From beauty pageants to entrepreneurship, Rivera explains how seeing beauty everywhere has driven her business success
Marilinda “Monse” Rivera was a shy girl, but the beauty pageants her mother enrolled her in helped her build the confidence she now credits for her success as a multifaceted entrepreneur. For Rivera, community, creativity and authenticity are the three keys that anchor every project she works on.
“For me, community is longevity,” she told Alberto Bacó on the eleventh episode of El Blueprint.
For Rivera, a phone full of contacts she can call at any time is sometimes more valuable than any amount of resources or capital. For that reason, she believes it is essential to keep doors open and build connections that extend beyond professional relationships.
When she modeled on Project Runway for designer and eventual winner Jeffrey Sebelia, she never imagined how many business doors that experience would open. Like everything in life, Rivera works with what is in front of her, never focusing on what comes next or on what more she could have.
That is why, when she began making cards and postcards by hand because she could not find any on the market that expressed what she wanted to tell her mother, she recognized an opportunity.
That personal need evolved into creative services for corporate clients such as Tiffany & Co., Genesis and Porsche. Rivera believes her ability to turn simple details into high-value experiences is what continues to open doors and connect her with clients.
She is now the founder of JustBCuzCards, NIDOS and MonGil PR, a private catering service she runs with her brother, Chef Gil Rivera. She has also worked with brands such as John Galliano, Dior, Michael Kors, Old Navy and Target.
You can see more of her story in the next episode of El Blueprint, next Tuesday, Nov. 17, on all platforms and here in caribbean.business.
