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What does it take to walk away from everything you built — and start again from nothing?
And what happens when the financial system tells you that fifteen years of building a major business simply doesn't count?
In this episode of Catch The Upswing, Jessica Espinoza speaks with Magreth Gutiérrez — founder and CEO of AAvance, a fintech providing financial services to migrants and vulnerable populations across Latin America and beyond.
Magreth spent fifteen years building one of the largest food import businesses in Venezuela. When she returned to Colombia, the banks treated her as if she didn't exist.
That injustice — and the millions of migrants she saw crossing the border with even less — became the founding story of AAvance.
Today AAvance has provided financial services to more than 30,000 people, financially certified over 4,500, partnered with Visa, the World Food Programme, and the UN, and is expanding into Europe.
But behind the numbers is a deeply human story about what it means to lose everything, rebuild from scratch at 40, and build a company not just for profit — but out of love.
This is a conversation about resilience, reinvention, financial inclusion, migrant rights, and what it really takes to keep going when the system says no.
🎙️ In this episode, we explore:
- What it means to have a "professional heartbreak" — and how to survive one
- Why starting over at 40 is different from starting at 25
- How becoming a mom changed the way Magreth thinks about entrepreneurship
- Why the financial system is invisible to millions of migrants — and what AAvance is doing about it
- How one person inside a bank changed the entire trajectory of AAvance
- The link between financial independence and freedom from violence for women
- What it takes to get Visa and the UN to believe in your mission
- Why financial education must come before financial inclusion
- How to handle rejection as an entrepreneur — and turn every no into a better yes
- What the heroic task of entrepreneurship really demands
- Why the world needs more companies built on love — without forgetting monetization
🎧 This is the English-dubbed version of the conversation. Original in Spanish here on the channel.
🇪🇸 ¿Prefieres escuchar la conversación original en español? Puedes verla aquí.
⏱️ Chapters:
00:00 Trailer: "This Is My Life Project. It Must Work."
00:00:56 Meet Magreth Gutiérrez: From Business Leader to Fintech Founder
00:01:55 Building One of Venezuela's Largest Food Import Businesses
00:05:39 Professional Heartbreak: Leaving Everything Behind to Start Again
00:07:40 Starting From Scratch at 40
00:09:20 How Motherhood Changed My Approach to Entrepreneurship
00:12:28 "This Is My Life Project, and It Must Work"
00:15:02 Why I Decided to Help Migrants
00:17:58 "To the Bank, I Was 18 Years Old"
00:22:43 Building a Fintech for People the Financial System Ignored
00:28:58 Visa, Banking Partnerships, and Launching AAvance
00:32:24 Serving 30,000+ People Through Financial Inclusion
00:35:04 A Story That Made It All Worth It
00:42:31 Financial Freedom and Violence Against Women
00:49:26 Being a Woman Founder in a Male-Dominated Industry
00:52:49 How to Handle Rejection as an Entrepreneur
00:54:11 The Heroic Task of Entrepreneurship
00:55:01 The No Is Already on the Table — Go Find the Yes
01:00:11 The Pitch That Made Her Cry
01:07:00 Expanding AAvance to Europe and Beyond
01:11:32 The World Needs More Companies Built on Love
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Catch The Upswing is a podcast for people building meaningful things in a rapidly changing world. Honest conversations with leaders, founders, investors, and changemakers about what it actually takes to keep going, lead well, and stay hopeful about the future.
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