2024 Fellow Focus: Vicky Garalina + Inspiring Futures
Empowering leader, youth advocate, system disruptor…2024 Fellow Vicky Garalina + Inspiring Futures shares more about her journey as a social impact entrepreneur.
What life experiences propelled you into the entrepreneurial space and made you decide to be your own boss?
I have worked in non-profit and government spaces for over a decade and have learned a little from each job. Sometimes the red tape and bureaucracy made it difficult for me to work in those spaces and I often found myself advocating for the clients. As someone who also was a consumer of mental health services and a foster mother to consumers of services, I experienced the challenges with accessing quality services from the other side. I wanted to step into the entrepreneurial sphere to make this space more accessible and relevant for those who need it and have trouble engaging with other service providers, essentially slipping through the cracks.
What do you enjoy most about being a founder?
I love the flexibility of being able to pivot if we see a process is not working as we would like or are not seeing the results we would like to see. I enjoy having the freedom to think about innovative programming and implement these things. I also enjoy talking to, and collaborating with other founders and entrepreneurs to enhance programming across the board.
What do you wish someone had told you before you started your entrepreneurial journey?
I wish someone had told me that we are not expected to know every aspect of running a business and all of the nuances that come with it. Instead of spending hours, days, and weeks learning something I may have no knowledge about, it's okay to be just acceptable in some areas and seek help in other areas, while focusing on areas that are my strength.
Tell us about an experience you had as an entrepreneur or in starting your company that exemplified one of Camelback's core values: "Belief in Mission + Vision"; "Unafraid of Failure"; "Constant Learner"; "Humble + Hungry"; and "Give First."
I am someone who tends to "take a leap of faith," whether that looks like quitting my full-time job to pursue entrepreneurship, or moving across the country with a month’s notice. I embrace and accept that failure occurs throughout the entrepreneurship journey, but that doesn’t stop me from taking a chance in hopes things will turn out great.
Inspiring Futures started as an idea for a group home with three friends forming the board of directors. From there we learned that we would need much more capital and resources to embark on creating such a space, so we pivoted to providing mobile services. Not having an office or full-time staff, it started with myself and a friend providing mental health and educational services to youth involved in the system. As we’ve grown, we have been able to expand these methods and continuously pivot, and are still on this journey, working to scale our model and now about to hire our third full-time staff.
Let's talk about your legacy. What is your vision for the kind of world you hope to create through your venture?
I hope that Inspiring Futures creates a space that is welcoming and embracing of all those who have system-involvement and are trying to move forward in life. I hope that these youth can access mental health services and academic coaching that is relevant and helpful to them, and that as a result, graduation rates increase across NYC. I hope Inspiring Futures successfully de-stigmatizes mental health, and that as a result, these incredible youth and young people are able to stay out of future systems that the foster care system is often a pipeline to, disrupting the narrative that foster care is a pipeline to jail, homelessness, and other negative outcomes.
What's your favorite book or podcast that you draw entrepreneurial inspiration from?
I love all the books written by Father Greg Boyle, the founder of Homeboy Industries. While they do not lay out his specific journey on the business side, they talk about his passion and the journeys of those who participate in his programs. His books have always been inspiring to me.
We know balancing the demands of entrepreneurship and life can be challenging. What are some of your favorite ways to prioritize your self-care?
I try my very best to close my work by no later than 7:30pm most nights, and not work most weekends. During those times I try to spend time with loved ones and do different activities. I understand being a founder requires much more than 40 hours a week, and it's important for me to set really clear times that I "turn off" and focus on other things to reset. I look forward to joining a NYC-based softball team this month!
To stay in the loop about the good trouble Camelback Fellows are getting into - sign up for our newsletter!