Emilio founded his first business in 1998 in Mexico and it was a business opportunity that led him and his family to Texas. Once in Austin, he realized there was not a meat processing company targeting Hispanic-owned restaurants, so he decided to open Colinas Foods in 2015.
His understanding of the Hispanic market helped him develop a business model that included the right product and price. Colinas headed to a great start, but limited storage space forced Emilio to buy smaller quantities at a higher price. Traditional funding options were hard to secure since, as a startup, Colinas Foods had little to no established credit. Then, a friend referred Emilio to LiftFund.
Through LiftFund, Emilio received funding to expand his business. He built a lager cooler and freezer, which allowed him to buy larger qualities at better price, increase his capacity, and create jobs in his community.
“The support that LiftFund offers is fantastic. With the funds it was easy for me to hire the right people with the right knowledge and be able to pay them the right amount,” said Emilio. Today, Colinas Foods is a provider to more than sixty restaurants in the greater Austin area. As a business owner, Emilio believes creating jobs is rewarding and important; he is inspired by building scalable businesses that make an impact in the community and provide living wages for families in the area.
