While studying for their MBAs at Stanford Business School, Arnulfo Ventura and Jose Domene learned one very important, practical lesson amid all the theory -- how to start their own business.
Ventura spotted a gap in the market when he was unable to find any aguas frescas that he really liked. He also recognized the opportunity to tap into the Hispanic market. "It started as a basic need," he said. "I wanted something that wasn't out there today."
Determined to do something about that, the pair launched Bonadea, a line of bottled fruit waters that give the popular, centuries-old aguas frescas, a modern, natural, organic, healthy twist.
Ventura joked that he and Domene see themselves as "the Mexican Tom & Tom," referring to the well known, successful founders of Nantucket Nectars, who also launched a product that they wanted to see in the marketplace. Ventura and Domene, MBA candidates in Palo Alto at the time of launch, had the advantage of being able to directly apply their classroom lessons to the fledgling business.
The company has since moved to Los Angeles where it was officially launched in June. Though still in the early stages, Ventura and Domene have been pleasantly surprised at their product's wide appeal -- wider than they expected and beyond just the Hispanic market.
Bonadea's Web site shows about a dozen colorful products though at this point the company is offering just two, Tamarindo and Jamaica, with tentative plans to launch a third flavor later this year.
"We won't put it out there until we're happy with it," said Ventura, for whom quality control is paramount. In fact, he and Domene scrapped the first production of Jamaica, which is flavored with extract from the roselle plant, because it was not up to standard.
An equally important aspect of Bonadea's products is that while the drinks hark back through Hispanic history to the origins of aguas frescas in 15th century Spain, they are made very much with today's health-conscious consumer in mind.
Ventura, 29, and 27-year-old Domene say they know how important health is and how hard it can be to maintain a healthy lifestyle while working a desk job. The company claims its all-natural drinks aid weight control while being good for digestion, high blood pressure, circulation, blood sugar levels and cholesterol.
One of the fresh ideas they use is to lightly sweeten the drinks with agave nectar rather than white sugar, corn syrup, or even honey. Agave nectar, while more expensive than those other options, has a far lower glycemic index rating.
That means the calories in Bonadea's drinks are absorbed by the body at a much slower rate, making the energy more sustainable and helping to reduce spikes in blood sugar. A new-age idea? Perhaps. But it's also decidedly traditional -- people were using agave nectar generations ago.
Ventura, the son of Mexican immigrants, was the first in his family to attend college. His mother was a housecleaner, his father a Navy mechanic, and he grew up in San Diego, traveling to Los Angeles every weekend to visit extended family.
He earned a degree in architecture at UC Berkeley before working as an architect in Los Angeles. He then spent a few years at Merrill Lynch as a private wealth advisor before going back to graduate school for his MBA.
With his life experiences, financial background and masters degree, Ventura is well placed to be running his own company. He's also planning for what comes next -- he and Domene are now in the process of raising the company's next round of investment finance.
