Hello! Due to Mexico’s unprecedented successful World Cup performance, all of Mexico, where Carlos is right now, will be watching the game. We’ve moved it to tomorrow, Wednesday night! Calendar has been updated!

Hey everyone, it’s been a minute. Still been putting in the work even if I haven’t been as visible. Big news first: I welcomed my son Santiago at the end of March. Same day you all were having your in-person meetup On the business side, Ruelas Co. has evolved quite a bit over the last year. When we last connected, I was focused primarily on building a leather goods product line and moving away from custom work toward more scalable designs. Since then, I’ve leaned heavily into experiential work like interactive leather craft workshops and brand activations. (If yall remember the MVP interactive activity I had at Pitch Latino, that has grown into one of my main experience offerings!) In the last month alone, I’ve led experiences for Vuori and Lexus, creating hands-on leathercraft activations tied to community, hospitality, and cultural storytelling. Not bad with a newborn at home.More to come. Good to be back.

ELEVATE Founder Spotlight: Ruth Young-Loaeza 🚀 For more than 23 years, Ruth Young-Loaeza worked as a housekeeper, making thousands of beds and experiencing firsthand the physical strain of the job. After a life-changing accident forced her out of work, she turned her experience into innovation. Ruth invented NEET Sheets, a patented bedding system that helps reduce injuries, saves time, and improves efficiency for hospitality workers. What began as an idea born from hardship has grown into a company attracting national attention, securing patents, customers, and $750,000 in investment funding. Ruth’s story reminds us that great entrepreneurs don’t always come from Silicon Valley. Sometimes they come from the front lines of work, carrying insights that can change an entire industry. From housekeeper to inventor. From inventor to founder. From founder to CEO. That is why Ruth Young-Loaeza is a proud ELEVATE Founder Spotlight. #TheLatinoStartup #ElevateFounders #FounderSpotlight #LatinaEntrepreneur #Innovation #WomenInBusiness #StartupJourney #NeetSheets #LatinoFounders #Entrepreneurship #AgentOfChange 🚀

Comunidad! I hope you have a great weekend. Looking forward to the new opportunities ahead! David

We are excited to host tonight’s Pitch Party at Papa Guapo in Old Town! We will try to broadcast on SKOOL live, so dial in and see if we can make it user friendly. I will have professional mics, so sound will be good! See you tonight!