Alicia Castillo Holley is an expert in creating wealth. She is passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation and venture capital. Her views about prosperity inspire and motivate individuals to be actors and not spectators of their lives. She worked as a young scientist and professor before becoming involved in product development for a corporation and eventually turning into an entrepreneur and angel investor. See highlights.
She has started nine companies -successfully exiting from five of them- and one non-for-profit; she has consulted, mentored, or coached over 500 business owners or executives helping them create and implement businesses.
After a successful and short career in academia, she became the head of product development for a joint venture of two giants: Bayer and Shell, spent a self-funded sabatical prior to continuing her education, and lost all of her savings to a bank crisis. She moved to the USA as a single mother with two children, two boxes and two suitcases; twelve years later, she retired. Worried, very worried about how we are destroying wealth, she has embarked to teach her hard learned lessons on wealth.
Castillo Holley has served as a panel member of several international business plan competitions, including WRI, Endeavor, Babson College, Western Australia Social Entrepreneurship Competition and Inventor of the Year (Australia). She has played an active role in the Development for the Entrepreneurial Curriculum and the Venture Capital Industry in Chile. Philanthropically, she supports organizations that foster education, social entrepreneurship and prevent and manage domestic violence.
Her current clients include many prestigious organizations such as Babson College, Rice University, The Association of CEOs in Guatemala, Induexpo, Universidad Adolfo Ibanez, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Universidad Federico Santa Maria, Instituto Profesional Santo Tomas, Universidad Francisco Marroquin as well as many private companies.
A global trotter, she visits several countries per year and lives in Perth, Australia and Houston, Texas.
2009 Publishes two more books and DVD: Funding Your Million Dollar Idea.
First world tour: Australia, Middle East, USA, South America.
Creates WealthingTM method, a systematic approach to weatlh creation.
2008 Publishes first book: Creando Empresas Fabulosas.
Creates From Brainer to Gainer method, supporting the transformation of
scientists and researchers into wealth creators.
2006 Exits Ila Cao and Teablossoms.
Writes the Ten Unwealthy Habits.
2005 Starts Alicia Castillo Wealthing Group, joins Babson Founder's Club.
Provides consulting to several university based technologies.
Expando coaching practice to business owners and managers.
2003 Sells Ventures Latinas Chile, consolidates Venture Latinas USA.
Leads Coachville Spanish group
2004 Starts Teablossoms as an expansion of Ila Cao.
2002 Expands Ventures Latinas to USA.
Starts Ila Cao, cofounds Shades and Highlights.
Panelist at the Institute for Latin American Business - Babson College
2001 Helps reorganize Chile's first business incubator training system
Develops and trains professors on Teaching entrepreneurship.
Writes guide for angel investors and Venture Capital.
Invited guest speaker at Babson's first Latin American Conference.
2000 Buys and renames First Public as Ventures Latinas.
Founds Capital Semilla (Chile's first seed capital fund).
Co-founds Reklamos, a C2b initiative.
1999 Participates in IDRC funded research project on Angel Investing in the Southern
Cone, leading Chilean Pole. Starts Ventures Latinas Training and Research
Creates two 140 hrs programs, one for scientists and one for intrapreneurship.
Trains first Endeavor's MBAs in Chile.
Participates in Endeavor's first selection panel and in the World Resources
Institute's first Business Plan Competition.
1998 Co-funds First Public Inc Chile (with a sister company in the US).
Writes Guide for Business Plan - widely used in Latin America.
Leaves University as a full time academic, stays as a lecturer.
1997 Designs and starts Chile's first Center for Entrepreneurship - Universidad Adolfo
Ibanez. Also starts the Universtity's Entrepreneurs Club.
Is invited to Australia, Canada and US.
Participates in America's first meeting of Centers for Entrepreneurship.
Participates in Price Babson SEE.
1996 Graduates from Babson and returns to Latin America.
1995 Works in Switzerland - Ciba Geigy's subsidiary Zyma.
1994 Moves to Boston - Armando Travieso Fellowship Babson College.
Loses savings.
1993 Self funded sabbatical, works for non-profits after Plantagro's closure.
Coordinadora Teatro de la Opera; volunteer at Casa de La Mujer and Scouts co-ed
1989 Leaves academia, joins Bayer-Shell Joint Venture Plantagro.
Rises product launches from one per two years to eight per year.
Co-founds Cobub (Comite para el buen uso de plaguicidas)
Participates as Industry representative on the Environmental Law discussions.
1988 Starts Dijar, landscaping company.
1986 Lectures at Universidad Central de Venezuela
1985 Early graduation, best thesis, starts Master of Science.
"Accomplice" on the newspaper "La Colmena", Maracay.
1982 Special prize youngest presenter at the Congreso Iberoamericano de
Microscopia Electronica. Eight presented papers at time of graduation.
1977 First scientific paper presented Convencion Nacional Ing. Agronomos. Youngest
presenter.
Founded or co-founded:
Alicia Castillo Wealthing Group Ventures Latinas LLC (CEO)
Ila Cao (exited)
Teablossoms (exited)
Fondo Emprendedores SA (Board Member)
Ventures Latinas SA (Board Member)
Reklamos (exited)
Dijar (exited)
Asociación Cultural Humboldt del Centro (non profit) (exited)
First Public Inc Chile (exited)
Interim CEO:
MarkIT (Australia)
Ipom (Australia)
Angel investor:
Directory Systems (USA-Latin America) (exited)
Shades and Highlights (USA-India) (exited)
Alicia delighted Babson College with her speech on “Funding amazing firms”. Not only her spirit and motivation, but her knowledge in entrepreneurship was valuable for me and for the students.
Enio Pinto. Program Manager. Inst. Latin American Business. Babson College. USA.
Thanks for your seminar. We received a fantastic feedback from our students. Great evaluations! We look forward to your next workshop.
Dr. Paula Sanders. Dean Postdoctoral Studies. Rice University. USA.
Your presentations were excellent and thought provoking, and led to many compliments. Your enthusiasm, demonstrated expertise in the area of entrepreneurship and growing wealth and your capacity to engage with the audience will have a lasting impact on all who had the opportunity to meet with you.”
Dr. Des Rice. Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University. Saudi Arabia.
Your presentation completely changed the way I view my role as an academic and as a head of this institution. It has inspired us to encourage our young people to dream big and pursue their passions, in a way that transforms teaching in learning for everyone’s wins.
Prof. Daniel Soto. Rector Instituto Profesional Santo Tomas. Chile.
The participants were delighted with your dynamism and practical approach.
Carola Rivano. Aso Guatemalteca de Gerentes – Induexpo event coordinator.
Many thanks for your most fascinating presentation. You have opened my mind to many interesting issues related to the academic and research field. Thanks.
Prof. Waleed K Al-Zubari. Arabian Gulf University. Bahrain.
Your down to earth perspective and your ability to move from inventor to entrepreneur to investor was fascinating.
Maureen Boland. Curtin University of Technology. Australia.
Your training was fantastic. You can explain Venture Capital and Angel Investing like no other. We received many compliments about the structure, the format, the delivery and most importantly, your connection with the audience.
Marcelo Rabba. El Circulo (Venture Capital Fund), Chile.
You are an awesome and refreshing source of knowledge, and your enthusiasm is contagious. We look forward to our next workshop.
Mariela Beuses. SP-coaches. USA.
You do bring a sense of the achievable to the world of entrepreneurship. Anyone interested in starting and developing a global business should seek you out.
Tracey Hodgkins. CEO. Australian Experiential Learning Centre
We particularly enjoyed the practical tips and reflections.
Giancarlo Ibargen. Rector Universidad Francisco Marroqui. Guatemala.
Thanks for helping us reshape our training to consultants and entrepreneurs. Your practical approach and your experience was critical to the success of our program.
Alex Visic, CEO. Access Nova. (Technology incubator – Chile)