen on Apple,  Google,  Spotify, and other platforms.   Oralia Alvarez plays a key role as the Director of Business Development at San Diego’s Founders First Capital Partners; however, she didn’t always know she would work on the impact side of business.  Kicking off her career in real estate and sales, she worked as a ‘bird dog,’ sourcing deals from other real estate professionals for properties that never made it to market. In real estate, for investors to make a decent profit, agents need to secure property that has not hit the market, so this is what she did for around eight years. While she did a lot of networking in this industry, she felt as if she was constantly winning on someone else’s losses, which didn’t sit right with her.  Oralia came upon the opportunity to acquire a vineyard and worked in winemaking for five years, just exiting day-to-day operations about a year ago. While creating wine, she focused on sustainability and ingredient-sourcing. This opened up her eyes to impactful business, and encouraged her to network with other San Diegans in the impact industry. A few connections down the road, she was introduced to Kim Folsum, the founder and current CEO of Founders First.  Shortly after, she joined Founders First, the largest national platform for diverse businesses that lends to people of color, women, veterans, the LGBTQ+ community, and low income communities. With each investment, the team focuses on three prongs: mentorship, funding, and advisory support. Honing in on their revenue-based financing model, they have helped out 400 businesses within the last five years alone.  Oralia notes that during the pandemic, small businesses were primarily focused on surviving, and secondarily on thriving - regardless of access to financial resources. Through Founders First’s program, small businesses learn how to scale given financial restraint in an ever changing environment.  Oralia has acknowledged a few trends in the last year. She noticed a rapid increase in entrepreneurship with service-based businesses thriving. She thinks that business owners are prepared for what the rest of the year will look like, and attributes this confidence to the more cohesive and equal environment for diverse founders beginning to make headway.  In the last year, Founders First has achieved new partnerships, completing a $9 million Series A led by the Surdna Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation. This helps the team get more capital out the door, with the goal of funding at least 20 more companies by the end of the year.  Listen in to hear about how Founders First Capital Partners helps diverse founders grow and how impact fuels Oralia’s passion.    Oralia’s Favorite Tacos: El Veganito in La Mesa Connect with Oralia:  LinkedIn Keep up with Founders First Capital Partners: Website  LinkedIn Facebook: @f1stcp Thanks to our partners at Cox Business for their support in enabling us to grow the San Diego ecosystem.

Listen on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1374814595" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cDovL3RhY29zYW5kdGVjaC5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw==" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Google</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0PdtE1ygmW1Ttx21pVTcxb?si=5VyfhTJyRLmnzTMXPPEaUQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Spotify</a>, and <a href="https://plinkhq.com/i/1374814595?to=page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">other platforms.</a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/oralia-alvarez/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Oralia Alvarez</a> plays a key role as the Director of Business Development at San Diego’s <a href="https://foundersfirstcapitalpartners.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Founders First Capital Partners</a>; however, she didn’t always know she would work on the impact side of business.  Kicking off her career in real estate and sales, she worked as a ‘bird dog,’ sourcing deals from other real estate professionals for properties that never made it to market. In real estate, for investors to make a decent profit, agents need to secure property that has not hit the market, so this is what she did for around eight years. While she did a lot of networking in this industry, she felt as if she was constantly winning on someone else’s losses, which didn’t sit right with her.  Oralia came upon the opportunity to acquire a vineyard and worked in winemaking for five years, just exiting day-to-day operations about a year ago. While creating wine, she focused on sustainability and ingredient-sourcing. This opened up her eyes to impactful business, and encouraged her to network with other San Diegans in the impact industry. A few connections down the road, she was introduced to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimtfolsom/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kim Folsum</a>, the founder and current CEO of Founders First.  Shortly after, she joined Founders First, the largest national platform for diverse businesses that lends to people of color, women, veterans, the LGBTQ+ community, and low income communities. With each investment, the team focuses on three prongs: mentorship, funding, and advisory support. Honing in on their revenue-based financing model, they have helped out 400 businesses within the last five years alone.  Oralia notes that during the pandemic, small businesses were primarily focused on surviving, and secondarily on thriving - regardless of access to financial resources. Through Founders First’s program, small businesses learn how to scale given financial restraint in an ever changing environment.  Oralia has acknowledged a few trends in the last year. She noticed a rapid increase in entrepreneurship with service-based businesses thriving. She thinks that business owners are prepared for what the rest of the year will look like, and attributes this confidence to the more cohesive and equal environment for diverse founders beginning to make headway.  In the last year, Founders First has achieved new partnerships, completing a $9 million Series A led by the <a href="https://surdna.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Surdna Foundation</a> and <a href="https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rockefeller Foundation</a>. This helps the team get more capital out the door, with the goal of funding at least 20 more companies by the end of the year.  Listen in to hear about how Founders First Capital Partners helps diverse founders grow and how impact fuels Oralia’s passion.  Oralia’s Favorite Tacos: <a href="https://www.yelp.com/biz/el-veganito-la-mesa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">El Veganito</a> in La Mesa Connect with Oralia:  <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/oralia-alvarez/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> Keep up with Founders First Capital Partners: <a href="https://foundersfirstcapitalpartners.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Website</a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-first-capital-partners/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> LinkedIn</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/f1stcp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook:</a> @f1stcp Thanks to our partners at Cox Business for their support in enabling us to grow the San Diego ecosystem.

Impactful Investing in Diverse Founders with Oralia Alvarez

Welcome to She Invests, where you’ll hear from existing female angel investors, venture capitalists and fund managers on their investment thesis. From deal flow to exits, they will share the best practices that contribute to their success. In this episode, Dr. Silvia Mah welcomes to the podcast leader, connector and mentor of startup founders, Oralia Alvarez. Oralia currently serves as a director of business development for Founders First Capital Partners, a fund committed to growing and funding small businesses led by diverse and inclusive founders. With over ten years of experience in distressed real estate investments and business strategy, Oralia works exclusively with cash investors in the acquisition of off-market properties. As an angel investor, Oralia is extensively involved in San Diego’s startup ecosystem by serving as a connector and mentor to entrepreneurs and was recently appointed to the Board of Directors at Startup San Diego. Dr. Silvia and Oralia talk about the daring journey of being an entrepreneur, why women of color make some of the most efficient founders and the importance of being bold and confident.  04:19 – Dr. Silvia Mah introduces today’s guest, Oralia Alvarez who speaks to her involvement in San Diego Angel Conference, her entrepreneurial origin story and her involvement in animal philanthropy 10:31 – Oralia provides her thoughts on why women of color are some of the best and most efficient entrepreneurs 14:13 – Oralia speaks to the brilliant work the winning founders at San Diego Angel Conference are currently doing and what impressed her the most by these founders 21:28 – The importance of communication and coachability when it comes to investing in founders 25:46 – Dr. Silvia and Oralia talk about their excitement for SDAC Fund III 31:16 – Oralia talks about her bold, confident nature and how she maintains balanced confidence  34:30 – Oralia shares what having an abundance mindset means to her  Full show notes: http://www.sheinvests.com/34

Welcome to She Invests, where you’ll hear from existing female angel investors, venture capitalists and fund managers on their investment thesis. From deal flow to exits, they will share the best practices that contribute to their success. In this episode, Dr. Silvia Mah welcomes to the podcast leader, connector and mentor of startup founders, Oralia Alvarez. Oralia currently serves as a director of business development for Founders First Capital Partners, a fund committed to growing and funding small businesses led by diverse and inclusive founders. With over ten years of experience in distressed real estate investments and business strategy, Oralia works exclusively with cash investors in the acquisition of off-market properties. As an angel investor, Oralia is extensively involved in San Diego’s startup ecosystem by serving as a connector and mentor to entrepreneurs and was recently appointed to the Board of Directors at Startup San Diego. Dr. Silvia and Oralia talk about the daring journey of being an entrepreneur, why women of color make some of the most efficient founders and the importance of being bold and confident. <ul> <li>04:19 – Dr. Silvia Mah introduces today’s guest, Oralia Alvarez who speaks to her involvement in San Diego Angel Conference, her entrepreneurial origin story and her involvement in animal philanthropy</li> <li>10:31 – Oralia provides her thoughts on why women of color are some of the best and most efficient entrepreneurs</li> <li>14:13 – Oralia speaks to the brilliant work the winning founders at San Diego Angel Conference are currently doing and what impressed her the most by these founders</li> <li>21:28 – The importance of communication and coachability when it comes to investing in founders</li> <li>25:46 – Dr. Silvia and Oralia talk about their excitement for SDAC Fund III</li> <li>31:16 – Oralia talks about her bold, confident nature and how she maintains balanced confidence </li> <li>34:30 – Oralia shares what having an abundance mindset means to her</li> </ul> Full show notes: <a href="http://www.sheinvests.com/34" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.sheinvests.com/34</a>

034 Oralia Alvarez - The Power of the Purse 

 On the latest episode, Garnet and Mark talk with Oralia Alvarez, director of business development at Founders First Capital Partners. We find out about the unique approach Founders First Capital Partners takes in investing in post-revenue companies, learn about revenue-based funding (RBF)--a type of funding that used to only be available to companies that had already raised VC funding. We also cover the state of funding amid the pandemic, the importance of building relationships with investors early on, and Oralia’s top advice for founders. Plus, we all shared our favorite animal-related charities:Oralia: San Diego Humane SocietyGarnet: Silver Muzzle CottageMark: Baypath Humane Society of Hopkinton

<code> On the latest episode, Garnet and Mark talk with Oralia Alvarez, director of business development at Founders First Capital Partners. We find out about the unique approach Founders First Capital Partners takes in investing in post-revenue companies, learn about revenue-based funding (RBF)--a type of funding that used to only be available to companies that had already raised VC funding. We also cover the state of funding amid the pandemic, the importance of building relationships with investors early on, and Oralia’s top advice for founders. Plus, we all shared our favorite animal-related charities:<ul><li>Oralia: <a href="https://www.sdhumane.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">San Diego Humane Society</a></li><li>Garnet: <a href="https://silvermuzzlecottage.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Silver Muzzle Cottage</a></li><li>Mark: <a href="https://www.baypathhumane.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Baypath Humane Society of Hopkinton</a></li></ul></code>

Episode 70: Angel Investor Oralia Alvarez