Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandra Velasquez.
Hi Sandra, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in North Park, San Diego to Mexican parents. I always wanted to be a musician. I ended up going to music school in LA and then moved to NYC to build my music career. I used music as my platform to celebrate my Mexican heritage. I was the leader of the latin band Pistolera. We released 3 albums and toured internationally. I had my music in Breaking Bad and played the NPR Tiny Desk Concert. I thought I was going to play music forever. Then I found myself unemployed at the age of 44 with no savings, credit card debt, student loan debt and my daughter was 13 years old. The fastest way I thought I could change my life was to build a business. The idea for Nopalera came to me when I was at a very low point and not knowing how I would pay rent. I didn’t have any contacts in the beauty industry so I enrolled in formulation school and studied for a year and made the products myself for the first year of business from my Brooklyn apartment. The mission of Nopalera was to build a premium Latina beauty brand that would change the narrative of the value of Latino goods in the market. Prior to Nopalera, noone had put the words Mexican and Beauty in the same sentence. Nopalera can now be found at Ulta USA online, Ulta Mexico in store, Ulta Middle East, Credo, Mecca Australia, and over 400 independents nationwide.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not. This is the hardest thing I have ever done. Entrepreneurship is like a mirror. It will mirror back your limiting beliefs. There are simply too many struggles to name. Not starting with any money or contacts. Not having relationships with manufacturers. Once you solve one problem, five more appear. Building a brand from the ground up is hard enough and then add to that a global pandemic, world wars, tarrifs, economic uncertainty. It’s crazy.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Sandra Velasquez is the Chicana founder of Nopalera, a modern Mexican beauty & lifestyle brand. She launched Nopalera in the middle of the pandemic from her Brooklyn apartment with no outside funding or savings while working three jobs and raising her daughter. The brand can be found in Ulta, Credo, Mecca, and over 400 boutiques nationwide. She is the winner of six pitch competitions and has completed six business accelerators including Morgan Stanley and Stanford LBAN. In January 2023 she appeared on Shark Tank Season 14 where she infamously turned down two offers by standing in her worth. After bootstrapping for two years she raised an oversubscribed seed round of $2.6 Million. Velasquez released her first book VIVA LATINA on Quarto books in September 2024. Prior to launching Nopalera, she was the leader of Latin band Pistolera which toured internationally opening for artists such as Los Lobos and had her music featured on hit TV shows like Breaking Bad and the NPR Tiny Desk concert.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I have several advisors now. I built my network by going to every beauty conference and applying to every grant and pitch competition. That’s how I met everyone. People what to help people that are putting in the work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nopalera.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nopalera.co
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandraliliavelasquez/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nopalera_co
Image Credits
Amanda Lopez
