Empowering 5,000+ Entrepreneurs: Rocío Pinto and the Art of Entrepreneurship | Rocío Pinto

From Spanish Roots to Empowering 5,400 Entrepreneurs in Guatemala

In episode 8 of Mujeres que Mueven Montañas, Andrea Cardona sits down with Rocío Pinto, co-founder and director of Multiverse, one of the most influential entrepreneurship acceleration platforms in Central America. With over 5,400 entrepreneurs supported in Guatemala alone, Rocío has dedicated her career to democratizing the tools that were once only available to large corporations.

The conversation traces Rocío's journey from her bicultural childhood between Spain and Guatemala, through her corporate career at KPMG and an energy company, to the exact moment she decided to leap into entrepreneurship — and never look back.

A Childhood Between Two Worlds

Rocío grew up in a Spanish cultural bubble within Guatemala. Her parents, originally from Spain, kept their traditions alive: Spanish television, Spanish food, conversations about the old continent. That cultural duality gave her a broad perspective and a standard of excellence that shaped her character from an early age.

Her father was a decisive influence. An avid reader with a library of over 8,000 books, he read three to four books a week. "He'd turn on the light at three in the morning because he'd get so hooked on his books," Rocío recalls fondly. He never forced them to read, but his example was more powerful than any instruction.

"My dad could talk about the Greeks, the Romans, history before Christ, after Christ, the Bible, the Torah... anything you can imagine. That inspired me enormously."

As a child, Rocío didn't read princess stories. Her father read her Emilio Salgari, The Black Corsair, Don Quixote. Later came adventure novels like The Famous Five, which she now reads to her own children.

The Corporate Path: An Intensive University

Rocío studied international trade and international relations, but never practiced either career. A professor invited her to KPMG while she was still a student, and she stayed for five years. For her, it was like a second university: every project was a different school.

"I took a tour through the inner workings of so many companies: government, private, small, large. I kept that in my mind and heart as a blessing."

From KPMG she moved to an energy company where she spent another five years. She was climbing the corporate ladder when she started her MBA with an emphasis in entrepreneurship. And then came the question that changed everything.

The Question on the Airplane That Changed Everything

It was on a flight back from Tulane when her classmate Janka Barwin asked her something simple but transformative: "Are you going to start a business when you finish?" Rocío confesses she had never questioned it. She was comfortable, well-paid, with benefits from an American subsidiary.

But something had changed. "My heart was no longer beating to the same rhythm as what I was doing," she says. She had mechanized her work. Passion had turned into routine. And although everyone around her thought it was crazy to leave the corporate world right after finishing an MBA designed to advance in it, Rocío chose to listen to that restlessness.

Her first destination was Universidad Francisco Marroquín, where together with Janka she created Eurística — a pioneering program for real entrepreneurship. The name wasn't a coincidence: Eurística is the art of inventing through trial and error.

"A baby falls and gets up, falls and gets up. We do the same thing a thousand times until we get it right. That was the process we had to go through."

Multiverse: Corporate Tools for Entrepreneurs

From Eurística grew the vision that would eventually become Multiverse. The premise was clear: the consulting tools that corporations pay incredible prices for should be accessible to entrepreneurs who are just starting out.

Multiverse operates through national and regional open calls, seven to ten times per year. Entrepreneurs go through a selection process that includes an application, interviews, and a personalized diagnostic. "Just with that diagnostic I would feel happy," says Rocío, "because it's like a doctor giving you a full examination and telling you exactly where to improve."

What sets Multiverse apart is personalization. These aren't generic modular courses. Each entrepreneur receives mentoring focused on what they actually need, supported by a worldwide network of mentors who can run up to 50 simultaneous sessions.

From 2% to 37%: The Quiet Revolution of Women Entrepreneurs

When Rocío started in the entrepreneurship ecosystem fifteen years ago, only 2% of participants were women. Today, Multiverse reports 37% female participation. The change has been driven by multiple factors, including something unexpected: migration.

"When the man leaves the household, the woman has no choice. She has to start a business. And that has contributed to many women stepping up, believing in themselves, and feeling capable of entrepreneurship."

But Rocío also identifies barriers that women themselves need to work on. The first: being more generous with each other. "I've seen women afraid to go to places because the other woman there gives them dirty looks. In my belief system that doesn't exist, but I've seen it happen."

The second: the caregiver syndrome. The excuses she receives from women versus men are vastly different — not due to lack of ability, but because women carry the weight of being the caretakers of the family system.

The Story of María Chum: From YouTube to Three Bakeries

One of the most moving stories Rocío shares is that of María Chum, an entrepreneur from Climentero. María learned to bake watching YouTube. Her logic was brilliant: in her community of 200 homes there was nowhere to buy cakes — to get one you'd have to walk three hours.

With seed capital from the Ministry of Economy she bought her industrial oven. When she arrived at Multiverse, she already had everything recorded in a little notebook. They helped her properly cost her products and formalize her operation.

Today María has three bakeries, six employees, and her daughter Amaya — when asked what she wants to be when she grows up — answers without hesitation: "A businesswoman." Rocío sums it up as the ripple effect: "That girl is not going back to the fields. She's already part of an ecosystem where she saw her mother transform."

Mountaineering and Entrepreneurship: The Perfect Analogy

Andrea and Rocío discover fascinating parallels between climbing mountains and starting a business. Both require putting everything on the line, becoming the most expert person in what you do, self-managing to reach your goals, and building a team that shares the vision.

"You have to breathe, sleep, wake up, exist your business," Rocío tells her entrepreneurs. "If you're going to be pizza makers: breathe pizza, eat pizza, sleep pizza. You have to become the most expert person in what you do."

Andrea complements this with her Everest experience: she started with what she had — time, passion, and a job she could combine with training. "Opportunities find you when you're already in action, on the path that leads to your dreams."

Discipline Over Intelligence

One of the most powerful moments in the conversation comes when Rocío shares the phrase that marked her: "Discipline beats intelligence." It's a conviction she has seen confirmed again and again with entrepreneurs.

Andrea adds a crucial nuance for women: celebrate the effort, not just the result. "Sometimes I only walked two kilometers instead of ten. But if that was my one hundred percent that day, you have to give yourself credit. Celebrating small victories is what keeps us on the path."

Quick-Fire Round: Five Answers from Rocío Pinto

A habit to stay focused: On Sundays she prepares her weekly agenda using the rocks method: big ones (non-negotiable), medium, and small. Every morning she gives thanks for being alive, asks herself what she wants and what she needs, and reviews her big rocks for the day.

Best entrepreneurship advice: "Discipline beats intelligence."

Definition of success: "Going to bed every night at peace and being able to look in the mirror and see that I reflect what I want to see."

A phrase for difficult moments: "Pain is transformation." Inspired by the Stoics, when a hard moment comes, she knows she is transforming into something better.

A woman who inspires her: Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo. "She inspires me because she is very real." From her she learned not to seek balance, but harmony: some days you're a better mom, other days a better professional, and that's okay.

The Invitation

If you're thinking about starting a business or you're already on the path, Multiverse has open calls several times a year. You can find all the information on their social media and website. And remember Rocío's words: define what you want, understand what stage you're in, and have the discipline to get up every day and work toward it — even when you don't feel like it.

"A determined woman: get out of her way. That is powerful. The problem is we often don't believe it."