Rafael Fonseca – EforAll Merrimack Valley

Rafael Fonseca has lost count of how many EforAll and EparaTodos entrepreneurs he has helped! He is an eternal student, always interested in learning new things and experiences. Fluent in Spanish and English, he enjoys adventure and travel. At work, he is attracted to challenges. By nature, he likes to help others and loves to teach. Rafael has been involved with EparaTodos and EforAll since its inception in 2013. In addition to mentoring, Rafael is a member of the EforAll/EparaTodos Merrimack Valley advisory board.

So far how many ventures have you helped for EforAll and EparaTodos?

I’ve lost count. I would say about 15 to 20!

Could you give us examples of the type of ventures you have mentored?

Yes. I have mentored food and baking businesses, arts and crafts and floral arrangements, physical entertainment establishments at parties and activities, and non-profit companies.

Is there a specific mentoring experience that you are most proud of?

In general, the experience that I am most proud of and is shared across all of my mentoring experiences is the entrepreneurs’ progress from when they enter the program to when they leave. They come in with an idea or project driven by passion, and in the end, it is driven by business concepts and fueled by passion.

Why did you decide to become a mentor?

I have always loved helping others. I enjoy passing on my experience to others and the satisfaction of seeing others progress and achieve their goals.

What do you enjoy most about being a mentor?

I like feeling the passion of entrepreneurs and seeing them gain knowledge to progress and move their businesses forward.

One piece of advice you would like to give to entrepreneurs?

It is essential to have passion with open eyes and ears analyzing the market and using the information to make the necessary decisions to run the business based on data and realities.

In your opinion, what makes EforAll special?

Aside from the tremendous amount of information offered to entrepreneurs and the quality of the experts and mentors, I think it’s the community that EforAll and EparaTodos create. Once entrepreneurs go through the program experience, a family is established.

Interested in becoming a mentor? Learn more here.