Oh, you wanted more? I’m flattered. So, I interviewed myself (with some help from the team). Here’s a bit about me and how I founded HarborWay Foundations to help mission-driven leaders grow their organizations with purpose.
Why did you start HarborWay Foundations?
HarborWay Foundations (HWF) was born from a mix of hard knocks, hard lessons, and one very real wake-up call. After decades chasing growth charts and EBITDA lines, I realized too many organizations were sprinting toward “success” without stopping to ask “why.” Then a serious accident in 2022 hit the brakes on everything. Recovery has a way of stripping away the noise. It reminded me that growth only matters if you still recognize yourself in it. HarborWay exists to help mission-driven leaders grow on purpose, not just on paper.
What kind of work did you do before launching HWF?
I’ve been in the game for over twenty years: marketing, brand strategy, executive leadership. Telecom, education, consumer goods, tech, you name it. I’ve led national campaigns, wrangled big budgets, and herded cross-functional cats. Later, private equity taught me the mechanics of scale, and how easy it is to lose your soul in the process. Those experiences gave me the playbook and the conscience: grow big, but deliver more than a traditional “bottom line.”
What makes HWF different from other marketing consultancies?
We don’t start with content; we start with clarity. Most firms crank out campaigns. We build marketing and communications engines that connect vision to measurable outcomes. HWF helps mission-driven organizations (for-profit and nonprofit) align their message, metrics, and momentum so they can do well and do good, without the fluff or PowerPoint bingo.
How did your background influence your approach to business?
I grew up in a big, working-class Mexican American family in southern Arizona. My dad could fix anything with duct tape and stubbornness. My mom made curiosity a daily habit. That combo became my first lesson in sustainability and creative problem-solving, long before I had a title for it. They taught me that real strategy isn’t written in decks; it’s built in the doing.
Who does HWF work with today?
We work with conscious investors, mission-driven leaders, and nonprofits that want to stop “meaning well” and start moving the needle. Our clients already know what they stand for. They just need the strategy and structure to make it count.
What’s one belief that guides how you lead and collaborate?
That business is the most scalable force for good we’ve got. Growth and good aren’t opposites: they’re dance partners. You just have to pick the right rhythm.
What’s next for HWF?
We’re helping more organizations design sustainable growth models that reflect who they are, not who the market tells them to be. The future belongs to the mission-driven, and we plan to be a force behind it.
Final thought?
Sure. Life handed me a plot twist, and I decided to turn it into a playbook.
If HWF helps one more mission-driven leader build something that shakes things up for good, then every twist was worth it.