Daniel Fonseca: Forging Dreams and Building a Legacy with Oasis Home Design
Daniel's story is an inspiring example of how resilience, passion, and love for one's roots can transform challenges into opportunities. Born in Colombia and raised in a family of creatives and entrepreneurs, Daniel grew up surrounded by a deep tradition of independence and hard work. From a young age, he observed his grandfather, a self-taught carpenter who left behind the poverty of mining towns to build a better future in the city, and his father, who continued that legacy by establishing himself as a construction entrepreneur in California.
Financial Planning for the Year Ahead: Keys to Successful Financial Planning
Personal Financial planning is one of the most crucial steps to ensuring your personal success. With the beginning of a new year, now is the perfect time to set clear goals, evaluate your resources, and prepare for the opportunities and challenges ahead.
Rachell’s entrepreneurial story began in her teenage years, growing up in New York City, where the vibrant fashion industry left a lasting impression on her. Immersed in the urban landscape, she observed how elements of daily life, nature, and even the ocean could inspire creativity. Rae’s modeling career started at the age of 12, an experience that allowed her to develop a deep appreciation for the transformative power of fashion. "I love how a single piece of jewelry can make us feel beautiful, but also elevate any outfit," Rae shares. This insight shaped her journey as a jewelry designer, leading her to create her brand, Intuitive Adornment Jewelry, which reflects her intuitive and organic approach to life and design. Her jewelry combines bling and fashion with nature and feminine energy, making every woman who wears her creations feel special and beautiful.
The start of a new year is the perfect time for entrepreneurs to dream big and set meaningful goals to start a new or existing business. Since our founding in 2010, Centro Community Partners (Centro) believes every entrepreneur deserves the support and resources to turn their vision into reality. You can make 2025 your most successful year! What are the right strategies and programs to get you there?
Cathleen Antoine-Abiala’s entrepreneurial journey began with a profound love for learning, storytelling, and cultural preservation. Inspired by her family’s rich history and traditions, Cathleen recognized the power of education and creativity in shaping identities and building communities. The loss of her mother deepened her commitment to honoring intergenerational knowledge, leading to the creation of Sajès Ed Consulting—a venture dedicated to helping individuals and communities uncover the stories and values that define their identities and futures.
Arturo Noriega (Centro’s Founder and Executive Director) and Anna Tvelova (Owner of AйDa Piroshki) were just interviewed by Liz Saint John at KCBS Radio in San Francisco. Stay tuned for its broadcast this weekend!
Update : You can hear the recording online! »
Before coming to California, Anna Tvelova would stare at the map on the wall of her bedroom in Russia and daydream of big cities with more opportunities. Driven by these ambitions, Anna came to San Francisco with $1,000 in her pocket. She spent the first several months here learning English, but it wasn’t long before Anna began galvanizing her dreams of serving her homemade piroshki to every San Francisco neighborhood.
“When I first started, I did not know what I was doing, I felt a little (or a lot) lost, but super committed,” Anna told Centro. Although we hear many entrepreneurs say this, we have discovered that they just need some guidance. Helping the entrepreneurs successfully put their ideas into action is the mission of Centro and its MBA Advisors.
After meeting Anna at a La Cocina workshop in 2011, we invited her to join Centro’s Centro’s Entrepreneurship Readiness Program. She was paired with her MBA advisor, Mariya Lyublina, and the match proved to be lasting. Anna recently told us, “My MBA Advisor is a really amazing person. It’s been a really wonderful experience to work with her and she still helps me a lot.”
Anna Receives Largest Kiva Zip Loan Ever
With the support of Centro’s program and her MBA Advisor, Anna created a working business model for her first AйDa Piroshki kiosk in Bernal Heights and developed a model to evaluate possible locations for future growth. With Centro’s endorsement, she also received a $5,000 interest-free loan from Kiva Zip to purchase a car to help her piroshki catering business grow. Since her start in 2011, Anna has hired 5 part-time employees and will hire more as she continues to grow.
After successfully paying her first loan back on time, Anna launched another Kiva Zip loan for $25,000 (their largest ever) to open a second kiosk location. The new AйDa Piroshki opened early last month in Second Act on Haight Street and offers the same delicious, fresh-baked menu as the Bernal Heights location.
San Francisco Falls in Love with AйDa Piroshki
San Francisco’s media and blogs are abuzz with raving reviews for AйDa Piroshki. One Yelper even said that he “…traveled 100 miles round-trip to try these piroshkis based on Yelp reviews and it was worth it!”
The Bernal Heights kiosk’s revenue has doubled since last year and the Haight Street location’s revenue is already comparable. As for more locations, Anna would like to open her third AйDa Piroshki on the Embarcadero.
Watching AйDa Piroshki grow, develop loyal customers and provide local jobs has been a joy to Centro and an inspiration to budding entrepreneurs. Anna continues to impress us with her personal and professional growth, and we are excited to remain close to her as she continues to make her dream of bringing piroshki to every San Francisco neighborhood a reality.
Go to AйDa Piroshki’s website
Visit AйDa Piroshki in Bernal Heights (331 Cortland Avenue, SF) or in the Haight (1727 Haight Street, SF).
New Packaging for Eucalyptus Peppermint Soap from Skincare by Feleciai
We are very proud of Feleciai for paying off her Kiva Zip loan!
Feleciai was able to do exactly what she expected to do with the money – buy ingredients to make more soap, introduce beautiful new labels, pre-pay for high-end trade shows and craft fairs, and pay for professional photographs of her products. She was able to increase her revenues by both maximizing the visibility of her products and increasing the durability of her inventory, since the soaps last longer when professionally wrapped.
This year she plans to hire someone to help her with packaging so that she can fully focus on marketing, create new private-label items, fine tune her product line, and eventually move to a larger location. She’s considering taking out another Kiva Zip loan or trying out a crowdfunding site, like Indiegogo to help with the next stage of her growth.
Feleciai just received an interest-free loan through Kiva Zip! The loan will help fund her website, take professional product pictures, upgrade her packaging and prepay five big festivals.
Skincare by Feleciai is a luxurious handmade skincare line based out of Oakland, CA and owned and operated by Feleciai Favroth. Feleciai, a Bay Area Native, attended Cornell as an undergraduate and received her MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. After spending time in the trenches of Corporate America and then working as a realtor, Feleciai decided to follow her passion and pursue a career in the beauty industry. She went to the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center to begin to conceptualize her business and then to Centro Community Partners, where she had a new support system and developed her business plan and financial projections. Feeling driven to provide a product and not a service, Feleciai envisioned a company dedicated to producing only the finest handmade products that were gentle on the skin and the environment. From that inspiration, Skincare by Feleciai was created.
Today Feleciai continues her mission to celebrate diversity and beauty with her fabulous line of products for both men and women. Her line features a variety of soaps and shea butter creams made from all-natural ingredients such as olive oil, essential oils and cocoa butter. She is proud of her product and feels truly successful when customers approach her to share their love of the overall experience they’ve had with her soaps and creams. Such praise is overheard frequently when Feleciai is out selling her line at local markets.
Feleciai participated in Centro’s Entrepreneurship Readiness Program in 2010 where she began to develop her business plan and used the program to access a loan. Skincare by Feleciai has nearly tripled in revenue since 2010 and continues to grow. To learn more about her products, visit http://skincarebyfeleciai.com, follow Skincare by Feleciai on Facebook or stop by the Old Oakland Farmer’s Market (at the corner of Washington and 9th Streets) on Fridays to meet her in person!
It has been a busy summer at Centro! We are currently working with the entrepreneurs at the Fruitvale Public Market in Oakland in our Business Growth Program. MBA Advisors have been working closely with the Fruitvale entrepreneurs to help grow and revitalize their businesses. We have also discovered some amazing foodie finds at the Public Market.
Stop by and try some of Leticia’s famous pozole and authentic home-style cooking at the Taco Grill. For dessert, there are plenty of options including traditional and unique ice cream flavors at Nieves Cinco de Mayo (our favorite is avocado!) Cold outside? Warm up with a churro hot caramel filled from Churros Mexicanos or a slice of famous tres leches cake from Bakery Del Sol.
