Sofia Corcho is a mighty force

"No one will put me in a box."

Mighty Forces Express amplifies the voices, ideas, and stories of women leaders, in order to strengthen our connections with each other and grow the level of influence that women have over our collective futures. This month, meet Sofia Corcho, whose story reads like a Hollywood movie (except, it’s about a woman — ! see what I did there?!).

Everyone,

I am so grateful that my friend Christine Taylor recommended I speak to Sofia Corcho, whose story I’m sharing below. As Christine tells it, “I met Sofia at my high school reunion — she’s married to a guy I went to school with. After talking with her for a few minutes, I said, ‘You’re smarter than he is, aren’t you?’ And she smiled and said, ‘Yes.’”

Sofia’s story is remarkable, and as I was drafting this, it felt like the best way to honor her and her story was to keep it in the first person. I’ve rearranged a few things but the vast majority of what you’re about to read is just as she told it to me.

- Amanda

I came to the U.S. at 23 with $20. My first conversation in the country, the customs officer asked, “Where are you from?”

“Colombia,” I said. 

“Are you hiding cocaine?”

This was my first interaction. I thought, “Wow, this is going to be tough.”

What I said: “Sorry, I don’t have any for you.”

No one will put me in a box. 

I always thought I had something special, that I was made for greater things than what my city offered me. I possessed a strong sense of self-assurance, trust in my inner strength and potential, faith — and an ability to make things happen.

Growing up, I was the lead singer at my church every Sunday. To see people using my voice to connect with something bigger than them — closing their eyes, praying, crying, me being that channel of connection — I had a realization: “Your voice matters. There is power in your voice. You came to this world for a reason.” Helping people is one reason. 

I’m the first from my family to come to America, and the first to get an MBA. I come from nothing. At home I was destined to just work in a factory. 

My friend went to the U.S. for the summer to study English. I decided I wanted to join him. I was working at a mall, finishing my bachelors in film. I had an internship, and then I would study English online before going to sleep at night. The day of my visa appointment, I was shooting my thesis in a different town, and the bus wasn’t working, so I had to wait for the guy who brings the milk to bring me to the city. When I arrived at the entrance of the Colombian embassy in Bogota, my mom was waiting for me with all the necessary papers, a warm meal after a tiring night of work, and her heartfelt wishes for my success. 

There’s been a lot of struggle to accomplish things. 

I got a temporary visa and joined my friend in Michigan. I worked at a resort — in the golf club, as a housekeeper, and at the restaurant. 

Then my best friend was working for JP Morgan in New York, and she said, “You should stay here, don’t go back.” 

“I cannot go back to Colombia without money,” I thought. I went to New York. I was a nanny, a teaching assistant. I loved meeting people from all over the world and sending money back to help my family. I built up my savings; time passed. 

Then I thought, “I can’t go back without a Masters!” My cousin helped me find a school in the Boston area, and helped me extend my visa to a student visa. I wanted to realize the American dream, to become someone in America. I didn’t want to go back. I liked how things were here. As a single woman at that time I felt very safe; I saw a significant advance in women’s rights; and my upbringing wasn't in question. In Bogota, the first thing someone would do when they met me was to ask about my socioeconomic status. That wasn't the case here — everything was better. Why go back? 

While I was getting my MBA, I opened up a business. I partnered with a property manager who owned buildings in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I rented from him, and when my roommate left, I got permission to open an Airbnb in one room of the apartment. It was a good location and I had a 100% occupancy rate. People asked “Do you rent the whole apartment?”, so I started doing that. I’d leave on the weekends, and then I ended up traveling for a year so the apartment was open for rent. I got up to seven Airbnb properties in the area, and I visited 40 of the 50 states. I spent three months in Puerto Rico teaching myself to swim. I went to Hawaii to see whales in Maui. I couldn’t travel out of the country, so I saw as much of the country as I could. 

I finished my MBA program. And I thought, “I can’t go back to Colombia, because now I need to get a job with my Masters and bring that to Colombia.” I interned for a company called AccelHUB Venture Partners, a private equity firm that supported startups from Latin America to scale in the U.S., providing a soft landing process in their Boston Accelerator. They asked me to partner with them, based on my knowledge of the Latino market. 

I met my husband. 

And now...I’m not going back to Colombia. 

When I first came to the U.S., I lost my voice for a while; I lost my light. I realized it was because I wasn’t singing anymore. Singing gives me life, it helps me channel my emotions. I also discovered salsa dancing, which brings me immense joy, and helps me connect with my Latina roots on a deeper level. These things bring me light. So does the love and support of my family. Despite being the youngest member of my family, I have been entrusted with the responsibility of carrying forward the aspirations and dreams of our entire household. I am determined to work towards a brighter future that not only benefits us but also generations to come.

I love living in Cambridge. It’s filled with intellectual people. It’s amazing to have someone next to you who’s curing cancer. It inspires me. I try to be a resource for my community, and to do that, I have to expose myself to other communities. I’m part of funders’ groups, and I enjoy talking with investors. The startup and innovation ecosystem in Boston Is fascinating and I enjoy meeting and working with funders and entrepreneurs who aren’t Latinx. When I learn about their businesses and journeys, I connect the dots, and make introductions to people in our accelerator and in the ecosystem.

I lead with my values. One of my first mentors is Dr. Betty Uribe, Managing Director of JP Morgan in the LA area and the author of #Values: The Secret to Top Level Performance in Business. That book speaks to me at a very high level because that’s how I operate, how I align with people and initiatives — based on values.

I’m driven to elevate my community. I am the chief of staff for HLX+,, a national nonprofit Latinx organization that unifies and empowers all 62+Million U.S. Hispanics, Latinos, LatinX, Latine, Afro-Latinos, Chicanos and more. I’ve also held a few different leadership roles for ALPFA (Association for Latin American Professionals for America), supporting Latina entrepreneurs in Boston, connecting them with resources and opportunities for corporate sponsorship. 

Doing a lot energizes me. I like to keep things moving, to create impact. I’m also very strategic, and intentional. I don’t commit to something until I see how it connects to my goals and values. I meet milestones every month. I like to do vision boards with my husband; he’s like, “let’s enjoy the present!” But me — it is very important for me to have a vision that inspires me every day.

Mighty Forces Express amplifies the voices, ideas, and stories of women leaders, and you can amplify them even further by sharing this post. Together, we can make sure that more of the media that we all consume puts women at the center, in order to grow women’s influence over the shape of our collective futures. Can I get a “hell yeah”??