Categoría: Success Stories

By Alison Flangel

Meet Aamir Kutianawala, a summer program intern at EGBI. Aamir has been working with EGBI for the summer. He is a rising junior at Westwood High School and would like to go more into business/marketing as he progresses with his education. Outside of school and EGBI, Aamir is part of his school’s debate team, robotics team, DECA team, and various others as well. He loves playing and watching sports in his free time, and has also been pursuing guitar on the side!

Aamir shares his experience as a volunteer with EGBI and how you can get involved too.

To get started, would you mind telling us a fun fact about yourself?

I have been learning to play the guitar for 3 years.

How have you been involved with EGBI?

I have been working on a variety of tasks, but mainly help clients/business owners with finances and marketing. I also provide broad support by making lectures for entire groups of clients, along with helping to complete any general tasks.

Why do you think it is important to volunteer at EGBI?

I think it’s important to work with EGBI to support disadvantaged business owners, and help bridge the gap with underrepresented groups in business.

What has your favorite experience with EGBI been so far?

My favorite experience has been taking and editing pictures for a client’s Etsy shop.

“EGBI helps you make a difference in the community.”– Aamir Kutianawala

In 2021, EGBI volunteers put in more than 130 hours to help EGBI support and serve over 400 small businesses. Volunteers like Ken make this possible and continue to help EGBI pursue their mission of training, coaching, and supporting aspiring and existing business owners who face barriers to growing a successful business.

Want to get involved too? Contact us to find out how you can volunteer or donate.

By Alison Flangel

Hi! My name is Shamitha and I have been with EGBI for a month now and it has been an enriching experience. I am an incoming senior at Westwood High School, and as my education progresses, I hope to pursue a degree in finance or management. Outside of EGBI, I am in my school’s orchestra, Academy Ambassador program, GenShe, and several other clubs and honor societies.

Shamitha shares her experience as an intern with EGBI and how you can get involved too.

To get started, would you mind telling us a fun fact about yourself?

A fun fact about me is that I grew up mainly in London, England, and California.

How have you been involved with EGBI?

I mainly do research and analysis for clients’ businesses to see where they can improve financially. I’ve also recently worked on importing and exporting goods, bookkeeping, and more.

Why do you think it is important to volunteer at EGBI?

EGBI allows you to connect with people from all kinds of different backgrounds and changes your perspective on business and the world around you.

What has your favorite experience with EGBI been so far?

My favorite experience has been attending the 90 Days business workshop. I’ve been able to connect with a lot of different people and learn about their businesses and inspirations. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet with them one-on-one to help expand their businesses.  

“EGBI provides you the opportunity to learn new skills, communicate, and network.” – Shamitha Ramanan

In 2021, EGBI volunteers put in more than 130 hours to help EGBI support and serve over 400 small businesses. Volunteers like Ken make this possible and continue to help EGBI pursue their mission of training, coaching, and supporting aspiring and existing business owners who face barriers to growing a successful business.

Want to get involved too? Contact us to find out how you can volunteer or donate.

By Alison Flangel

Rosemary is a native Austinite, born and raised in East Austin. She is the giving coordinator at Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and her role goes well with her passion and desire to make the world a better place. She works in the philanthropy department and handles the monetary donation process for all national giving and assists nonprofits with their support they provide in the community. Rosemary completed the Hispanic Austin Leader program in 2009 and Leadership Austin in 2020. She is a former board member of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and GAHCC Foundation board of directors and has held various leadership roles in
the Hispanic Austin Leadership program. In 2015, she received the GAHCC Chairs Award; in 2016, she received the TAMACC Women of Distinction award; in 2019 she received the HAL Alumni of the Year award; the HABLA Outstanding Community Leader Award in 2020 and Con Mi Madre Mariposa Award in 2022. She is a past advisory board member of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center Advisory Board, appointed by Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza and a past committee member of Somos Austin. In her spare time, she enjoys day
trips and spending time with her family, especially her young grandson.

Rosemary Banda shares her experience as an EGBI supporter.

To get started, do you mind telling us a fun fact about yourself?
Native Austinite and have lived in Austin all my life. I love to coordinate gatherings where women can come together and mingle and socialize and leave behind their day to day tasks for just a little while. It’s important to build each other up and just share sometime together.

How did you first get involved with EGBI?
I first heard about EGBI in 2008 when they presented at the Hispanic Austin Leadership class. My HAL classmate Barbra Boeta, went on to become Executive Director and it was a great opportunity to learn more about EGBI and become a wholehearted supporter.

Why is it important to support organizations such as EGBI?
EGBI is important to small companies and entrepreneurs to get the training and coaching to start up their business and keep thriving. Offering their services in Spanish is a must for the Hispanic community.

How has your involvement with EGBI helped you grow professionally and personally?
As giving coordinator, it’s important to me to support organizations that provide a great service to the committee. Seeing the members of EGBI and how they are thriving, reassures me of my commitment to EGBI.

In 2021, EGBI supporters help EGBI pursue their mission of training, coaching, and supporting aspiring and existing business owners who face barriers to growing a successful business.

Want to get involved too? Contact us to find out how you can volunteer or donate.

By Alison Flangel

Luz Gonzalez is a Premier Online Business Strategy Expert, International Speaker, CEO and Co- Founder of IndustryIkon.com, and works with service-based small business owners and experts (coaches/ consultants/authors/speakers) to convert their online presence to a client attraction machine. Luz has a B.A. and J.D. from U.C. Berkeley, over a decade of experience with online branding strategy having presented around the US on the topic, was an International Human Rights Lawyer, has spoken at well-established institutions such as McKinsey & Company, UC Berkeley, Stanford, etc., led online branding strategy for over 4 years with companies in Silicon Valley. Luz has a unique take on high ticket branding & marketing incorporating behavioral economics, neuroscience, and evidence-based strategies.

Luz Gonzalez shares her experience as a volunteer of EGBI.

To get started, do you mind telling us a fun fact about yourself?
I used to be an international human rights lawyer, but found that digital marketing work is much
more impactful than a lot of the work I did in the legal space.

How did you first get involved with EGBI?

I first heard about EGBI from someone on the board who said I should reach out. He mentioned how EBGI supported Latino entrepreneurial communities, and as a Latina who sees how often my community does not have access to the digital marketing resources many other business owners have, I knew I wanted to be part of their mission. 

Why do you feel that it’s important to give your time volunteering with EGBI?

There are a number of organizations that support businesses at the $1M level, but I find that the work supporting entrepreneurs who have yet to reach the first million-dollar and revenue is some of the most impactful work. I find that the work that EGBI does fills really important gaps, and I would love EGBI to be able to support Latino Entrepreneurs around the country since I haven’t seen a program that is so comprehensive, accessible and affordable, that really changes lives. I am so proud to volunteer with EGBI!

What has been the most beneficial part of volunteering for you? How has your involvement with EGBI helped you grow professionally and personally?

Volunteering with EGBI has been absolutely wonderful. Every time that I get to work on digital marketing with the entrepreneurs in the room it’s a reminder of how important this work is and how it really changes lives. It’s been an incredible opportunity to get to know a staff and to get to know the people that are touched every day by the powerful work that EGBI does. Being able to support the EBGI students relights a fire in my belly each time, and reminds me how powerful digital marketing can be in changing lives for people who previously didn’t have access to this knowledge.

In 2021, EGBI volunteers put in more than 130 hours to help EGBI support and serve over 400 small businesses. Volunteers like Luz make this possible and continue to help EGBI pursue their mission of training, coaching, and supporting aspiring and existing business owners who face barriers to growing a successful business.

Want to get involved too? Contact us to find out how you can volunteer or donate.