The success of entrepreneurs is often understated and oversimplified. I want to let you know that making this vision into a reality did not happen overnight. Rather, it took years to understand my own goal. Allow me to be vulnerable and tell my story:

I was a high school senior enrolled in Calculus, Statistics, Advanced English, Advanced Physics, Advanced World History, Student Council, Robotics, just about everything your everyday nerd would participate in. I had A's and B's, near perfect attendance, a diverse group of friends, all these great things that comforted my vitality. Yet, when it was time to consider college, I lacked excitement for that next step. I didn't want to apply to any schools. I feared failure, culture shock, strangers, caring for myself, but I never told anyone about any of these fears. Thus, I allowed my mother to hold me accountable and ensure I applied for college. She told me I will gain so much more with a college degree. Hesitant, I applied to Arizona State University. With no other schools on my mind and ready to be denied, I waited for the acceptance letter. Next thing I know, I woke up as a freshman attending ASU.

I used to consider myself an "inventor" as a child into my teen years. I would take the most random material and create small tools to use at home. For example, I once took a tiny wooden rolling pin and a metal clothes hanger, formed a tong at the top of the hanger and nailed holes through the middle of the roller, and stuck the hanger through that hole to create a tool that can interlace thread to make it thicker and stronger. So when I began my courses at ASU, I went in under their "Entrepreneurship" degree, thinking I can learn how to properly sell my ideas. Yeah... That didn't happen... Instead, I switched my degree to Supply Chain Management after asking my college counselor what would best fit my thought of learning how products are managed from manufacturer to consumer. Nevertheless, the degree had little to do with my soon-to-be passion. I'd rather argue my passion was discovered by accident while in college.

On a random Thursday, famished after completing my classes for the day, I was craving a Subway sandwich. Down to the on-campus location I went, where a smoothie bar neighbored that Subway. At this point, in the whole 18 years of my life, I never quenched a smoothie before. Milkshakes and slushes? Sure. But a smoothie? Never knew of its existence. So there I was, in line at an establishment called, Jamba Juice. At the register stood a kind barista, ready to take my order, although... I didn't know what to order. Befuddled, she asked what kind of fruit I favored, then offered to serve a secret flavor known as, "Banana Berry". Expecting nothing more than the same sensation of a milkshake, I sipped that so-called Banana Berry smoothie only to then have a moment of revelation, the discovery of a new obsession.

Despite the fact that it was an out-of-pocket expense to me, a jobless college student, I went to Jamba Juice at least once a week for my tongue could not remove the brand's delicate taste. Three years later, turns out college wasn't as fearing as I thought it would be. I was a senior ready to graduate with a bachelors in Supply Chain Management. I had a part-time job that could easily turn into a full-time career. Somewhere upon my new goals, I applied and got accepted into a master's program at ASU. All this excitement, sure, but do you know what I longed for each day? Do you know what kept me going and maintained my sanity? A smoothie. And not just any smoothie. A smoothie from Jamba Juice.

Now, fast forward a year and a half past earning my bachelors. I'm three-quarters of the way through my master's program. COVID hit, social norms changed, opportunities were limited, everything turned online, and I was ready to quit. For starters, my new life goal was to start a thrift store, but I lacked passion for it. Interesting, right? The purpose was to create a "social enterprise" that would positively impact my local community, however, my drive for it just wasn't there. I sat at the kitchen table one night with my laptop front and center of me, Jamba to my right, looking at my grad project essay, watching the cursor flicker in and out of an empty word document, trying to figure out what I wanted to argue about. Then it dawned on me.

By the time COVID began, my family and friends were well aware of my obsession with smoothies. Thus, they knew the toll it took on me when my time with Jamba was physically halted due to quarantine and social distancing. So instead, I began making my own smoothies since my roommates and I stocked up on groceries and we had plenty of fresh and frozen fruit that needed to be used wisely before rotting. When things loosened up just a tad and I was able to visit my family again, my aunt gave me a bag of "wheat pinole", an item that is locally grown within one of our sibling communities, the Gila River Indian Community. My aunt told me I could use it as an additional source of protein in my homemade smoothies. So I began doing so quite often thereafter. One day while making a smoothie, I looked at that bag of wheat pinole and looked at my smoothie, then thought, "You know... It would be cool if this blend was something that I could produce for others someday... Naye! All wishing!" then proceeded with the finishing touches to my smoothie.

Alas, I return to the moment in which I am gazing at my laptop, clueless on what to argue about. To the right, I grabbed my Jamba cup and took a sip when suddenly an epiphany struck! "That's it!", I thought. "Instead of a thrift shop, I will strive to create a smoothie shop! One that implements ancestral O'odham

ingredients into smoothies!" This all spawned from that little moment months prior where I looked at the bag of wheat pinole and my smoothie together, wishing to share these ingredients on a bigger scale, and all it took was a random sip of Jamba to realize my new life dream.

Let it be known that once I set that new goal, aligned it with my grad project, and graduated with my masters, I was still years away from establishing this business. I began worrying it would never happen because I didn't have the resources, experience, nor funds to start it. Settling with the thought that it was all just a dream, I looked elsewhere for income and got a full-time job with the Tohono O'odham Nation at Desert Diamond Casino West Valley. There, I was able to get a job as a "Food & Beverage Buyer", striving to build my experience in business and greater familiarity with the food industry in hopes this could fulfill my slowly dissolving dream.

Despite the knowledge I was gaining from working at the casino, I still felt as though my smoothie vision was decaying. I didn't make any progress on a business and I didn't know how I could get the word out. Sure, there's social media, but I feared low activity due to the lack of pre-existing awareness of my smoothies. I was afraid to file an LLC because I didn't have confidence in social and financial support. As you can tell, fear is my worst enemy. I was ready to accept the fact that I would never be able to fulfill my vision. Soon, I watched my roommate/best friend graduate from college, too, and boy, was he fulfilling his dream right then and there. I listened to him describe the endless ways his career can advance and as I sat there expressing my excitement for him, my thoughts began swirling down a rabbit hole wondering where my life was going. So one day after my roommate gave another life update, frustrated, I thought, "I will never get anywhere if I continue letting fear control me!" That's when I grew the confidence to apply for an LLC online and, within hours, formed Doa Smoothie LLC.

If there is anything I learned in all my years of existence, it's about who you know more so than what you know. In college, we were always encourage to "build connections", but my anti-social self could not apprehend such concept. However, by the time I began working at the casino, I understood that being open to conversation was important in addition to treating people the way you want to be treated i.e. being mindful and considerate. By the time I hit my 10-month mark at the casino, I formed great relationships with all the chefs I managed food and beverage products for, each of whom had years, even decades, of experience in the food industry. Little did I know that one of the relationships I formed would lead to opportunities. Exactly one week after I created my LLC, one of my chef's told me about the food shows she hosts and gave me the opportunity to join her at one of her upcoming events. It was then that I was able to start turning my vision into my mission. It was then that Doa Smoothie gained traction.

Thank you for connecting with my journey. I hope to inspire others and continue expanding Doa Smoothies horizons. S-ap'o (thank you)!

- Gabe i.e. The One with the Vision