Martha learned about Sabio’s program while she was a part of RebootLA. Reboot LA provides free technical and entrepreneurial training to individuals with a criminal record who reside within the city of Los Angeles. 

She did a lot of research and hearing the positive things people said about Sabio led her to want to learn more and made it an easy choice to join the tech start up program. And she had made a list of things she wanted in her new career and Sabio met all the requirements. Specifically, giving her financial opportunities to help increase her income. And Sabio was also offering a program for people formerly incarcerated or have a criminal background. And she knew that if she joined the group she would be part of an amazing community that could support her and her unique life experience. 

She said signing up for Sabio was the best choice she ever made.  Sabio’s bootcamp program is a lot of work and does require a lot of sacrifices but at the end of the 17 weeks and upon graduation you have so many opportunities for your future. 

We also discussed the resources available to students and graduates. At the time there were limited resources for students considering entrepreneurship. But Sabio’s CEO and co-founder Liliana Aide Monge was able to connect Martha with a Business Accelerator provided by California State University, LA that was able to help her learn how to grow and scale her business. They also provided an intern (through a program called LEEAF) that was able to help her see how she could get the most value of having someone working with her and what gaps she had. She has been able to hire a team of contractors to help her with the various projects she has completed over her two years in business. 

One of the projects she is currently working on is environmental restoration, specifically focused on helping to restore the Chinook salmon at Mt Shasta in partnership with the Winnemem Wintu tribe. She has been able to work with them from idea to creation and it has been great to give back to the community and be part of this project. 

She says the sacrifices are worth all the hard work. Stay focused on your end goal and know that the sacrifice will be worth it.